Former adviser and frontline leader of the July Uprising, Mahfuj Alam -File Photo

DHAKA, Dec 14, 2025 (BSS) – Former adviser and frontline leader of the July Uprising Mahfuj Alam has rejected an apparent notion pitting the last year’s student-led mass upsurge saying the uprising came as a sequel of protracted struggle of the people of the land dating back the colonial era up till date.

“We reject the attempt to pit the 2024 (Uprisding) against 1971 (Liberation War),” he said in an interview to BSS ahead of the Victory Day.

Alam, quit the government a day ahead of the announcement of the polls schedule,  described the July 2024 revolution as the continuation of struggle for the “dignity and establishment of identity” of the people of the land.

He described the protracted struggle since British colonialism with landmarks of 1947 partition, 1969 mass uprising, 1971 Liberation War and 1990 mass upsurge and the 2024 uprising.

“There are people who see 1971 as the anti-thesis of 1971 but we think this idea is historically inaccurate,” Alam said.

He said there was no scope to isolate the July 2024 revolution from the earlier struggles while in every period, “The people of Bangladesh have fought to protect their dignity, democracy, language, culture, and identity” eventually to establish a democratic state.

“From the 1947 partition, 1952 Language Movement, 1969 mass uprising, 1971 Liberation War, 1990 mass uprising -- (in all the landmark events), each generation played its part in this long struggle,” Alam said.

He said all these movements had a common goal of securing the freedom, dignity, and rights of the people adding whenever Bangladesh faced internal conspiracy or external subjugation its people resisted courageously.

Alam further said that from 1947 to 1971, the struggle continued against internal colonialism or colonialism within Pakistani framework, while after 1971 it shifted to opposing Indian expansionism and dominance.

“The struggles for the dignity of Bangladeshis in 1947, 1971, and 2024 are woven from the same thread,” he said.
Alam paid rich tributes to the Liberation War martyrs on the eve of the Victory Day saying “the blood colour of any martyr not different from other martyrs. All of them were people of this land, soldiers who fought for it”.