Recently, a statement titled “India Must Apologize Clearly to Bangladesh” has gone viral on social media, falsely attributed to Interim Government Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

Prominent figures in the political sphere have also shared the claim. Even a lawyer from Chittagong made a post repeating the statement.

Examples of Facebook posts spreading this claim can be seen here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), and here (archive).

Fact-Check

The Rumor Scanner team confirms that Dr. Muhammad Yunus did not make any comment resembling “India Must Apologize Clearly to Bangladesh.” Instead, the statement was made by Islami Andolan Bangladesh’s Secretary-General, Principal Hafiz Maulana Yunus Ahmad, on December 3, and is being falsely attributed to Dr. Yunus.

No media reports or other reliable sources contain evidence of Dr. Yunus making this statement.

Further investigation revealed a report in the online edition of Desh Rupantor, published on December 3, titled “India Must Apologize Clearly to Bangladesh: Yunus Ahmad” (source). The report reveals that the comment was made in response to the attack on Bangladesh’s Assistant High Commission in Agartala, India.

On December 3, at 3 PM, Maulana Yunus Ahmad made the statement during a protest rally organized by Islami Andolan’s Dhaka North and South units at the northern gate of Baitul Mukarram Mosque in Dhaka.

A similar report was also published on the Dhaka Post website under the same title (source).

Additionally, a video of Maulana Yunus Ahmad making the statement was found on the official Facebook page of the private television channel Somoy TV (source). The video features him delivering the comment, including calls to recall high commissioners if India fails to ensure security.

Conclusion

The comment, “India Must Apologize Clearly to Bangladesh,” was made by Maulana Yunus Ahmad, not Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The attribution of this statement to Dr. Yunus is misleading.