This is the story of an Old Man… a story narrated over and over again and a story that was lost in time… everybody knows about Mohun Bagan and IFA Shield, but no one knows anything about this Old man… Today we will listen to a story that this old man used to narrate… a story that he could never forget… this is the story of 29th July 1911…
The Story: The long whistle… thunderous jubilation… and the sky roared in a single voice… Hail Mohun Bagan … Hail Mohun Bagan… Joy Mohun Bagan er joy…
Somewhere in the crowd the old man was astounded… he knew we won, he knew Mohun Bagan won, he knew INDIA WON… the loud “Hail Mohun Bagan” slowly became fainter… the old man thought was it his weak hearing that he cannot hear “Hail Mohun Bagan” any more…?? He paid attention and he understood… “Hail Mohun Bagan, Hail Mohun Bagan” faded away and was replaced by something else… some thing more sweat to the ears…
“Joy Mohun Bagan, joy Mohun Bagan er joy… … …Vandemataram, Vandemataram…”
Recapitulation
Some 6 years before, sometime in the 1905 …
6-1, the Bengali side, Mohun Bagan destroyed Dalhousie Club in Gladstone cup. Along with Gladstone Cup Mohun Bagan lifted the Trades Cup and the Coochbehar Trophy. In 1908, Mohun Bagan won the trades cup third time in a row.
The success story was much beyond the expectations of not only the administration but all the natives. In 1909 Mohun Bagan was invited for the most prominent tournament, the IFA Shield. But Bagan lost in the second round against Gordon Highlanders. Failure followed in the next year as Bagan could not impress anyone with their performance in the IFA Shield.
FOOTBALL, MOHUN BAGAN & THE INDIAN FREEDOM FIGHT
July of 1911:
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high… ” – The words of the Poet symbolized deep meaning and great inspiration. Mohun Bagan, the all “native” team in 1911 was in absolute tune with the poem by Tagore. Fear was abolished and the growing valor promised something new… and the rest became HISTORY.
The conquest of IFA Shield by Mohun Bagan in 1911 was not just a win against an English side on the field, it was more than a game, and the outcome brought great impact on the Indian freedom movement. Indians were raising their voices against the British Raj and demanded for the coveted independence, this win of Mohun Bagan over East Yorkshire added extra zeal among the Indians and brought substantiate pressure on British Government. With this win, Indians started to believe that Englishmen are not invincible and they can be defeated on or off the field, they can be propelled out of the country. But the journey was not smooth for Mohun Bagan. In the IFA shield of 1911, each step Mohun Bagan faced had more challenges and confinements, but ultimately the ‘passion’ lead to ‘glory’.
The first match of the 1911 IFA Shield was played on 10th of July against St. Xavier‘s at the Ranger‘s ground. Mohun Bagan played with 10 men as Rev. Sudhir Chatterjee, the defender was absent as his employer refused him a time off. Jatindranath Roy was also absent in that match and Sri N. Ghosh played in his absence. Mohun Bagan presented a “fast and tricky” game and thrashed the opponent by 3-0. Mohun Bagan could have scored more goals, but Rose and Grecni in Xavier’s defense were rock solid and averted numbers of sitters for their team. Sri Abhilash Ghosh scored the first goal in the middle of the first half and in the second half Sri Bijoydas Bhaduri scored twice to end the Xavier’s odyssey.
The old man was tired, when he returned home. He remembered the failures of the last 3 years and chose to be silent. He was dreaming of the football that Mohun Bagan played that day, he remembered the every moment, every movement of Hiralal Mukherjee, A. Sukul, Nilmadhab Bhattacharjee, Monmohon Mukherjee, Rajen Sen Gupta, Habul Sarkar, Shibdas Bhaduri, Bijoydas Bhaduri, Abhilash Ghosh and N. Ghosh.
ANOTHER GLORIOUS STRIDE
On the 14th of July, the Old Man woke up in the early morning. It was another challenging day he thought. He knew it will be tough and a game of nerves.
“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going…” A dream to win, a dream to conquer and the immortal eleven was walking a glory road. It was a ‘no’ going back anymore, kill to win was the mantra, but the opponents were tougher, the ambience was supporting but the situation was cruel.
