Have to identify, isolate 'dimaagi Naxals' next: PM's warning in I-Day speech

PM Modi alleged that 'dimaagi Naxals' were seeking to foment violence, create discord and pull society away from the path of development.

In Short

• PM Modi declares armed Naxalism eliminated from India
• Warns 'dimagi Naxals' still active on power corridos
• Calls to isolate ideological supporters of Naxalism

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the nation from Red Fort on Saturday, said India has succeeded in eliminating armed Naxalism and Maoist violence, but warned that the ideology continues to survive. He called for the isolation of what he termed "dimaagi Naxals", people with a Maoist mindset who, he alleged, seek to influence institutions and foment unrest.

"We have succeeded in eliminating armed Naxals in the forests and freeing the nation from that crisis. However, while the armed Naxals are gone, 'dimagi Naxals' remain, and those who harbour this mindset are waiting for an opportunity," the Prime Minister said in his Independence Day speech.

He continued, "They are paving the way for violence and discord. They are employing various tactics to drag society down the wrong path. We must identify these 'dimagi Naxals.' We need to isolate them and align the nation's youth with the mainstream effort to transform the country into a developed nation".

The Prime Minister said his government had resolved in 2014 to free India from Naxalism and claimed that the campaign had brought the armed insurgency close to eradication now.

"In the 21st century, it is imperative to eliminate decades-old challenges," Modi said, as he recalled the impact of Naxalism and Maoism on young people, families and security forces. He said Naxalism had held large parts of the country and its population "hostage at gunpoint" for nearly four decades and accused Maoists of attacking the constitutional order.

"When you gave us the opportunity in 2014, we resolved on that very day that we would free the nation from Naxalism. Today, I am proud that Naxalite and Maoist violence is taking its dying breath. It no longer has the strength to survive, and we are moving rapidly toward its total eradication," he added.

PM Modi stressed the government’s battle was not limited to armed insurgents. He said people with a Maoist mindset had found influence within the corridors of power and alleged such groups sought to incite violence and anarchy and used different methods to push society along the "wrong path".

"In the forests, in the deep jungles, we have succeeded in eliminating armed Naxals and liberating the country from that crisis. However, while the armed Naxals have been rooted out, the Dimagi Naxals remain," he said.

The Prime Minister called for this vigilance against this ideological challenge, signalling that the government’s approach to Left-wing extremism would increasingly focus not only on armed cadres but also on what it considers their ideological and institutional supporters.

Addressing the nation on the eve of Independence Day, President Droupadi Murmu had also lauded the country’s success in its fight against Naxalism, describing its eradication as a monumental achievement after decades of struggle.

"For decades, Naxalism posed a serious challenge to the nation. Making India Naxal free is a major achievement. Today, enthusiasm prevails in the areas once affected by Naxalism," she said on Friday, pointing to all-inclusive development efforts and active local participation in initiatives like the Bastar Olympics and the Bastar Pandum festival.

With March 2026 set as the deadline, security agencies intensified anti-Maoist operations over the past few years across the areas historically known as the “Red Corridor”, spanning Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Several Maoists have been killed in encounters, while hundreds of cadres have surrendered. Many senior leaders have also been killed, arrested or forced to surrender. The latest major breakthrough came with the arrest of Misir Besra in June, who was India’s last active Maoist politburo member, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore.

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