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INDIAN FOOTBALL

Remember this date in

1911: when Mohun Bagan
beat a British football
team to become national
icons
The Calcutta club defeated the East Yorkshire Regiment to win the
IFA Shield.

byScroll Staff
Published Jul 29, 2016 04:39 pm. Updated Jan 03, 2017 06:01 pm.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Jul 29, 2016 04:39 pm

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Updated Jan 03, 2017 06:01 pm

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July 29 is a special date. It is one of the perhaps few dates that possibly has the
power to bring together fans of the eternally warring football rivals from Kolkata,
East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. For, of course, it was on this day, that one of India's
greatest ever sport victories was achieved. In fact, to celebrate this momentous
achievement, the Bengal director Arup Roy even made a film, titled Egaro, The
Immortal Eleven, in 2011 in tribute to those heroes.

Egaro: The Immortal Eleven - Bengali Movie Trailer

It was back in 1911. The word of the British Raj was the law. Mohun Bagan Athletic
Club was only 22 years but they had already gained an esteemed place in Indian

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2/10/2017 Rememberthisdatein1911:whenMohunBaganbeataBritishfootballteamtobecomenationalicons

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But on this date, they faced a stern test. Eleven of their players, who all played
barefeet, faced the far-better trained East Yorkshire Regiment of the British Army
in the final of the Indian Football Association Shield.

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The match has gone down in folklore. The build-up to that game was
unprecedented scores of Indians packed the Calcutta Football Ground, specially
brought in by trains. It was not just a football match, it was an opportunity to show
up the British at their own game.

1.

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worked)

Murals of 'The Immortal Eleven'. Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

But amidst raucous scenes, it was East Yorkshire Regiment that scored. Gloom
pervaded the entire stadium black kites were flown to indicate the score to the
huge crowds outside, who hadn;'t been able to get in.

2.

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2/10/2017 Rememberthisdatein1911:whenMohunBaganbeataBritishfootballteamtobecomenationalicons

Yet, with
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national icons.Trending
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made it honours even, and then Abhilasha
Ghosh made it 2-1 in the dying moments. As the clock ticked down, reality dawned

Mohun Bagan had just defeated a British team to win the IFA Shield.

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According to various reports, the scenes afterwards were unbelievable. Reuters
News Agency reported, "...the scene beggared description, the Bengalees tearing off
their shirts and waving them....". The Mussalman, another influential newspaper of
that time, reported, "The members of the Muslim Sporting Club were almost mad
and rolling on the ground with joyous excitement on the victory of their Hindu
brethren."
3.

Dropping triple centurion Karun Nair was the latest example of India's bold new selection
policy

The victory resonated across the nation. "Mohun Bagan is not a football team. It is
an oppressed country, rolling in the dust, which has just started to rise its head,"
said Achintya Kumar Sengupta in a Bengali magazine, according to the official
website of the club. "Mohun Bagan had become synonymous with the national
battle cry for Vande Mataram," wrote the noted sports historian Boria Majumdar in
2013.

4.

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2/10/2017 Rememberthisdatein1911:whenMohunBaganbeataBritishfootballteamtobecomenationalicons

A century
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Every year, theTrending

Bookshop club celebrates
Sectionsthe
day as Mohun Bagan Day and hands out the
Mohun Bagan Ratna to distinguished personalities from Indian football.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

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Indian Football Mohun Bagan IFA Shield Football

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I read four Indian newspapers, including Scroll.in, everyday. This is a s

information and analysis invaluable for me in this era of post-truth de

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Political Scientist and Author

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