Ram Mandir opposition, terror apologist and pro-Naxal activism: Inside Fraternity Movement, the student wing of Welfare Party of Umar Khalid’s father that joined so called anti-pollution protests

The National capital of India witnessed the coming together of Urban Naxals on 23^rd November to vent out their frustration over the gradual but decisive end of Naxalism in the country, under the protest against air pollution. These pro-Naxal protests were spearheaded by left-leaning student organisations Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM) and The Himkhand.

Recently, OpIndia reported that bsCEM is one of the 40+ organisations that formed a collective called “Campaign Against State Repression” or CASR. One of the participants of the anti-pollution protests, where ‘Kitne Hidma Maaroge, Har Ghar Se Hidma Niklega’ slogans were raised, was a student group named Fraternity Movement.

Fraternity Movement is the student wing of the Welfare Party of India and operates with the slogan “Democracy, Social Justice and Fraternity”. Just as it is the case with most leftist outfits, Fraternity Movement also packages itself as a defender of democratic principles, secularism, the constitution, social justice and whatnot; however, beyond the shiny packaging lies the dark and disturbing pro-Islamist and divisive activism. During the anti-CAA protests in December 2019, its members even blocked Calicut International Airport.

Fraternity Movement against Ayodhya Ram Mandir

Islamists and the left liberals harbour deep resentment over the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, even as it came only after the Supreme Court of India’s verdict. Fraternity Movement shares this resentment of its ‘fraternity’.

In an X post crying over the consecration of Ram Lalla in his rightful abode last year, Fraternity Movement presented Babri Masjid, erected by Mughal barbarian Babur as a symbol of justice and democracy, while Ram Mandir and the consecration ceremony were a symbol of “violent, criminal, and immoral “victory” of Hindutva extremism.”

“The inauguration of the Ram Mandir has turned into a spectacle with the RSS-BJP government, its various machineries, and allies promoting and celebrating the violent, criminal, and immoral ‘victory” of Hindutva extremism over justice and democracy, with absolute impunity,” it wrote.

The inauguration of the Ram Mandir has turned into a spectacle with the RSS-BJP government, its various machineries, and allies promoting and celebrating the violent, criminal, and immoral "victory" of Hindutva extremism over justice and democracy, with absolute impunity. pic.twitter.com/Yd1Jybvvrg

— Fraternity Movement (@Fraternity_movt) January 20, 2024

Fraternity Movement called the judiciary ‘RSS’s tool of communal agenda’ after the court acquitted Malegaon blast accused

While the same Islamo-leftist cabal cries Islamophobia when Hindus simply call terrorist attacks like those in Pahalgam, where Hindus were singled out and shot dead for not being Muslims, as acts of Islamic Jihadist terrorism, the likes of Fraternity Movement have no qualms about labelling incidents like the Malegaon Blast (2008) as ‘Hindu Nationalist Terrorism’ and ‘Hindutva terrorism’.

In August this year, the Fraternity Movement resorted to casting aspersions on the integrity of the Indian judiciary and labelled it a “tool of Sangh Parivar’s communal agenda”. This came after the NIA court acquitted all the accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Sadhvi Pragya and Lieutenant Colonel Purohit.

“…Fraternity Movement strongly condemns the shocking acquittal of all accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case, including Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit, and others linked to the Sangh Parivar ecosystem. This verdict is a grave miscarriage of justice and an open assault on the democratic and moral fabric of the Indian Republic. The 2008 Malegaon blast was a targeted act of terror that killed 6 innocent civilians and injured over 100. It was not just a crime, but a communal hate act, a clear example of Hindutva terrorism…” it wrote.

It must be recalled that on 29^th September 2008, six people were killed and several others were injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon City, Nashik. Sadhvi Pragya and Lt Col. Purohit spent several years in jail without charges in the case.

Fraternity Movement cries for Bhima Koregaon case accused Professor Hany Babu

Unsurprisingly, the Fraternity Movement supports those accused of involvement in stirring unrest in the country. In July this year,  the Welfare Party’s student wing came out in support of Delhi University professor Hany Babu, a defendant in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.

