Barrister Mainul Hosein: A Tribute to A Great Man Who Fought Life-Long for Democracy
Mokarram Hossain :
(Editor, The New Nation)
It’s been nearly two years since he left us, but we still remember Barrister Mainul Hosein, a towering personality in the legal profession as well as in the media, with high respect.
The nation will pay tributes to this great soul on his second death anniversary to be observed on 9 December this year. We always treat him as the “Hero” for democracy, freedom of the press and an independent judiciary.
He is remembered by all, particularly the democracy loving people of the country, for his powerful writings against the fifteen years’ of misrule and corruption of the fallen autocrat Sheikh Hasina.
Barrister Mainul Hosein, the eldest son of a legendary journalist of the subcontinent Tofazzel Hossain Manik Mia, always spoke out against any oppressive laws and human rights violations in the country till the last days.
Unfortunately, Barrister Hosein had to serve three months in prison for speaking out at a TV talk show. The saddest part is that after entering the jail he had to accept a bed on the floor.
The man, who lived forever in comfort, was the chairman of the Editorial Board of the country’s oldest English newspaper — The New Nation. Like him, his father Manik Mia was also imprisoned and the Daily Ittefaq was declared illegal during the fag end of the Pakistani rule.
However, at one stage of the 1969 movement, the ban on the Daily Ittefaq was lifted and Tafazzal Hossain Manik Mia, one of the dreamers of liberation of Bangladesh, was released from prison.
Today, I personally want to recall Barrister Mainul Hosein for his guidance as the chairman of the Editorial Board of The New Nation.
Truly, I have learned from him how to write editorials and commentaries in particular, exposing the misdeeds of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her party leaders’ 15 years dictatorial rule, and corruption of high officials of her government. But people like him had to suffer so much just to say a word.
As he was not in the good books of the fallen Sheikh Hasina, he was forced to go into imprisonment. After being released from prison, Mainul Hosein was diagnosed with cancer and suffered a lot. He died of this incurable disease in a hospital in the city on December 9, 2023.
I also like to mention here that I have joined The New Nation on my retirement from the national News Agency BSS as Managing Editor. Before being appointed as Editor of this newspaper in March 2022, I also worked in this daily as Associate Editor and Executive Editor. The working patterns of the news agency and the newspapers are one way or another different.
But I have adjusted it with the direct guidance of the then New Nation Chairman Barrister Mainul Hosein. We must also agree that Mr. Mainul had turned The New Nation to a new height as a newspaper.
It was his baby which he guided from being a weekly to a daily. And within a few years, it rose to being an English language newspaper with huge readership both in print and online versions.
Mentionable, Barrister Mainul Hosein was the youngest Member of Parliament of 1973.
He was elected from the Bhandaria-Kathalia constituency of greater Barishal district. However, one thing we must mention here is that when the Sheikh Mujib’s government introduced the one-party system BKSAL in January 1975 through the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, Barrister Mainul Hosein was unable to accept the constitutional changes. Together with General M.A.G.
Osmany, Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Liberation forces during the 1971 war, exercised the option of resigning from Parliament.
As a former adviser to the caretaker government in 2007, Barrister Mainul Hosein demonstrated his legal and administrative abilities by managing key portfolios like law and information.
During this time, the Anti-Corruption Commission achieved entire independence. The Election Commission received more resources. All of this was done to strengthen the foundations of democracy. He had served as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).
He was also the member of the Press Commission established for the first time in Bangladesh. He had played a major role in finalizing the legal framework for press freedom namely the Press Commission Report.
Barrister Hosein also elected several times as President of Bangladesh Sangbadpatra Parishad and he left his mark in developing a healthy relationship between the journalists and the newspaper owners.
He consistently opposed the autocratic rule of Sheikh Hasina, particularly after the one-sided national election of 2014.
Mainul was a strong critic of the midnight election in 2018 and asked Hasina to resign and hold free, fair, and participatory elections for the greater good of the country and the welfare of its citizens. Fortunately for us, Mainul Hosein has written some books including ‘Wanted Success of Democracy’ before his death.
The weight and weight of these books is immense. Whatever he wrote in these books as a fearless fighter of democracy will be the path of our journey. Today’s young people will find inspiration from these books.
Barrister Mainul’s decision of resignation from the parliament was looked upon by many as an act of courage brought on by conviction. His belief in unfettered democracy was behind his move to quit the legislature. Even in the final years of his life illness and disappointment with the state of affairs could not make him silent.
He was not afraid to speak up for the ideas he believed in. For this, he will live long in the hearts of the people. But it’s so sad that only for about seven months he could not see the downfall of fascist Seikh Hasina. We pray for the eternal peace of his departed soul.