Goa, June 20 -- Dolcy D'Cruz

Thousands of people transit through the Assonora bus stand close to the bust of Hutatma Bala Raya Mapari, the first Martyr of Goa's freedom struggle. But how many know the tragic stories of Camilo Pereira from Bandora and Suresh Kerkar from Keri, Ponda, who both became martyrs in their mid-twenties. On a mission from 1992, in the search for Goa's forgotten martyrs, Prajal Sakhardande, an Indian historian, heritage activist, and Head of the Department of History at Dhempe College of Arts and Science in Miramar, Panjim recently released his new book in the Purple series, 'Unsung Heroes of History: Martyrs in Goa's Struggle for Freedom (1583-1961)', that documents the lives and deaths of 75 martyrs connected to ...