Sarjis Alam

Sarjis Alam
সারজিস আলম
Alam in 2025
Chief Organizer (Northern Region) of the National Citizen Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
28 February 2025
Convener
Nahid Islam
Preceded bypost established
Secretary General of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation
In office
21 October 2024 – 22 January 2025
President
Muhammad Yunus
Chief Executive
Mir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho
Preceded byMir Mahbubur Rahman Snigdho
Personal details
Born (1998-07-02) 2 July 1998
Atwari Upazila, Panchagarh District, Bangladesh
PartyNational Citizen Party
Spouse
Raita
​
(m. 2025)​
University of Dhaka
OccupationPolitician
Organisations

Sarjis Alam (born 2 July 1998) is a Bangladeshi politician and activist.[1][2][3] He is one of the coordinators of the Students Against Discrimination,[4][5] which led the July Uprising leading to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government.[6][7] He has been the Chief Organizer (Northern Region) of the National Citizen Party since 2025.[8]

Biography

Early life and education

Sarjis Alam was born on 23 December 1998 in Atwari Upazila, Panchagarh.[9][10] His home is in Bamankumar village, Atwari, Panchagarh.[1]

He completed his HSC at BAF Shaheen College Dhaka and earned both his BSc and MSc in Zoology from the University of Dhaka.[9][11]

Activism (2019-2024)

Sarjis joined the Bangladesh Chhatra League in 2017 upon his admission to the University of Dhaka. In 2019, he was elected to the Dhaka University Central Students' Union from the Chhatra League panel.[12][13][14] He resigned from the organization in 2022 and also participated in various debate competitions during his academic years.[15][16]

In 2024, Alam joined the Students Against Discrimination as a coordinator, opposing quotas in government jobs, which evolved into mass uprising culminating in the ouster of Hasina administration.[17] Alam, along with Nahid Islam, Asif Mahmud, Hasnat Abdullah, and several other students from the University of Dhaka gained national recognition in mid-July 2024 when they were detained by the police as the protests became violent.[18][19]

In the aftermath, on August 5, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and went into self-imposed exile in India.[20]

Political life (2024-2026)

Alam then served as the secretary general of the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation from 21 October 2024 until his resignation on 22 January 2025.[21][22] On 9 December 2024, he was made the chief organizer of the Jatiya Nagorik Committee.[23]

Following the July Uprising in 2024, the National Citizen Party was officially launched on February 28, 2025, with Alam as its Chief Organizer (Northern Region).[8]

Alam contested in 2026 general election from Panchagarh-1 constituency and lost.[24]

Views

After initially being appointed to the National Citizen Party’s committee following his key contribution to the July Uprising, human rights activist Muntasir Rahman was removed from the expanded 217-member convening committee due to backlash and objections from key leaders like Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah, who cited Muntasir's LGBTQ+ advocacy as being out of alignment with the party's religious and cultural values.[25][26] Following which Sarjis Alam explicitly stated that his political movement will "never go against religious values," identifying himself primarily as a Muslim before a politician.[26]

In May 2025, Sarjis Alam posted statements on social media against LGBT people, stating, “Those mentally ill individuals who nurture and promote these deadly diseases that destroy family, society, and the state should be given mental treatment, not encouragement... These are the cancers that can gradually destroy the nation from within the household, and we cannot allow such opportunities.”[27] His statement was condemned by human rights groups, such as the Justice Makers Bangladesh Foundation (JMBF), who described it as hate speech.[27] Sarjis Alam has also issued statements raising concerns about feminism potentially somehow being used to usher in LGBT rights, stating, "There will be full support for any logical demands to safeguard women's rights. But if, directly or indirectly, these are used to promote so-called LGBTQ culture — such as homosexuality or transgender identities — which I consider dangerous and destructive, we must resist such efforts." [28][29][30]

In 2026, Sarjis Alam once again stated in a public conference that "homosexuality is not a biological demand, but a mental illness" and advocated in favor of government mandated pseudoscientific conversion therapy against LGBT people, as well as accusing "unnamed" "foreign agencies" of spreading the "LGBT agenda" in Bangladesh.[31]

Personal life

Sarjis is the son of Aktaruzzaman Saju, a businessman, and Bakera Begum, a homemaker. His paternal grandfather, Tazir Uddin, was a farmer. Sarjis has one brother who is pursuing an honors degree at Dhaka College.[32] Sarjis got married on 31 January 2025.[33][34]

