Source telegraph India
NEW DELHI — A satirical Instagram account named “Dimagi Naxal Party” took Indian social media by storm, rapidly amassing around 200,000 followers before mysteriously vanishing. The page was created in direct response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent Independence Day speech, where he warned the nation against the ideological threat of “dimagi Naxals” (mental Naxals).
During his August 15 address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, PM Modi stated that while armed Naxalism has been largely eliminated from the forests, individuals with a Maoist mindset continue to operate in public life. He alleged that these “dimagi Naxals” have infiltrated government committees to influence public policy and called on citizens to “identify and isolate” them to prevent them from pushing the country toward violence and anarchy.
Following the speech, the Instagram page @dimaginaxalparty surfaced and quickly struck a chord with netizens. The account branded itself as the official page of the Dimagi Naxal Party, featuring the slogan “Think, Research, Resist.” Leaning heavily into political satire, its bio listed its founder as “A Dimagi Indian” and its co-founder as “56 Inch ka,” playfully redirecting users to an allied X (formerly Twitter) account.
Before it went offline, the account followed prominent public figures and vocal government critics, including journalists like Ravish Kumar, actor Prakash Raj, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. The rapid mobilization of its follower base—crossing 1.6 lakh to 2 lakh followers in a matter of days—mirrors the recent success of another satirical digital movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which recently organized campaigns highlighting issues like paper leaks and the condition of government schools.
The Prime Minister’s remarks, and the subsequent digital pushback, have ignited a fierce political debate. Opposition leaders have criticized the phrase as an attempt to stigmatize dissent, drawing parallels to previous labels like “urban Naxals” and the “tukde tukde gang.” Former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram notably responded on X by declaring, “I am proud to be a dimagi Naxal.”
In defense of the Prime Minister, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju clarified that the term was not aimed at the political Opposition, but specifically at those who support Maoists, back separatism, and reject the Constitution.
While the “Dimagi Naxal Party” Instagram page has vanished as quickly as it appeared—with earlier stories claiming it was facing cyber attacks—it highlights a growing trend of Indian youth using satirical social media factions to register political protest and spark civic discourse.
