Omkar Arora, our Sports Editor, pens an incisive overview of the bitter rivalry between Mohun Bagan AC and East Bengal FC - a rivalry that is deeply intertwined with the socio-cultural dynamic of Bengal
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club established in 1889, 30-time winners of the Calcutta Football League, 16-time winners of the Durand Cup, 14-time winners of the Rovers Cup, 22-time winners of the IFA Shield, 4 top-flight titles, 14-time winners of the Federation Cup, and twice winners of the Indian Super Cup, widely considered as the national club of India.
East Bengal Football Club 1920 established, 39-time winners of the Calcutta Football League, 16-time winners of the Durand Cup, 10-time winners of the Rovers Cup, 29-time winners of the IFA Shield, thrice winners of the National League, 8-time winners of the Federation Cup, 3-time Champions of the Indian Super Cup and ASEAN Club Championship winner in 2003, considered as the immigrants club.
The Boro Match which takes place between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal is described as one of the most legendary football rivalries, ranking alongside the Superclasico between River Plate and Boca Juniors, the Derby Della Capitale between Roma and Lazio, the Derby Della Madonnina between the Milan clubs, Manchester United vs Liverpool and the El Classico. But the rivalry closest in resemblance to the Calcutta derby is the Old Firm derby between Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers. Celtic being the club of the immigrants, predominantly Catholic, supported by the Irish who came to Glasgow during the years of the Irish Potato Famine and Rangers supported by the Scots, Unionists and staunchly Protestant. Both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal symbolize particular demography be it the prawn eating Ghotis or the Ilish eating Bangalas
Mohun Bagan, the older of the two clubs is also the oldest football club in India. While it was successful in local competitions, its big success came in the 1911 IFA Shield when the barefooted Mohun Bagan players beat the East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the final to become the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield. This was considered a landmark moment not just in the history of Indian football but also in the independence struggle as the natives had finally beaten the masters at their own game. East Bengal meanwhile was formed as a result of a dispute between officials of the Jorbagan Football Club when Jorbagan refused to field a player from the East Bengal region. Miffed, the Vice-President of Jorbagan, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, started his club with a few others and named it after their region, East Bengal. The first-ever clash between the two iconic clubs happened on 8 Aug 1921 in the Cooch Behar Cup which ended in a goalless draw. Mohun Bagan won the replayed semifinal on 10 Aug 1921 by defeating East Bengal 3-0. The first-ever league meeting happened on 28 May 1925 in the Calcutta Football League at the Mohun Bagan Ground where East Bengal won 1-0. Ever since the great rivals have faced each other 321 times in the past with East Bengal enjoying a healthy lead with 121 wins and Mohun Bagan trailing at 90 while 110 matches ended in a stalemate.
The signing policy of the Calcutta clubs symbolized their similarity between the Old Firm clubs. Sectarianism in Glasgow led to Rangers and Celtic signing only Protestant or Catholic footballers, Celtic began their move away from this unofficial policy by bringing on Jock Stein, a Protestant, as their manager in 1965. Rangers did not move away from this policy until the early 1990s when manager Graeme Souness signed Mo Johnston, a Catholic and an ex Celtic player, thereby putting an end to the sectarian transfer policy of the Old Firm clubs. Mohun Bagan followed the transfer policy of Rangers and made it a point to not sign foreigners until the 1990s when they signed Nigerian forward Chima Okorie. East Bengal on the other hand supposedly contracted the first foreign footballer in India, another Nigerian by the name David Williams in the late 1970s.
Such transfer policies intended to provide the clubs and the fans an identity, the identity of being a Unionist Rangers fan, an Irish Celtic fan, a nationalist Mohun Bagan fan, or the refugee from East Bengal. The Sobuj Maroon Brigade (Green and Maroon Brigade) of Mohun Bagan draws its ranks from the Ghotis, the people who are natives of present-day West Bengal whereas East Bengal and its Lal Holud Brigade comprises of the Bangalas from present-day Bangladesh. This resulted in derogatory terms lota and macha being used by both sets of fans for each other. Lota being used to symbolize that the refugees from East Bengal did not carry more than a lota with them when they migrated from the East and macha used to mock the Mohun Bagan fans that used to sit on logs of wood and chat amongst themselves.
The ugliest part of the Calcutta derby undoubtedly is the hooliganism associated with it. Usually, the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan fans are seated in separate galleries so that any kind of fan riots are prevented. However, on 16th August 1980, a day now observed as Football Lovers Day, both sets of fans were made to sit together in the stands. In the absence of segregation and inadequate police protection in the stands, the riots spread like wildfire and people started running towards exits to save themselves. Young fans jumped off the high stands onto concrete floors to save themselves while many tried to flee through the narrow gates, which led many to fall down. It caused an inevitable stampede that took the lives of 16 football fans.
East Bengal Ultras, a supporters group of East Bengal fans recently became the first Indian club to have an ultras group associated with it. East Bengal Ultras made their first appearance in an away game in 2013 at Bengaluru. Ever since then they have made use of tifo's and smoke to intimidate opponents in both home and away games.
Mohun Bagan though is the intellectuals club and the club carries itself in an air of superiority. Mohun Bagan fans consider themselves well-read, suave, and more informed than the average East Bengal fan. The Marxist Ideologue and the longest-serving Chief Minister of West Bengal, Jyoti Basu was a hardcore fan of Mohun Bagan, so was former Speaker of the Lok Sabha Somnath Chatterjee.
Since 2014, with the advent of the Indian Super League, a new entrant ATK (formerly Atletico de Kolkata), has tried capturing the Calcutta football audience. In the past, Mohammedan Sporting Club a smaller club compared to Mohun Bagan and East Bengal was the third club of Calcutta. But with ATK bringing in marquee players such as Luis Garcia and Robbie Keane, and also winning the new Indian Super League twice, ATK has been partially successful. Starting with an initial average attendance of 45,000 per game in the first season of ISL, ATK's average attendance is now around 17,000 per game. In August 2020, East Bengal FC will complete 100 years of existence. As part of the centennial celebrations, fans across the world hoisted the club flag at iconic venues across the world such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Tower Bridge in London, and the Shaheed Minar in Bangladesh. Mohun Bagan completed 130 years of existence in August 2019 and was inducted into the Club of Pioneers, a network of the oldest existing football clubs in each country.
The Ghoti-Bangala rivalry went a step further this year with the Ilish(Hilsa)-Chingri(Prawn) Festival being held in London. The theme of the festival was the rivalry between the two football giants of Calcutta in a bid to educate the next generation kids about Bengali heritage. Back home both Calcutta Clubs have struggled in the recent past with only one I-League title between the clubs ever since they revamped National League started. Clubs from other parts of the country with bigger finances and better coaches have been more successful. The ISL which has provided the much-needed glamour to Indian football has not been too good for the two giants, instead, it has brought confusion regarding the future of Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, and other I-League clubs who have a history attached to them.
The All India Football Football Federation(AIFF), in a bid to end the confusion surrounding the dual league structure of the ISL and I-League has promised to come together with the Asian Football Confederation(AFC) on 14th October 2019 and present a roadmap for Indian Football. What it holds for the two giants of Indian football and for Indian football in itself remains to be seen.