After CJP, now 'Dimagi Naxal Party' : Is satirical dissent India’s new revolution

A political storm ensued shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for the identification and isolation of ‘Dimagi Naxals’. Opposition parties across the spectrum criticised the PM’s remark. However, the prime minister's remark went viral on social media and now an Instagram handle called ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’ surfaced overnight, racking up over 2 lakh followers within days. 

What triggered the Genz

On August 15,  Independence day, while addressing the nation, Prime Minister Modi mentioned the words ‘Dimagi Naxal’ as he credited the government with major gains against armed Maoist insurgency.

"We have succeeded in eliminating armed Naxals from the forests and liberating the nation from that crisis. However, while armed Naxals are gone, dimagi (intellectual) Naxals are lurking around," he said.

The reaction that followed

This caused a political stir with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh saying on X that the Prime Minister first attacked his opponents as ‘urban Naxals’ and is now calling them ‘dimaagi Naxals’, calling it a ‘sure sign of his desperation’. He added, ‘It is a separate matter that he ends up doing whatever these so-called 'urban naxals' or now 'dimaagi naxals' are demanding or advocating.

Also worth noting that Congress leader P. Chidambaram reacted separately, saying he was ‘proud to be a dimagi Naxal’.

On the same day, CJP Spokesperson Saurav Das issued a statement on X rejecting the Prime Minister's characterisation of critical youth as ‘dimaagi Naxals.’ 

"Dimagi Naxal or whatever is not going to work, Prime Minister. How could you loosely brand educated young people 'Naxalis' etc.? Just because they question your government?" Das wrote, calling the remark ‘sheer arrogance.’ 

Notably, Modi did not name the CJP directly in his speech, but had said, “Even if these naxals are gone, the 'dimagi naxal' are looking for an opportunity, looking to device ways of violence, and trying to drag the country into a wrong path.”He further added, “We need to identify these dimagi naxal, isolate them, and bring the youth together for a developed country.”

Das and several commentators read the line as an indirect jab at students and CJP, given the timing right after the government's recent standoff with the youth-led protest wave that led to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. 

The page that followed

The Instagram handle titled ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’ surfaced overnight. 

Information available on Instagram indicated the profile was created this month, with its username changed once along the way, though it remains unknown who actually runs it. 

Many users reported it difficult to find or access the account with some speculating that Meta may have throttled the account, though this remains an allegation without official confirmation. 

The new party on the block fits into a pattern that has been playing out for months now. What began with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in May has snowballed into a string of similarly styled satirical protest pages- Cockroach Janta Party to ‘Reservation Hatao Andolan’ and now ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’ to name a few.