Fraternity Movement claimed that Hany Babu, booked under ‘repressive’ UAPA, is under wrongful incarceration and denied proper medical care. They called Babu’s arrest and incarceration a reflection of “a broader attack on academic freedom, dissent, and democratic rights.”

Notably, the NIA chargesheet accuses Hany Babu of instigating violence and disturbing peace, among other charges. According to the NIA’s chargesheet, a letter discovered on Babu’s computer outlined a conspiracy against Prime Minister Modi. Babu refuted this, asserting that the letter was neither authored nor addressed to him. He contended that it made no mention of his involvement in the conspiracy.

Babu is accused of having links with the Revolutionary Democratic Front and the banned CPI (Maoist). Allegedly, Hany Babu was also a part of the committee supporting Naxal ideologue G.N. Saibaba.

While in 2023, Babu’s bail plea was denied by the Bombay High Court, in 2024, the petitioner moved to the Supreme Court only to withdraw it, citing ‘change in circumstances’. Babu’s lawyer had informed the apex court panel comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal of their decision to pursue bail anew in the High Court. The change in circumstances essentially means an absence of a favourable judge.

OpIndia has reported earlier how even the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots accused mastermind Umar Khalid’s case too, such ‘change of circumstances’ resulted in multiple voluntary bail plea withdrawals and yet his supporters outside continuously cried ‘travesty of justice’ and whatnot.

Fraternity Movement fearmongered about SIR in Bihar, calling it ‘NRC with a new name’

Months back, the Election Commission of India announced that a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar ahead of elections. The opposition parties labelled it a ‘conspiracy’ by the BJP and ECI to remove the names of Muslims and other voters who generally opposed to the BJP. The Fraternity Movement went a step ahead and linked the SIR exercise meant to weed out illegal voters from the electoral roll to Hindutva and NRC.

“Stop the ploy to implement the NRC under a new name—withdraw the decision to re-examine the voter list in Bihar!” The Fraternity Movement strongly opposes the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision of the voter list in Bihar. This is demanding documents proving their citizenship and that of their parents, including those whose names were added to the voter list after 2003. This is not a simple investigation—it is a conspiracy to implement the NRC secretly and covertly. This is all part of the Hindutva ideology—to link citizenship to religion and caste. Just as the NRC and CAA were introduced in Assam to scare people, the Election Commission of India is now being used for the same purpose,” it wrote in an Instagram post.

The SIR was conducted; lakhs of fake voters were found and removed, yet no valid citizens, including Muslims, lost their citizenship or their voting right.

Fraternity Movement’s pro-Palestine activism

Much like the other ‘student’ organisations linked to the CASR, Fraternity Movement has also been regularly organising pro-Palestine protests across the country.

In one of the social media posts published this June, Fraternity Movement accused India of betraying Palestine after India. The Fraternity Movement claimed that India decided to “vote against” the resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza in the UN General Assembly. The Islamist student group accused the Indian government of handing a “silent endorsement of the genocidal violence unleashed by the fascist Israeli regime.”

However, India did not vote against the resolution; rather, it abstained from voting. The Fraternity Movement went on to invoke Hindutva even where neither Hindus nor Hindutva have anything remotely to do.

“This is not an aberration; it is the consequence of a growing ideological alliance between Zionist Israel and Hindutva‑driven India. Both are governed by ethno‑nationalist regimes, united by an imperialist mindset, an obsession with military surveillance, and a contempt for Muslim life,” the Fraternity Movement wrote.

However, neither the Indian government has taken any U-turn from its historical support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine dispute, but has also been providing aid to Palestine. While the Fraternity Movement very conveniently invoked Hindutva and painted the ‘Hindu nationalist’ government as inherently anti-Muslim, it is a fact that the only reason Indian Islamists and their leftist cheerleaders cry for Palestine is because of their shared religious identity, not simply because of ‘humanity’. Be it in India or anywhere in the world, Islamists rejoiced when the Palestinian Islamic terror group Hamas massacred Israeli civilians on 7^th October 2023 for being Jews.

