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OPINION APRIL 11, 2025 | The Indian Eye 12

Student Movement (also known as
Students Against Discrimination).
They have publicly acknowledged
the central role of the Islami Chha-
tra Shibir (students’ wing of the Ja-
maat-e-Islami) in leading the July–
August 2024 movement for regime
change and the important role it has
played in the formation of the new
political front.
The role and influence of Mah-
fuz Alam, a leading member of the
Islami Chhatra Shibir, presently In-
formation Advisor to the Chief Ad-
visor Muhammad Yunus and one of
the main leaders of the National Cit-
izen Party, needs to be noted.
On 25 September 2024, while
speaking at the Clinton Global Ini-
tiative during the 79th session of
the UN General Assembly, Mu-
hammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to
Bangladesh’s interim government,
described Mahfuz Alam as “the mas-
termind” behind the Student-Peo- The role and influence of Mahfuz Alam, a leading member of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, presently Information Advisor to the Chief Advisor Mu-
ple’s uprising that led to the downfall hammad Yunus and one of the main leaders of the National Citizen Party, needs to be noted (Agency/File photo)
of Sheikh Hasina’s administration. It
should be noted that members of the
Hizb-ut Tahrir, Islami Andolan Ban- IMPACT Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharjee is a Research Fellow at
gladesh, and Hefazat-e-Islam have he birth of the third political Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). The views expressed are personal.
been included as advisers to the spe- front under the garb of mem-
cial advisor. Tbers of the students who were This article first appeared in the web articles section of the website
On 16 December 2024, Mahfuz responsible in the regime change, (www.icwa.in) of Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi, on April 1, 2025
Alam showed the Indian states of Tri- which is being portrayed as reliv-
pura, Assam and West Bengal a part ing the days of 1971, can turn into a
of Bangladesh in an image shared in major political voice for the Jamaat,
his Facebook post while declaring which was a regional political alliance
the need for “a new geography and partner both for the Awami League
system.” He further stated in the post (AL) and the Bangladesh National
that India has pursued a programme Party (BNP) in the past. The NCP to
of “control and colonisation” over date does not want the participation
Bengal and the northeastern regions. of AL in the forthcoming elections,
Due to protests within Bangladesh and can turn into a front-runner,
and from India regarding posting keeping BNP as a junior partner.
such comments, he deleted the post. Mahfuz Alam stated, “People are
Similarly, in an interview with tired of the two political parties (ob-
Prothom Alo, he had stated that viously the Awami League and the
many (in Bangladesh) are now dis- Bangladesh Nationalist Party). They
cussing the demand for establishing trust in (sic) us.”
a caliphate. Even Jamaat-e-Islami When one comes to know the
seeks a caliphate, but the question intent of the top brass of the new po-
is how. It’s important to understand litical party and the rising influence
that in the present era, the state has of banned Islamic radical outfits and
become such an oppressive institu- the frequent rewriting of Bangla-
tion that it doesn’t align with any re- desh’s political history after each re-
ligion.” gime change, the present political dy-
Alam also posted on X (now namics in Bangladesh may make an
deleted) about their desire to estab- indelible impact on its social fabric.
lish a caliphate in Bangladesh based While there seems to be no respite
on Sharia law and has even spoken for any religious minority from being
about a civil war to achieve this goal. targeted or randomly persecuted in
Recently, a rally titled “March for the short term, the entrenchment of
Khilafat,” demanding the establish- the radical elements within Bangla-
ment of an Islamic caliphate in the desh, including through cross-bor-
country led by the banned Islamist der linkages with like-minded outfits
group Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HuT), was tak- abroad over the long-term remains a
en out, which later clashed with the serious cause of concern for the Indi-
police in Dhaka. an sub-continent.

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