Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
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This week, the Hafta panel discussed the BJP’s push to expand its presence on Instagram, a shift Manisha Pande linked to the party being caught off guard by the memes and reels that emerged from the CJP protests.
Anurag Minus Verma argued the BJP’s problem isn’t taking Instagram seriously – it’s that its content is unsuited to the platform. Right-wing pages, he said, largely cycle through three or four genres: doxing, threats, punching-down humour and “catching hypocrisy”.
“These things have a shelf life because these things are not cool,” he said, adding that Instagram runs on a post-irony aesthetic that demands ideological looseness rather than stiffness, something he argued right-wingers struggle with.
Abhinandan Sekhri connected this to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, suggesting being famous for sheer stupidity, as with Ravi Kishan’s viral moments, now functions as its own currency.
Manisha argued that trolling, which works on X (formerly Twitter), doesn’t quite translate to Instagram because the latter is a visual, face-based medium, where putting a face to a thought requires courage in a way anonymous text does not.
She also said the BJP’s messaging remains stuck in a 2014 register, still invoking “urban Naxals” and Umar Khalid, and contrasted this with a Rajasthan schoolchild’s viral video on poor school infrastructure, arguing that dismissing such concerns as “dimaagi Naxal” sidesteps the real issue of young people demanding better education.
Subscribe to watch the full discussion.
Tune in to the full episode: newslaundry.com/2026/08/22/hafta-603-bjps-instagram-problem-dimaagi-naxal-and-maoism-in-india
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Tune in to the full episode: newslaundry.com/2026/08/22/hafta-603-bjps-instagram-problem-dimaagi-naxal-and-maoism-in-india
Get a 6 month subscription at ₹1947: rzp.io/rzp/nl-1947
This week, the Hafta panel discussed the BJP’s push to expand its presence on Instagram, a shift Manisha Pande linked to the party being caught off guard by the memes and reels that emerged from the CJP protests.
Anurag Minus Verma argued the BJP’s problem isn’t taking Instagram seriously – it’s that its content is unsuited to the platform. Right-wing pages, he said, largely cycle through three or four genres: doxing, threats, punching-down humour and “catching hypocrisy”.
“These things have a shelf life because these things are not cool,” he said, adding that Instagram runs on a post-irony aesthetic that demands ideological looseness rather than stiffness, something he argued right-wingers struggle with.
Abhinandan Sekhri connected this to Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, suggesting being famous for sheer stupidity, as with Ravi Kishan’s viral moments, now functions as its own currency.
Manisha argued that trolling, which works on X (formerly Twitter), doesn’t quite translate to Instagram because the latter is a visual, face-based medium, where putting a face to a thought requires courage in a way anonymous text does not.
She also said the BJP’s messaging remains stuck in a 2014 register, still invoking “urban Naxals” and Umar Khalid, and contrasted this with a Rajasthan schoolchild’s viral video on poor school infrastructure, arguing that dismissing such concerns as “dimaagi Naxal” sidesteps the real issue of young people demanding better education.
Subscribe to watch the full discussion.
Tune in to the full episode: newslaundry.com/2026/08/22/hafta-603-bjps-instagram-problem-dimaagi-naxal-and-maoism-in-india
Get a 6 month subscription at ₹1947: rzp.io/rzp/nl-1947
Join the NL-TNM Book Club: newslaundry.com/book-club
Join us on WhatsApp: whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61PEo0QeacOqU9vr2k
Download the accessible Newslaundry app: newslaundry.com/download-app
Follow and engage with us on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/newslaundry
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