Fraternity Movement supports Rejaz Sydeek, who condemned Operation Sindoor against Pakistani terror establishments

In May this year, the Indian Armed Forces successfully carried out Operation Sindoor against Pakistani terror establishments and later Pakistani military targets in the aftermath of the Pahalgam Attack, wherein 26 Hindus were shot dead by Pakistani jihadis for being Hindus. At the time of supporting the forces, some pro-Pakistan voices were raised in India.

One such was Rejaz Sydeek, a 26-year-old pro-Maoist student ‘activist’ from Kerala. Rejaz M Sheeba Sydeek was arrested in Nagpur on 7^th May, following his post against Operation Sindoor on Instagram. Sydeek was booked under the UAPA.

Sydeek, on his Instagram account, had condemned Operation Sindoor carried out by the Indian Armed Forces against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir. Along with that, he was criticising operations against Naxalites, the First Information Report registered at Lakadganj police station in the city read. He was also reportedly brandishing firearms as well in the video.

Even as Sydeek was booked for his anti-national remarks during the Indo-Pak conflict, Fraternity Movement painted the arrest as an act of suppressing Sydeek’s voice as he was exposing ‘human rights violations’ by the Modi government in Naxal-affected Chhattisgarh. The Islamist student body was upset with the Central government eliminating the menace of Naxalism from the Dandakaranya region.

Fraternity Movement condemned the arrest of a leader belonging to the banned Islamist outfit PFI’s political arm, SDPI

In March this year, the Enforcement Directorate arrested SDPI President Moideen Kutty K, alias MK Faizy, from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. “Investigation revealed that the office bearers, members and cadres of Popular Front of India (PFI), were conspiring and raising/collecting funds from within India and abroad through banking channels, Hawala, donations for committing and financing terrorist acts across India,” said the ED.

During the earlier conducted searches, ED recovered documents that provided insight into the true objectives of the PFI, describing it as an organisation committed to advancing an Islamic movement in India by “endorsing the principles of Jihad in all forms.” The investigators said that SDPI is PFI’s political arm and was dependent on PFI for its day-to-day functions, policy making, selecting candidates for election campaign, public programs, cadre mobilisation and other related activities.”

Fraternity Movement, however, deemed Faizy’s arrest a “blatant misuse of power is an attack on democratic values and an attempt to silence dissent.”

The Movement’s support for SDPI leader is not entirely unexpected, given Welfare Party of India itself is led by figures such as Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, a former member of SIMI and father of Umar Khalid, and has long been associated with Islamist-leaning activism.

Fraternity Movement’s support for Sharjeel Imam, who wanted to cut off India’s ‘chicken neck’ and 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots accused mastermind Umar Khalid

Given the Fraternity Movement’s support for Islamists and anti-India elements, it is not surprising that the Welfare Party’s student wing also backs Sharjeel Imam. It must be recalled that during the anti-CAA-NRC protests in 2019-20, Sharjeel Imam faced serious charges, including inciting Muslims, instigating riots, and sedition. He was arrested on January 28, 2020, and has been undergoing trial since.

Not only Sharjeel Imam, Fraternity Movement’s heart also cries for Umar Khalid, who is accused of masterminding the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots. Fraternity Movement calls Khalid a ‘political prisoner’ and laments that he has been incarcerated for over a thousand days, suggesting that he has been jailed unfairly.

Contrary to the false narrative peddled by Islamo-leftists to garner support and sympathy for Umar Khalid, OpIndia has reported earlier that out of the 14 adjournments in 2023 and 2024, 7 delays and adjournments were sought by Umar Khalid himself. It therefore becomes evident that the withdrawal was certainly not because of the famed “delay” in hearing. While the Islamo-leftist ecosystem continues to cry ‘injustice’, it is the alleged failed forum shopping attempts of the accused’s lawyer that have Khalid rotting in jail for so long.

