Identity of 'Dimagi Naxal Party' founder remains a mystery

The social media accounts of the newly formed Dimagi Naxal Party (DNJP) and the Congress-Jammu Kashmir Party (CJP) share a common trait - a generous dose of Gen Z humor. One Instagram post humorously remarks, "When someone says Dimaagi Naxal, all I hear is intellectual baddie!" Account @DNJP_India, with 14,000 followers, and a handful of other X accounts have adopted "dimagi Naxal" as a prefix to their names as a sign of solidarity.

A website associated with DNJP offers a manifesto and anthem, drawing inspiration from the 2006 Hindi film Rang De Basanti, which features actors reciting the revolutionary poem Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna. Immediately following Prime Minister's remarks, Congress P Chidambaram identified himself as a "proud dimagi Naxal" on X, and actor Prakash Raj urged people to become "dimagi" and not "bewakoof."

Union minister Kiren Rijiju clarified that the term was not targeted at opposition parties, providing a three-point definition of a dimagi Naxal, namely, those who support Maoists and reject the Constitution, those who stand with separatists and support Article 370, and those who wish to cut the Northeast's "chicken neck" from India.

Although the identity of DNJP's founder, who goes by "a dimagi Indian" online, remains undisclosed, the website claims DNJP to be a sibling party to CJP. Its inaugural tweet on Sunday, "What if all dimagi naxals come together?" was a reference to CJP's origin, which began with Abhijeet Dipke's iconic tweet, "What if all the cockroaches come together?"

Unlike CJP, DNJP rejects the idea of having a flag, font, or press, stating that joining the party requires a "functioning brain" and a willingness to ask "wait, why though" out loud. The website also emphasizes that the use of terms like "dimagi Naxals" and "anti-nationals" can be applied to all sides of Indian politics as a means to silence criticism.

DNJP believes that the people who genuinely think for themselves are scattered across every party, and labeling them may eventually bring them back together.