Dimaagi Naxal: Lagaao Apni Akal!

 

“Saawan mein lag gayi aag, ke dil mera…” Ajay hummed while waiting for his coffee at the café.

“I know you’re disappointed we had to meet here instead of a bar, but it’s Saawan,” Arjun explained.

“We should actually thank Saawan — at least some animals are safe from people like Ajay,” Veeru teased.

“Shut up, Veeru! I’m not a predator. And anyway, R-June promised to celebrate his birthday in June, but it’s August now. So here we are, stuck with café lattes instead of beer,” Ajay said, pointing at the coffee placed before him.

“By the way, June and even July were hijacked by cockroaches. Remember we discussed how they survived the heat?”

“How could we forget?” Veeru replied.

“Good you remember, Veeru. Because of those cockroaches, a minister had to resign. And they’re still alive… just like Samay Raina,” Ajay quipped.

“Hahaha, har cockroach ka samay aata hai. But now the trend is Dimaagi Naxal. Remember the PM’s Independence Day speech?” Arjun pointed out.

“After Urban Naxal, now it’s Dimaagi Naxal,” Ajay commented.

“I don’t understand why such terms are coined. The fact is, Naxals were named after a place — Naxalbari,” Veeru said, sounding disappointed.

“Even the fanboy is upset with the new term. Looks like political leaders think the opposition actually has dimaag,” Ajay remarked, sipping his latte.

“I agree with Veeru. Being from Telangana, I’ve seen the menace of Naxals firsthand. But labelling opposing voices as Naxals is something I don’t approve of,” Arjun said, placing his mug on the table.

“Earlier, the same voices were called Tukde Tukde Gang or Khan Market Gang. The mainstream media popularised those terms. I even remember Veeru using them once.”

“That was long ago, dude. I admit the so-called Godi Media, sitting in the lap of the government, spread those terms and fueled hate. Even I feel it’s too much now.”

“That’s good to hear, Veeru. Our generations — Gen X and Gen Y — adapted to whatever was happening around us just like the trio from Dil Chahta Hai. That created a boiling frog syndrome; we stopped revolting. But Gen Z and Gen Alpha are different. They compare themselves with peers abroad in the digital world, and they won’t tolerate such labels,” Arjun explained.

“Can you explain boiling frog syndrome, Mr. Academician?” Ajay teased.

“Google it, Ajju. But Arjun’s right. The government taxes us heavily, yet we don’t get free education or healthcare like developed countries. If someone questions this, you can’t just call them Dimaagi Naxal,” Veeru vented.

“Exactly. The digitally native Gen Z won’t fear the government like Millennials did. They believe in LML — they’ll ask tough questions about jobs, education, and infrastructure.”

“And what’s LML, Mr. Short Forms?” Veeru asked.

“LML means Load Mat Le.”

“Hahaha, very true. The government must answer the LML generation transparently: Is India’s progress being stopped by Dimaagi Naxals? Are they stealing Ram Mandir donations? Are they building bad roads? Are they responsible for the Paper leaks? Unless accountability is shared, calling someone Dimaagi Naxal isn’t cool.”

“But I think you should cool down, R-June. Looks like the coffee was too hot,” Ajay said — and we all burst into laughter.