Tales that need to be told: 50 years since independence, still no recognition for Rajshahi’s heroes
Birendranath Sarker Suresh Kumar Pandey It was a dark summer night of April 2, 1971. Everyone was tucked away in their homes because of the ongoing curfew. On that silent night, a twenty-one year old Shoven Kumar Roy went to bed early, unaware that life, as he knew it, wouldn't be the same anymore. Around 11:15pm, Roy woke up as if he felt a jolt. He had heard the rumblings of a jeep pulling over at their two-storey residence in Rajshahi town's Fudkipara. From the jeep a Pakistani soldier with a rifle stepped out, shouting --"Where is Pandey?" -- in his native tongue. Panicked, his father, Suresh Kumar Pandey, the then vice-chairman of Rajshahi Municipality, rushed to open the gate, in fear of aggravating the soldier's temper. Birendranath Sarker Roy, his brother and mother followed closely. Their hearts were racing as they watche...