Pinaki Bhattacharya
Pinaki Bhattacharya is a Bangladeshi activist and physician known for his criticism of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League.
Early life
Bhattacharya was born in a Bengali Hindu family in the Bogra District of East Pakistan in 1967. His father, Shyamol Bhattacharya, worked as a school teacher at Bogra Zilla School and was also involved in local cultural activities, while his mother Sukriti Bhattacharya was a housewife. Bhattacharya is the elder son and has one brother and one sister.Education
Bhattacharya completed his SSC from Bogra Zilla School and HSC from Government Azizul Haque College. Later he studied medicine at Rajshahi Medical College between 1985 and 1992, graduating in 1992. Although he holds an MBBS degree, questions have often been raised about his professional credibility. He later pursued an MBA from IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School and currently claims to be working on a PhD in sustainability.Career
Bhattacharya is best known as a social activist. He is based in Paris, working for L'Oréal. He is also a marketing professional at a French multinational company. He was an adjunct faculty at American International University-Bangladesh.Politics
Bhattacharya was once involved in leftist politics, being a former member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh. When he was a student at Rajshahi Medical College, he was a local leader of Bangladesh Students' Union and joined the mass uprising which overthrew Ershad's regime in December 1990. Bhattacharya has criticized the Awami League regime's corruption, human rights violations, kidnappings, and extrajudicial killings. His posts and tweets are often critical of Bangladesh's previously ruling party, the Awami League. He claimed political asylum in France.Activism
Bhattacharya is a well-known activist. He has millions of followers on social media. During the 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests, photographer Shahidul Alam was arrested by the police for his participation. At the same time, DGFI intelligence officers asked Bhattacharya to go to DGFI headquarters in Dhaka. They did not explain why he was called to appear there. There are instances where intelligence officers summon dissidents to their offices, many of whom have disappeared after meeting with intelligence. Bhattacharya later hid to avoid capture and intelligence officials raided his residence and office several times and kept his residence under surveillance.While he was hiding, authorities banned him from leaving the country, but he was able to leave with the help of friends and reached Bangkok, Thailand in January 2019, and two months later, he reached France, where he is currently under political asylum. On 15 November 2022, CTTC sued Bhattacharya under the jurisdiction of the Digital Security Act, 2018. According to the case statement, CTTC noticed a Facebook post by Bhattacharya on 14 October through which ‘misinformation about police was spread on social media’. On 31 October 2024, Dhaka court cyber tribunal judge Noor-e-Alam acquitted Pinaki Bhattacharya on a case filed under the Digital Security Act.
He became popular for his role in the "India out" campaign in Bangladesh.
Bhattacharya told Deutsche Welle the following:
A striking example of such interference was the mockery of democracy seen in the January 7 elections, where India's involvement was pivotal in upholding a regime that blatantly favors India's strategic, political, and economic agendas.
In April, he strongly opposed the controversial reform proposal by Women's Affair and Reform Commission.