Barrister Mainul Hosein remembered
Barrister Mainul Hosein, a prominent lawyer and journalist of Bangladesh, passed away on the evening of December 9, 2023.
During his long life of 83 years, he held important positions in the government and various organizations of the country at various times. Today, we remember him along with the entire nation with due respect.
In remembrance of this great man who fought life-long for democracy, we like to quote the sayings of Adeline Virginia Woolf, an English writer and one of the most influential 20th century modernist author, who wrote, “When someone dies, they teach others the value of life.
They are gone; but we remember them and their time.” Exactly, we are doing so even two years after the death of Barrister Mainul Hosein.
It is to be noted that Mr. Mainul had served as the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association. He was also the most important member of the Press Commission established for the first time in Bangladesh.
He played a major role in finalising the legal framework for press freedom namely — the Press Commission Report.
He was also elected several times the President of Bangladesh Sangbadpatra Parishad and he left his mark in developing a healthy relationship between the journalists and the newspaper owners.
He also served as an adviser to the caretaker government in 2007, of the Ministries of Information; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Housing and Public Works; and the Ministry of Land.
He played a special role in separating the judiciary from the executive through legal process, which is still praised in various circles.
It is worth noting that he is the eldest son of Tafazzal Hossain Manik Mia, a legendary journalist of the then Pakistan.
At this time, when Manik Mia died tragically in 1969, Mainul Hosein took over as the editor of Dainik Ittefaq at a critical time when there was a movement in the East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) against exploitation and misrule in Pakistan.
When the government changed the basic character of the Constitution for introducing one-party system (BKSAL) in January 1975 through the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, Barrister Mainul was unable to accept the constitutional changes.
Together with late General M.A.G. Osmany, commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Liberation forces during the 1971 war, Barrister Mainul Hosein exercised the option of resigning from Parliament.
Mainul Hosein has now raised above all worldly activities.
Allah, the Almighty has taken him from this world. He is not alone; every person in the world will have to face the taste of death. We can only pray to Allah for the peace of his departed soul.