Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the country had succeeded in weakening armed Naxalism but warned that what he described as “ideological Naxalism” or “dimagi Naxalism” was still looking for opportunities to promote violence and anarchy.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Independence Day, PM Modi said the government had fulfilled its pledge to free India from Naxal violence, adding that Maoist insurgents no longer had the strength to survive in regions that were once affected by armed conflict.
“Naxalism had drenched the earth in blood,” PM Modi said, recalling the BJP-led government’s arrival in power in 2014. He said the government had then pledged to free the country from Naxalism. The prime minister said areas
once known for Naxalite violence were now witnessing development and a greater sense of trust. “Where once Naxalite bullets were fired, where once the earth used to be blood-stained, today in those very Naxal regions… the tricolour of development, trust, and effort is flying,” he said.
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However, PM Modi’s sharper warning was directed at what he called “ideological Naxalism”.
“For years, people with a Maoist mindset sat occupying spaces within the corridors of power in the country. Even as advisors in government committees, this Maoist mindset influenced policies,” the prime minister said.
He drew a distinction between armed Maoist insurgents and those he alleged continue to subscribe to Maoist ideology. “We succeeded in eliminating the armed Naxals in the forests and freeing the country from that crisis. But the armed Naxals are gone. However, ideological Naxalism (dimagi Naxalism), this ideological Naxalism is looking for an opportunity,” he said.
PM Modi alleged that this ideological current was attempting to “dig up paths of violence and anarchy” and called for those subscribing to it to be identified and isolated. “These ideological Naxals must be identified. These ideological Naxals must be isolated,” he said.
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The prime minister also linked his warning to the country’s younger generation, calling for young Indians to be kept connected with what he described as the mainstream path of nation-building and the goal of making India a developed country.
His remarks mark a widening of the government’s Naxalism narrative; from the armed insurgency that operated in parts of central and eastern India to a broader warning about what PM Modi characterised as an ideological or intellectual ecosystem that could influence institutions and public policy.