References

  1. ^ a b "National Citizen Party: A look at the top leaders' rise". The Business Standard. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2026-05-15.
  2. ^ "Quota movement: Facebook IDs of Sarjis, Hasnat disappeared after giving status". Dhaka Tribune. 1 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Protect properties, people lives: Sarjis Alam". bangladeshpost.net. 5 August 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-08-13. Retrieved 2024-09-06.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Authorities didn't keep their word, movement to continue: Sarjis after release from DB custody". The Business Standard. 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  5. ^ "Didn't announce withdrawal of movement voluntarily: Six coordinators in joint statement". Prothom Alo. 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  6. ^ Hasnat, Saif; Walid, Shayeza; Das, Anupreeta (5 August 2024). "Facing Mass Protests, Bangladesh Leader Quits, Setting up Power Struggle". The New York Times.
  7. ^ "Authorities didn't keep their words, movement to continue: Sarjis Alam". United News of Bangladesh. 1 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b "The 'Super 10' of the National Citizen Party". The Daily Star. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  9. ^ a b "সারজিস আলম বক্তৃতা ও বিতর্কে অনন্য". Protidiner Sangbad (in Bengali). 13 August 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-08-13.
  10. ^ "সাংবাদিকদের যে বার্তা দিলেন সমন্বয়ক সারজিস". কালবেলা (in Bengali). 1 August 2024.
  11. ^ "বাংলাদেশের ছাত্র আন্দোলনের প্রধান মুখ এই ৬ জন, জানুন তাঁদের পরিচয়". Hindustan Times Bangla (in Bengali). 6 August 2024. Archived from the original on August 13, 2024.
  12. ^ "ছাত্রলীগের সঙ্গে সম্পৃক্ততা, যা জানালেন সমন্বয়ক সারজিস". Amader Shomoy (in Bengali). 27 July 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Quota reform movement: Two more coordinators taken to police custody". Prothom Alo. 27 July 2024.
  14. ^ Mostafa, Mohammad (13 July 2024). "It's frustrating when a justified movement is made controversial". Prothom Alo.
  15. ^ "Dhaka University: Move to oust anti-quota movement leader from hall". Prothom Alo. 2024-07-05. Archived from the original on 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  16. ^ "কোটা আন্দোলন: নেতৃত্বের কৌশল ও ছাত্ররা সংগঠিত হলো যেভাবে" (in Bengali). BBC Bangla. 2024-07-12. Archived from the original on 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-09.
  17. ^ Mashal, Mujib (5 August 2024). "She Thought Her Grip Was Unbreakable. Bangladeshis Would Prove Otherwise". The New York Times.
  18. ^ "Quota protest coordinators Asif, Nahid, Baker 'taken into DB custody for security reasons'". The Business Standard. 26 July 2024.
  19. ^ "We're forced to give false statement, say six conveners". The Financial Express. 3 August 2024.
  20. ^ Hasnat, Saif; Mashal, Mujib; Bigg, Matthew Mpoke (5 August 2024). "Bangladesh's Leader Resigns and Flees Country After Protests". The New York Times.
  21. ^ "'জুলাই শহীদ স্মৃতি ফাউন্ডেশনের' নতুন সাধারণ সম্পাদক সারজিস". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 21 October 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  22. ^ "Sarjis Alam steps down from July Shaheed Smrity Foundation leadership". Dhaka Tribune. 22 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  23. ^ "জাতীয় নাগরিক কমিটির মুখ্য সংগঠক হলেন সারজিস আলম". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 9 December 2024.
  24. ^ "১২৫ আসনে প্রার্থী ঘোষণা এনসিপির: কে কোথায় মনোনয়ন পেলেন". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 10 December 2025.
  25. ^ "A mixed bag in NCP convening committee | The Daily Star". www.thedailystar.net. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  26. ^ a b "'Nothing against religious values will have a place in our politics'". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  27. ^ a b "Bangladesh politician labels LGBTQ+ people 'mentally ill,' 'cancer to society'". 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  28. ^ "Fully support reasonable demands to protect women's rights, but will stand against 'destructive ideas like LGBTQ, homosexuality': Sarjis". The Business Standard. 2025-05-18. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  29. ^ ATN News Live (2025-05-18). সমকামিতা ইস্যুতে যা বললেন সারজিস আলম | Homosexuality | Somokami Issue | Sarjis Alam | ATN News. Retrieved 2026-04-27 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ "Sarjis backs women's rights, opposes promotion of LGBTQ culture". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 2026-04-27.
  31. ^ Channel 24 (2026-04-25). স'ম'কা'মি'তা কোনো বায়োলজিক্যাল চাহিদা নয়, এটি একটি রোগ: সারজিস | Sarjis | NCP | Channel 24. Retrieved 2026-04-27 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "সমন্বয়ক সারজিস আলম পঞ্চগড়ের সন্তান". Barta Bazar (in Bengali). 29 August 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  33. ^ UNB (31 January 2025). "Sarjis Alam ties the knot". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
  34. ^ Emdad Eamin (31 January 2025). "Sarjis Alam ties the knot". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
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