mha-updates-list-of-67-banned-unlawful-militant-groups

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has revised the official list of 67 militant organisations and unlawful associations that have been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their involvement in anti-India activities. 

The updated list, released by the MHA, includes 45 organisations that have been officially designated as terrorist organisations under Section 35 of the UAPA and are included in the First Schedule of the Act. Additionally, 22 groups have been classified as unlawful associations under Section 3(1) of the UAPA.

The banned organisations have been involved in various forms of militancy, separatist activities, and violent actions across different regions of India. The MHA regularly updates this list to reflect the changing security landscape and ongoing counter-terrorism efforts. 

The designation of these groups under the UAPA empowers the government to take stringent legal measures, including freezing their assets and initiating arrests against members involved in unlawful activities.

Several prominent organisations from different regions of the country have been listed as terrorist groups. In northern India, the banned groups include Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Zindabad Force, and the International Sikh Youth Federation. 

Among the Islamist militant groups listed are Lashkar-e-Taiba (also known as Pasban-e-Ahle Hadis or The Resistance Front), Jaish-e-Mohammed (also referred to as Tahreik-e-Furqan or People’s Anti-Fascist Front), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (which operates under various aliases such as Harkat-ul-Ansar and Harkat-ul-Jehad-e-Islami), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (including its faction, the Pir Panjal Regiment), Al-Umar Mujahideen, and the Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front.

 

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In the northeastern region, organisations such as the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Manipur Peoples Liberation Front (MPLF), All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have been identified as terrorist groups.

From the southern part of the country, the list includes the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Deendar Anjuman, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) - People’s War (along with all its formations and front organisations), the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), Al Badr, Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, and Al-Qaida, including its regional offshoot, Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Other terrorist organisations named in the updated list include Dukhtaran-e-Milat (DEM), Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA), Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT), Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj (ABNES), and multiple groups associated with the United Nations Security Council’s Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism resolutions. 

The list also features the Communist Party of India (Maoist), the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Kamatapur Liberation Organisation, Islamic State (under various names such as ISIS, ISIL, or Daish), and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang faction).

Additionally, the MHA has listed several other militant groups, including the Khalistan Liberation Force, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM), Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (operating in Bangladesh, India, and Hindustan), Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF), Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), along with their front organisations.

Apart from terrorist groups, the MHA has also declared multiple organisations as unlawful associations. These include the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang faction), Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (Yasin Malik faction).

Other organisations designated as unlawful associations include Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Muslim League Jammu and Kashmir (Masrat Alam faction), Tahreek-e-Hurriyat Jammu and Kashmir, multiple factions of the Muslim Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir National Front, and Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League.

 

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Additionally, seven extremist groups in Manipur, including the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing Revolutionary People’s Front, the United National Liberation Front and its armed wing (known as the Red Army), the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak and its armed wing, the Kangleipak Communist Party and its armed wing, Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup, the Coordination Committee, and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak, have been listed as unlawful associations.

The Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliated organisations, such as Rehab India Foundation, Campus Front of India, All India Imams Council, National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations, National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation Kerala, have also been declared unlawful associations by the MHA.

Furthermore, four factions of the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples League—JKPL (Mukhtar Ahmed Waza), JKPL (Bashir Ahmad Tota), JKPL (Ghulam Mohammad Khan alias Sopori), and JKPL (Aziz Sheikh faction led by Yaqoob Sheikh)—have been listed as unlawful associations.

The UAPA, enacted in 1967, serves as India’s primary counter-terrorism law, granting the government the authority to classify organisations as terrorist groups or unlawful associations. 

Over the years, the Act has undergone multiple amendments to strengthen its provisions, particularly following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The government continues to use this legislation to enhance national security and prevent terrorist activities within the country.

 

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