B. Roy Chowdhury

Bhupendra Roy Chowdhury (; 1912 – 21 November 1998) was a Bangladeshi footballer and politician.

Early life

Bhupendra Kumar Roy Chowdhury was born in 1912 in Baniachong Upazila of Habiganj District in Bengal, British India. He became involved with both sports and politics at a young age. Chowdhury became actively involved in the Swadeshi movement during his student years. While in tenth grade at Habiganj High School, he helped organize the reception for Subhas Chandra Bose during his visit to Habiganj in 1931. That same year, he and three of his friends were arrested while hoisting the Indian flag in front of the Habiganj Subdistrict Treasury Office. In a summary trial, the then Subdivisional Officer of Habiganj, Navin Ali, sentenced them to 15 months in prison, and they were sent to Silchar Jail in Assam. After his release, Chowdhury enrolled at Brindaban Government College and founded the Town Club.

Playing career

Chowdhury started playing football with Habiganj Town Club and Naojoan Club, while still being a college student. Eventually, he was invited for football trials in Dhaka for Jagannath College by its principle, Roy Bahadur Satyendranath Bhadra. Despite his families hesitance, Chowdhury moved to Dhaka, successfully trialed for the Jagannath College football team, and was granted free admission to the college. He finished his I.Com degree in 1934, and in the same year, the he captained the college team to the Dhaka University Shield. Impressed by Chowdhury's performance, Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor R. C. Majumdar persuaded him to enroll in the university. Aside from playing football for the university team, Chowdhury also served as the athletics secretary of Jagannath Hall.

In the mid-1930s, when First Division football began in Silchar, Assam, clubs from Sylhet, Brahmanbaria, Comilla, and Habiganj joined the league. This led Chowdhury and his younger brother, Sachin Roy Chowdhury, to travel regularly from Dhaka to participate. In 1937, Chowdhury represented Dhaka Sporting Association XI (DSA XI) against the touring Islington Corinthians. On 21 November, during the first exhibition match held at the DSA field, Chowdhury played in the left-wing, as Pakhi Sen scored the only goal in a surprise victory for DSA XI. He also played in the second exhibition match, which ended in a 0–1 defeat on 22 November.

In 1938, Chowdhury completed his B.Com degree from Dhaka University and accepted an offer to play for the Kolkata-based East Bengal Club and began plying his trade in West Bengal. In 1939, he joined arch-rivals, Mohun Bagan AC, and spent the following four years at the club before retiring into politics and sports administration.

Post-retirement

After retiring from football, Chowdhury rejoined the Indian independence movement, focusing his efforts in Sylhet. During this time, he briefly worked as a manager at The Asiatic Bank in Silchar and served as the secretary of Silchar India Club for a few years, eventually receiving life membership. He also served as the honorary president of Mohun Bagan AC. In 1946, Chowdhury was the founding secretary of the Assam Football Association. Following the Partition of India, he moved back to his ancestral home in Baniachong, Habiganj, where he lived until his death. As a distinguished footballer and freedom fighter of the Swadeshi movement, he received an honorary allowance from the Government of India until his passing. In 1973, at a grand conference of anti-British freedom fighters in India, he was honored with a copper crown by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Death

Following the Independence of Bangladesh, Chowdhury remained in his residence in Baniachong Upazila, Habiganj District, where he died on 21 November 2022. His son, MLA Roy Chowdhury, is also involved involved with politics, and serves as the additional secretary of the Ministry of Shipping. An annual football tournament is held in his memory in his home village.

References

Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, B. Roy
1912 births
1992 deaths
People from Baniachong Upazila
Footballers from Sylhet Division
Bangladeshi men's footballers
Men's association football wingers
Mohun Bagan Super Giant players
East Bengal Club players
Calcutta Football League players
University of Dhaka alumni
Jagannath University alumni
20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen