Two of the co-founders of FOIL are Biju Mathew and Vijay Prashad. In an interview from 2005, Biju Mathew describes the founding of FOIL to Yoginder Sikand. He claims, they started FOIL in 1995 following the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992."We felt it was crucial to reach out to Indian students on American campuses. Now, it has expanded beyond university students as well, and we have more than 400 people on our email discussion list. We also have a website devoted to discussion of issues relating to South Asia from a leftist perspective. Besides sending out regular information through the internet we also organise groups of activists to speak on American university campuses on South Asian issues, focusing particularly on communalism and so-called 'liberalisation' of the economy."Similarly, Vijay Prashad, in an interview with Mark Nowak of "Jacobin", claims that the goal of any Socialist movement, including FOIL, is to close the intellectual gap facilitated by capitalism and inequality between the intellectual and the people. This clearly shows FOIL's motives are rooted in promoting social harmony in India and more generally in South Asia and abroad.