PM Hasina removed, called Yunus’s ‘mastermind’: Who is Mahfooz Alam, whose post on Indian states enraged MEA

Advisor to the Interim Advisor of Bangladesh

Who is Mahfuz Alam, the Bangladesh leader who spews venom against India? What has been his role in removing Sheikh Hasina’s government? What did Mohammad Yunus say about him recently? Which post of Alam has started the controversy? And what rebuke did India give to the Yunus government for his actions? Let’s find out…

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had to flee the country on August 5 , 2024 amid violent protests by students in Bangladesh. Till now, student organisations were considered to be the most important player behind this revolution against the Awami League government in Bangladesh. However, now a name has emerged rapidly in Bangladesh, whom the country’s interim government advisor Mohammad Yunus himself called the ‘mastermind’ of removing the Hasina government. The name of this student leader is Mahfuz Alam, whose recent social media post has also worked to create a rift in India-Bangladesh relations. India’s Foreign Ministry has reprimanded Bangladesh for this act of his.

In such a situation, it is important to know who Mahfuz Alam is? What has been his role in removing Sheikh Hasina’s government? What did Mohammad Yunus say about him recently? Which post of Alam has started a controversy? And what reprimand did India give to the Yunus government for his act? Let’s know…

Who is Mahfuz Alam?

Born in 1995 in Ichapur village of Laxmipur district of Bangladesh, Mahfuz Alam received his early education at Gallak Darusunnat Alim Madrasa in Chandpur. According to the Bangladeshi website Prothom Alo, he did his higher secondary education from Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrasa. In 2015, he studied law at the University of Dhaka. It was here that he became a part of student politics.

Mahfuz Alam, also known as Mahfuz Abdullah, is known as a student activist in Bangladesh. He is known for participating in many social movements. According to reports, during his studies at Dhaka University, Mahfuz Alam came in contact with some elements who were associated with the terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir (HUT).

What role did he play in removing the Hasina government?

The protesters in Bangladesh were demanding the abolition of the controversial reservation system, under which 30 percent reservation in government jobs was given to the relatives of those who fought in the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971. The protest started with reservation, but it took the form of an anti-government movement. Later, student organizations also joined these protests. The group of protesting students appealed to the citizens not to pay taxes or other bills. The students also called for the closure of factories and public transport.

In a short time, these protests became so violent that violence broke out amid the protests. There were reports of more than 250 people dying in these incidents of violence. Not only this, despite Sheikh Hasina fleeing the country, many incidents of violence continued to come to the fore. Many cases of targeting minorities and Hindus also came to the fore.

It is said that this movement of student organizations against the government of Sheikh Hasina started under the leadership of Mahfuz Alam. In Bangladesh, Mahfuz Alam was also known as the guide of students. However, his role in removing Sheikh Hasina was revealed last week by the head of the interim government of Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus, at a program in the US.

What did Mohammad Yunus say about Mahfuz Alam recently?

Mohammad Yunus recently went to New York to participate in a program related to the Clinton Global Initiative on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in the US. Mahfuz Alam was also present with him here. Addressing the same program, Mohammad Yunus described Mahfuz as the ‘brain’ behind the student movement that removed Sheikh Hasina. Yunus had said that this revolution of students was carefully designed.

Pointing towards Mahfuz Alam, Yunus had said, “He is the brain behind the entire revolution. He (Mahfuz Alam) constantly denies that it was not me but many other people who did it. But he is the brain behind this whole thing. This was a carefully designed thing. It did not happen suddenly. It (student movement) was designed very well. You could not identify who its (revolution’s) leader is. So they (Hasina government) cannot catch hold of anyone and say that the game is over now.”

Which post of Alam is controversial?

Mahfuz Alam, who started the student movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has been given the role of advisor in the interim government by Mohammad Yunus. He is also handling the responsibility of secretary in a ministry. Despite being in these positions, he has recently posted such a post, over which India expressed displeasure. In his post, Mahfuz Alam wrote that the culture of the people in Northeast India and Bangladesh is ‘the same’ apart from religion. He claimed that East Pakistan was created because of the anti-Bengal attitude of upper castes and Hindu fundamentalists.

Mahfuz Alam claimed in the same post, “India has adopted a containment and ghettoisation programme. To ensure true independence from India, we will have to repeat 1975 (the incident of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s assassination) and 2024 (Sheikh Hasina’s escape from Bangladesh).” Alam said there is a gap of 50 years between the two incidents. But nothing has changed. We are stuck in geography and system. We will now need a new geography and system.

Along with this, he presented a controversial map on Facebook. In this, the colors of the Bangladesh flag were shown up to West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. Mahfuz Alam further wrote in the same post, “Bangladesh is a starting point, not at the ending point.”

After this post came on Facebook, a lot of discussion started about Mohammad Yunus’s close aide. Meanwhile, after the post went viral, he secretly removed it within a few hours. However, by then a ruckus started in India over this post. India’s Foreign Ministry strongly reprimanded Bangladesh on Friday December 20, 2024 for this incident.

What did India say on this development?

India’s Foreign Ministry expressed displeasure over this development on Friday December 20, 2024 . Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have lodged our strong protest with Bangladesh on this issue. We have come to know that the post being referred to has been allegedly removed.” He said, “We would like to remind all concerned parties to be cautious about their public comments.” Jaiswal said, “India has repeatedly shown interest in promoting relations with the people of Bangladesh and the interim government, such comments underline the need for responsibility in public expression.”