Mahfuj opposes the idea of comparing the July Uprising to the Liberation War

Former adviser and frontline leader of the July Uprising, Mahfuj Alam, has rejected an apparent notion that last year's student-led mass uprising was a continuation of the people's long struggle dating back to the colonial era.

"We reject the attempt to pit 2024 (Uprising) against 1971 (Liberation War)," he stated ahead of Victory Day.

Alam, who resigned from the government a day before the polls were announced, described the July 2024 revolution as the continuation of the struggle for the "dignity and establishment of identity" of the land's people.

He described the long struggle since British colonialism, citing landmarks such as the 1947 partition, the 1969 mass uprising, the 1971 Liberation War, the 1990 mass upsurge, and the 2024 uprising.

"There are people who see 1971 as the antithesis of 1971, but we believe this is historically inaccurate," Alam said.

He said there was no way to separate the July 2024 revolution from previous struggles because, throughout history, "the people of Bangladesh have fought to protect their dignity, democracy, language, culture, and identity" in order to establish a democratic state.

"From the 1947 partition to the 1952 Language Movement, the 1969 mass uprising, the 1971 Liberation War, and the 1990 mass uprising, each generation contributed to this long struggle," Alam said.

He stated that all of these movements shared the goal of ensuring the people's freedom, dignity, and rights, and that whenever Bangladesh faced internal conspiracy or external subjugation, its people resisted courageously.

Alam went on to say that from 1947 to 1971, the struggle was against internal colonialism, or colonialism within the Pakistani framework, and after 1971, it shifted to opposing Indian expansionism and dominance.

"The struggles for Bangladeshis' dignity in 1947, 1971, and 2024 are linked by the same thread," he said.

On the eve of Victory Day, Alam paid rich tributes to the Liberation War martyrs, stating that "the blood colour of any martyr is not different from that of other martyrs." All of them were citizens of this country, soldiers who fought for it."