Pinaki Bhattacharya

Blogger and online activist Pinaki Bhattacharya was born in 1967. He is a doctor. Although he studied medicine, he is currently not involved in this profession. Pinaki’s father’s name is Shyamal Bhattacharya. Pinaki’s father is a former Bogra District School teacher and cultural personality.

Pinaki Bhattacharya, best known and respected as a Bangladeshi blogger and social activist currently lives in Paris. As a successful entrepreneur and businessman, he runs a pharmaceutical business. He is an adjunct faculty at American International University Bangladesh. There he teaches environmental toxicology.

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Activist Pinaki Bhattacharya

Pinaki Bhattacharya was once involved in leftist politics in Bangladesh. He has written 18 books on the history of Bangladesh politics and other subjects which are considered as special documents on Bangladesh politics. Today he is a popular online activist. Especially his videos on YouTube carry the message of his being active in the current politics of Bangladesh. He has more than two lakh followers on Facebook. He is also active on Twitter. His online writings on Bangladesh’s history, society, ongoing politics, Rohingya persecution in Myanmar and human rights in neighboring countries including Bangladesh are popular among young students and others.

Pinaki Bhattacharya has been criticizing the corruption, human rights abuses, kidnappings and extrajudicial killings of the long-standing ruling government in Bangladesh in Facebook, Twitter and blog posts. In 2018, an anti-drug operation was conducted in Bangladesh. Suspects were extrajudicially killed in this operation. Pinaki Bhattacharya strongly criticized this extrajudicial killing. Pinaki Bhattacharya was equally vocal on Facebook and Twitter in demanding quota reform movement of university students in Bangladesh and safe road movement of school students. In his Facebook and Twitter posts, he clearly highlighted the attacks of the pro-government groups on the agitators at that time.

Action of Bangladesh government against Pinaki

On August 5, 2018, students’ movement demanding safe roads is ongoing in Bangladesh. Internationally acclaimed photographer Shahidul Alam was arrested by the police for supporting the fair movement of students. Just then the military intelligence officers summoned Pinaki to their headquarters in Dhaka. They did not elaborate on why he was summoned. There are instances where military intelligence officers summon dissidents to their offices, many of whom have not been found after meeting with military intelligence.

Considering the situation, Pinaki went into hiding without going to meet the intelligence officers. Intelligence officials raided Pinaki’s residence and office several times to trace him. They even put his residence under round-the-clock surveillance. While in hiding, the authorities banned him from leaving the country. Meanwhile, with the help of friends, Pinaki was able to leave the country and reached Bangkok in January 2019. Two months later he reached France and is currently under political asylum there. He is now doing his higher studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris.