Why ‘Dimaagi Naxal’ is India’s most dangerous label yet

Dimaagi Naxal!

Andolan Jeevi!

Tuke Tukde Gang!

Thanks to our dear Prime Minister Modi and many of his ardent supporters, we have enriched our vocabulary over the years.

Modi himself gave us ‘Dimaagi Naxal’ and ‘Andolan Jeevi’.

The filmmaker who believes facts are not facts –  Vivek Agnihotri gave us ‘Urban Naxals’.

Sudhir Chowdhury took a break from his astounding journalism to give us ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’.

The term ‘Dimaagi Naxal’ has been instantly lapped up by friendly media and supporters. With the media even queuing up to ask, ‘Mantriji - yeh dimaagi naxal hai kaun?’

People have responded with humour.  Some have made Venn diagrams. And there is already a social media handle called Dimaagi Naxal Party. 

While humour is definitely a good way to respond to this venom, we must also be cognizant of the dangers and understand that this is not just rhetoric. It is the vocabulary of political suspicion. The latest category is people whose minds are supposedly dangerous – and the dog whistle is that they must be “identified and isolated”.

But who exactly qualifies according to Modi? What have they done? What is the evidence? And where does legitimate criticism end and “Dimaagi Naxal” begin? He does not specify. 

That ambiguity is deliberate.

What Modi has implied, and the call to action he has given, is not just dangerous but plain malicious. 

Let me explain.

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Produced by Akshay Lal, script by Pooja Prasanna and Dhanya Rajendran, edits by Nikhil Sekhar and Jaseem Ali, and camera by Ajay R.