Who ran ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’? Instagram page gains 1.6 lakh followers, vanishes

An Instagram account named ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’ appeared suddenly and attracted more than 1.6 lakh followers within a day, before disappearing from the platform just as quickly.

The account had 62 posts and was following around 35 other profiles. Information available on Instagram indicated that the handle had been created earlier this month. Its activity log also showed that the username had been changed once.

There was no information on the account identifying who was behind it.

Account appeared after PM Modi’s speech

The emergence of the handle comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the phrase “dimagi Naxal” during his Independence Day address while speaking about the government's fight against Maoists.

Modi said the government had made progress in eliminating armed Naxalism from forests, but warned that another form of the ideology remained.

"We have succeeded in eliminating armed Naxals from the forests and liberating the nation from that crisis. However, while armed Naxals are gone, dimagi (intellectual) Naxals are lurking around," he said.

The phrase refers to what Modi described as “intellectual” Naxals, in contrast with armed Maoists involved in insurgency.

Identity behind viral handle remains unclear

The account's rapid rise in followers and subsequent disappearance left little publicly available information about its operator or purpose.

The profile had accumulated its large following despite being created only this month, according to the information displayed on Instagram. Its username had also been changed once before the account disappeared.

There was no immediate indication of who created or operated the handle.

Instagram is owned by Meta, the US-based technology company founded by Mark Zuckerberg. The platform has faced scrutiny over its content policies, with Zuckerberg recently apologising for lapses related to how its platforms, including Facebook, were operated.

The sudden appearance and disappearance of the ‘Dimagi Naxal Party’ account has therefore drawn attention to the rapid spread of political content and identities on social media.