‘Legal Stories of Life’ launched

Published by Dhaka Tribune | June 28, 2018  (Link Here)

Barrister Omar H Khan’s book, Legal Stories of Life, a collection of his decade-long legal advice column for The Daily Star, “Your Advocate,” was launched on Wednesday at the Grand Ballroom of Westin, Dhaka.

Cultural Affairs Minister Assaduzzaman Noor presided over the launching program as chief guest while National Professor Anisuzzaman, who had written the foreword to the book, pre-eminent jurist and lawyer Dr Kamal Hossain, Justice Syed Reefat Ahmed of the Supreme Court, Barrister M Amir Ul Islam, senior advocate of the Supreme Court, and Swiss Ambassador Dr René Holenstein were present as special guests.

The event, hosted by stand-up comedian Naveed Mahbub, saw nine amateur photographers awarded with crests for their contribution to the book.

The book is designed with commissioned paintings from seven of our distinguished painters: Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Shahid Kabir, Jamal Ahmed, Rokeya Sultana, Mohammad Iqbal, and Mustafa Khalid Palash.

Speakers at the event graced everyone with accounts of their personal and inspiring experiences in the field of law. Kamal Hossain, also one of the principal drafters of Bangladesh’s Constitution, shared how he and Professor Anisuzzaman would discuss Bengali legal terms while drafting the Constitution of Bangladesh. Assaduzzaman Noor revealed how he went to Law School at night for two years.

Barrister Omar, author of the book, himself talked of the necessity of having a book that “attempts to explain and answer the legal problems of our country in simple, jargon-free terms.” For a country to be able to shape a law abiding citizenry, he said, we need to be aware of the laws and a book like this will go a long way toward achieving that. He termed every single issue as a “story” that needed to be told.

Instead of relying on legal terms, he uses photographs, paintings, and simple words to convey his point.

The book is planned to be freely distributed to educational institutions, NGOs and business chambers. It is available on Rokomari, and also at all the prominent bookstores of the city.