New Delhi, September 4, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Senior BJP leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has sought clarity from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the expression “dimagi Naxal”, cautioning that the term should not acquire a meaning broad enough to bring legitimate democratic dissent within its ambit.
Amarinder raised the issue while reflecting on Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort. The Prime Minister had said that armed Naxalism had been decisively weakened but warned about “dimagi Naxals”, whom he described as people with a Maoist mindset looking for opportunities to create violence and disorder and who therefore needed to be identified and isolated.
Importantly, Amarinder clarified that Modi had not characterised recent youth protests as “dimagi Naxalism” and said it would be unfair to attribute such a connection to the Prime Minister.
His concern was about what could happen to the expression once it entered wider political discourse.
“Once repeated by parties, television studios and social media, their boundaries can expand quickly. That is why clarity matters,” he wrote.
Amarinder said remarks from the Red Fort carried exceptional authority and, when a category of people was to be “identified” and “isolated”, citizens were entitled to know where that category ended and legitimate dissent began.
He argued that if “dimagi Naxal” referred to people knowingly enabling Maoist violence, the distinction should be explicitly stated and the law firmly enforced. But extending the description merely to radical, unpopular or sharply critical opinions would cross a line that a democracy should protect.
Violence Must Face Law, Dissent Must Remain Protected
Amarinder made clear that his argument was not intended to provide protection to those assisting violent organisations.
He noted that insurgencies can depend upon networks providing recruitment, finance, shelter, communications, propaganda and logistical support. Anyone proved to be financing violence, recruiting for it, harbouring cadres, assisting operations or conspiring to commit offences must face the law.
The difficulty, according to the former Punjab Chief Minister, arises when authorities move away from evidence of conduct and begin drawing conclusions from presumed thought.
He pointed out that “dimagi Naxal” is a political expression rather than a legal category. Criminal liability, he argued, can be determined through evidence of conduct, intent, conspiracy, incitement, financing or deliberate assistance.
“The difficulty begins when conduct gives way to presumed thought,” Amarinder said.
He illustrated his concern with examples drawn from everyday democratic activity.
A student protesting an examination, a graduate seeking jobs, a farmer questioning government policy, a tribal activist opposing displacement or a journalist scrutinising a security operation does not become an extremist merely because the criticism is inconvenient, Amarinder argued.
“Dissent alone cannot make loyalty to India suspect,” he said.
‘Don’t Allow Naxal Label to Hang Indiscriminately’
Amarinder also warned that an imprecise category could work against national security by blurring the difference between genuine threats and people who simply disagree.
He said intelligence agencies and police should concentrate on networks capable of financing, facilitating or organising violence instead of being drawn towards broad ideological scrutiny of inconvenient voices.
While describing the retreat of armed Naxalism from India’s forests as a major national achievement, Amarinder said the country now faced another important responsibility.
“Identify and isolate those who profess violence, but do not allow the Naxal label to hang indiscriminately,” he said.
Amarinder maintained that national security and democratic freedom need not be competing considerations. While a state incapable of defeating violence cannot protect liberty, he argued that treating disagreement itself as a security threat could undermine the freedom that security is intended to defend.
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