Ex-adviser Mahfuz rejects ‘mastermind’ label

Former interim government adviser Mahfuz Alam said former chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus never referred to him as a ‘mastermind’ of the July-August uprising, arguing that the term carries negative connotations and was not used by either Prof Yunus or his press secretary, Shafiqul Alam.

Speaking during an online talk show, Mahfuz sought to clarify remarks made by Prof Yunus regarding the quota reform movement and the political developments.

“Professor Muhammad Yunus said two things about me, but he did not use the word ‘mastermind’ anywhere,” he added. 

“Mastermind is a negative word. Would you say ‘mastermind of an assassination’? The term almost always carries an adverse connotation.”
He said Prof Yunus’s remarks had been misinterpreted in public debate.

“Sir very clearly used the expression ‘brains behind’. Such phrases are commonly used in political discussions and debates in the West,” he said, adding that the issue had been framed differently in Bangladesh.

Drawing a comparison with earlier political movements, Mahfuz criticised attempts to portray the quota reform movement as a conspiracy.
“Do we describe the 1969 mass uprising as a conspiracy? Ayub Khan said so, Yahya Khan’s regime said so, and Pakistan’s military junta said so. Today, the Awami League is making a similar claim,” he said.

The controversy stems from remarks made by Prof Yunus during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 24 September 2024.

Speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative Leaders Stage event hosted by former US president Bill Clinton, Prof Yunus introduced members of his delegation and described Mahfuz as one of the “brains behind” the quota reform movement and the political changes.