Dimagi Naxal frames the mind as enemy territory

The term "dimagi Naxal" has shifted from referring to armed insurgents to describing ordinary individuals who question the government. Former UP DGP Brij Lal explained that these "dimagi Naxals" include professors, teachers, intellectuals, activists, poets and writers. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have redefined Naxalism from the forest to democratic spaces.

This shift implies that using one's brain, rather than carrying a gun, is now considered a threat. The state's duty remains to protect civilians and enforce the law, but now citizens who question the government's actions are being singled out as internal enemies. This notion of "thoughtcrime" is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984, where dissenting ideas are treated as dangerous or punishable.

The question itself becomes a crime, and the person asking it becomes a threat. The "dimagi Naxal" is essentially someone who looks at the resources devoted to the leader's image and questions its necessity, or sees spectacle instead of statesmanship. The defining characteristic of a Naxal has shifted from the gun to the uncomfortable question, turning the person who poses the question into a threat.

This reflects the vulnerability of Modi's political persona, built on extraordinary claims, which is now being challenged by ordinary citizens. The real threat to democracy is not the mind that asks questions, but the political power that begins to fear them.