In fact, former Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, had also said earlier this year that the real problem lies in the mindset of some lawyers and political groups who want their cases heard only by certain judges. Highlighting what OpIndia has reported multiple times, the former CJI said that court records showed that Khalid’s legal team, led by Sibal, had sought at least seven adjournments before finally withdrawing the bail plea in February 2024, citing “a change in circumstances.”

Fraternity Movement’s ‘revolutionary salutes’ to Naxal ideologue GN Saibaba

Besides Islamists, the Fraternity Movement also glorifies Naxalites like GN Saibaba. The Movement claims that Saibaba was booked under fabricated charges and was tortured while in jail, leading to his death.

Notably, G N Saibaba, a professor of English in Ram Lal Anand College of the Delhi University, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Gadchiroli sessions court in 2017 for waging war against India for his Maoist links and involvement in anti-national activities. He was convicted under sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 of the UAPA.

G N Saibaba was first arrested in May 2014 on charges of being a member of the banned CPI-Maoists, plus providing logistics and carrying out recruitment for them. He was then provided bail for three months on 30th June 2015 in view of his worsening health. He was given bail again in August 2016, this time by the Supreme Court against the wishes of the Maharashtra Government, which thought freeing Saibaba would render him free to propagate his views and brainwash students.

Afreen Fatima and Aysha Renna: The Fraternity Movement-linked ‘activists’ sympathise with Islamic terrorists and oppose the Ayodhya Ram Mandir

Several controversial activists are linked to the Fraternity Movement, including Afreen Fatima and Aysha Renna. Fatima has publicly defended Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, repeatedly urging people to “revisit” his verdict.

Sharing an article published in terrorist-sympathising The Caravan magazine dated January 15, 2020, written by the far-left propagandist journalist Arundhati Roy, infamous for support towards Jihad in Kashmir and Naxals, Afreen Fatima took to Twitter to appeal to ‘revisit’ Afzal Guru’s verdict ‘again and again.’

Revisit, again and again.
Read the verdict, again and again.
Never forget.https://t.co/bsgz38CNwp

— Afreen Fatima (@AfreenFatima136) February 9, 2020

She has also questioned the Supreme Court over decisions like the Ram Mandir judgment. Renna, celebrated by sections of the media, openly backed Sharjeel Imam, calling police action against him a “witch hunt” and demanding that cases against him be dropped, despite his inflammatory secessionist speeches.

Aisha Renna had also condemned the action by Assam and Uttar Pradesh Police against “Anti-CAA Activist and PhD scholar of Jawaharlal Nehru University” under the UAPA. Renna, in her Facebook post, lies that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) denies citizenship to Muslims in India. This came even as CAA merely fast-tracked Indian citizenship of persecuted religious minorities from three neighbouring Islamic countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. CAA had nothing to do with Indians, Muslims and non-Muslims, in any way.

Fraternity Movement against Irfan Mehraj’s arrest

Fraternity Movement has also extended support to Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj. In one of its social media posts, the Movement claimed that “Kashmiri Muslim journalist” Irfan Mehraj’s arrest under the UAPA amounted to criminalising ‘journalism’.

However, contrary to the Islamo-leftist concocted narrative, Mehraj was not arrested for his journalistic work but for his alleged involvement in a terror funding case.

Mehraj was closely associated with ‘activist’ Khurram Parvez and a member of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS). The NIA had said that the JKCCS was funding terror activities in the valley and had also been in the propagation of the secessionist agenda in the Valley under the garb of protection of human rights. In a Facebook post from June 2020, Irfan Mehraj was seen in awe of controversial activist Khurram Parvez. “You keep inspiring us every day,” he wrote.

Conclusion

From opposing the Ram Mandir, glorifying Naxalites to hailing Islamists involved in terrorism, Fraternity Movement, contrary to its claim of spreading the message of “democracy, social justice and fraternity”, is actually disseminating the message of undermining democracy, mocking justice and weakening ‘fraternity’.