Pinaki Bhattacharya

Pinaki Bhattacharya (Bengali: পিনাকী ভট্টাচার্য; born 1 March 1967), is a Bangladeshi activist and physician known for his criticism of Sheikh Hasina and the Awami League.^[a]

Pinaki Bhattacharya
পিনাকী ভট্টাচার্য
Bhattacharya in 2020
Born	(1967-03-01) 1 March 1967 (age 58) Bogra District, East Pakistan
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Alma mater	Rajshahi Medical College IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School
Occupation(s)	Activist, Author, Physician, Blogger
Political party	Communist Party of Bangladesh (until 2016)
Movement	1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh 2013 Shahbag protests 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests Boycott India campaign Student–People's uprising
Spouse	Anjuman Ara Begum
Children	1
Parents	Shyamol Bhattacharya Sukriti Bhattacharya
YouTube information
Channel	Pinaki Bhattacharya
Location	France
Years active	20 March 2013–present
Subscribers	3.57 million[1]
Views	734 million[1]
Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 1,000,000 subscribers
Last updated: 7 June 2025
Website	pbhattacharya.com

Early life and education

Pinaki was born in a Bengali Hindu family in 1967. He is the elder son of former school peon of Bogra Zilla School and cultural organiser, Shyamol Bhattacharya. He has one brother and one sister.^[7]

Pinaki passed SSC from Bogra Zilla School and HSC from Government Azizul Haque College. He studied medicine from 1985 to 1992 in Rajshahi Medical College and later graduated in 1992. Pinaki is a medical professional with an MBBS degree and an MBA from IAE Paris Sorbonne Business School, while pursuing a PhD in sustainability.^{[8][unreliable source]}

Career

Pinaki is best known as a social activist.^[9][10] 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.^{[11][8][unreliable source]}

Politics

Pinaki was once involved in leftist politics, being a former member of the Communist Party of Bangladesh.^{[12][unreliable source]} 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. Pinaki 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.^[13] He claimed political asylum in France.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Activism

Pinaki is a well-known activist. He has millions of followers on social media.^[18][19] During the 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests, photographer Shahidul Alam was arrested by the police for his participation.^[20] At the same time, DGFI intelligence officers asked Pinaki 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.^[21][22] Pinaki later hid to avoid capture and intelligence officials raided his residence and office several times and kept his residence under surveillance.^[23][24][25]

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,^[26] and two months later, he reached France where he is currently there under political asylum.^[27][28] On 15 November 2022, CTTC sued Pinaki Bhattacharya under the jurisdiction of the Digital Security Act, 2018. According to the case statement, CTTC noticed a Facebook post by Pinaki on 14 October through which ‘misinformation about police was spread on social media’.^[29] On 31 October 2024, Dhaka court cyber tribunal judge Noor-e-Alam acquitted Pinaki Bhattacharya on a case filed under the Digital Security Act.^[29]

He became popular for his role in the "India out" campaign in Bangladesh.^[2]

Pinaki 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.^[2][30]

In February 2024, Pinaki threatened Bangladeshi actor Mosharraf Karim to not be involved in the promotion of the film Hubba directed by Bratya Basu and Hoichoi or Indian OTT platforms.^[31] In May of the same year, he was criticized for spreading rumors on the Bangladesh Election Commission's NID wing website showing fees in Indian rupees instead of Bangladeshi takas.^[32]

In February 2025, he urged his followers and supporters to demolish Dhanmondi 32 Number House.^[33][34][35]

In April, he strongly opposed the controversial reform proposal by Women's Affair and Reform Commission.^[36]

Personal life

Pinaki married his former classmate, Anjuman Ara Begum, at Rajshahi Medical College, and they have a son named Rosef Anjuman Shuvo.^[37] His wife is a doctor with FCPS qualification.^[37]

Bibliography

• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2025). Sayers, David (ed.). Fulkumari: The Tale of a Refugee and a Rat in Pandemic Paris (1st ed.). Paris Institute for Critical Thinking. p. 148. ISBN 9782494635128.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2021). স্বাধীনতা-উত্তর বাংলাদেশ (in Bengali). Independent Publishing Ne. ISBN 978-1-83853-688-6.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2021). মেডিক্যাল রিপ্রেজেন্টেটিভ : সাফল্যর তত্ত্ব তালাশ (in Bengali). Bhashachitra.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2020). মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, ধর্ম, রাজনীতি ও অন্যান্য প্রসঙ্গ (in Bengali). Adarsha. ASIN B089S5PCPZ.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2020). Sino-US and Indo-US Relations: Contrasts and Commonalities. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9789811372759.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2019). মার্কিন ডকুমেন্টে বাংলাদেশের মুক্তিযুদ্ধ ৭১ (in Bengali). Sucheepatra. ISBN 978-9849213079.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2019). এনলাইটেনমেন্ট থেকে পোস্ট মর্ডানিজম : চিন্তার অভিযাত্রা (in Bengali). ISBN 9789848034217.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2019). Itihasera dhulokali ইতিহাসের ধুলোকালি (in Bengali). Guardian Publications. ISBN 9789848254042.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2018). মন ভ্রমরের কাজল পাখায়: পশ্চিমা চিত্রকলার সমঝদারির হাতেখড়ি (in Bengali). Baatighar.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2018). খানাতল্লাশি (in Bengali). Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 9789350409381.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2017). মুক্তিযুদ্ধের বয়ানে ইসলাম (in Bengali). Gurdian Publications. ISBN 978-9849295976.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2017). ভারতীয় দর্শনের মজার পাঠ (in Bengali). Baatighar. ASIN B0DMC69RKM.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2016). রবি বাবুর ডাক্তারি (in Bengali). ISBN 978-9849182948.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2016). ধর্ম ও নাস্তিকতা বিষয়ে বাঙালি কমিউনিস্টদের ভ্রান্তিপর্ব (in Bengali). Bhashachitra. ISBN 978-9849208297.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2016). সোনার বাঙলার রূপালী কথা (in Bengali). Baatighar. ASIN B0DMC22946.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2015). রবীন্দ্রনাথ : অন্য আলোয় ঈশ্বর আত্মা কারণ (in Bengali). ISBN 9789849133476.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2013). ওয়েদার মেকার (in Bengali). Dibya Prakash. ISBN 9789848830604.
• Bhattacharya, Pinaki (2009). বালাই ষাট (in Bengali). Bhashachitra. ASIN B0DN1DT2CY.

See also

• 2018 Bangladesh road-safety protests
• Students–People's uprising

Notes

1. Multiple references:^{[2][3][4][5][6]}