14th July 1911 marked the second round match in the IFA Shield, Mohun Bagan faced the Rangers at the Customs ground. Heavy shower during the match made the pitch demanding, it was slippery and not suitable for fast football, but “in spite of the threatening weather a record crowd turned out to see the encounter”. Accurate kicking and shooting was not really possible due to the heavy ground condition, but still the crowd witnessed a very swift and interesting match. Mohun Bagan took on Rangers with their full strength; Reverend Sudhir Chatterjee joined the team after gaining the permission from his office. Mohun Bagan also obtained the full service of Sri Jatindranath Roy in that match.
Both the team started the match with positivism and both wanted to conquer. Their similar strength made the match even and a treat to watch. The tricky ground condition could not hold back the Indian forwards to combine and play mesmerizing football. It was quoted, “The Indian forwards showed better combination and were quicker and trickier than their opponents”.
The first half was marked with great attacking and counter–attacking football, the defense on either side stood strong. Rangers started playing rough football but Referee Hoskins controlled the situation tactfully. The Ranger’s attacks were not up to the mark and they missed couple of easy sitters. On the other end, Bhaduri brothers along with Rajen Sen Gupta and Jatindranath Roy took the responsibility for leading the attack. Ranger’s half Cody with Allen played brilliant football. Mohun Bagan ultimately drew the first blood of the match courtesy Captain Shibdas Bhaduri, “Some up and down game followed and at last a miss kick by Chandler (Back of Rangers) gave S. Bhaduri a chance of scoring and he steered the ball into the net amidst the jubilations of the Mohun Bagan supporters, a few minutes before half time”. Mohun Bagan increased the lead soon after the first goal, “The success infused fresh vigor into them and almost immediately after Roy sprinted along the touch line and cleverly evading defensive ranks centered and S. Bhaduri scored from a melee. Soon after, half time was called, leaving Mohun Bagan leading by two goals to nil”.
Rangers started the second half and created more pressure and earned a free kick, but the set piece could not be converted. Referee Hoskins also started to show more sympathy towards the English team and gifted three consecutive penalties to them! The divine intervention or a pure show of talent? The demigod, goalkeeper Hiralal Mukherjee brilliantly saved all the three penalties. During the dying moment of the match, Rangers committed in more attacks and ultimately Allen reduced the margin for his team.
The final whistle declared the all desired Mohun Bagan win, 2–1 was good enough to take the immortals to the next round. The last goal by Rangers left the Old Man shaken. There was a feel of happiness coupled with fear and uncertainty.
The Mohun Bagan team for the day was Hiralal Mukherjee, A. Sukul, Sudhir Chatterjee, Jatindranath Roy, Nilmadhab Bhattacharjee, Monmohon Mukherjee, Rajen Sen Gupta, Habul Sarkar, Shibdas Bhaduri, Bijoydas Bhaduri and Abhilash Ghosh
THE WARRIORS: REVAMPING THE 1857
Present Day, 2010: “Wiping the stains off the Field of Plassey” – In his article on Mohun Bagan, Dwaipayan Sen spoke about the club and the national movement. The title suggested a vendetta, a revenge of the Plassey conflict of 1757 by Mohun Bagan.
In 1757 Shiraj–ud–Daula fought the British and was defeated. 100 years later another revolution instituted, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. The revolution was squashed by the foreign tyranny. Bengal was already christened, “The Land of Freedom Fighters”. We did not have to wait for another 100 year to see the next mutiny. In 1911, the next fight was on, and unlike the preceding events, the Warriors of Bengal, the Soldiers of India knocked a heavy strike that trampled the entire British Empire.
July, 1911: This was foreseen by the foreign rulers of India. The first two victories became a fret for the British teams. McGregor, the then IFA Secretary was not happy with Bagan’s consecutive victories and started to create pressure on Mohun Bagan. As in the last match against Ranger’s, couple of referee’s decisions went against Mohun Bagan and thus Mohun Bagan officials and players were in panic regarding the administration of the game. One day while Mr. Sailendranath Basu, the then Mohun Bagan secretary went to the Bank of England, for some personal purpose, and met McGregor, who came to the same bank to meet his friend. Mr. Basu approached McGregor and informed him that the quality of referring in the last match was not up to the mark and referee intentionally gave decisions which were against Mohun Bagan. But the reply from McGregor was really amazing!! He replied, “What can I do, Mr. Sergeant (referee of the Ranger’s match) is a member of Calcutta referees’ Association; we can’t do anything Mr. Bose”. In reply Mr. Basu said “then kindly don’t place him in the coming matches of Mohun Bagan as the referee”. McGregor replied, “That I can’t assure you Mr. Basu. Then every team will start to submit protest and will plea for their favourite referee; in this way we will not be able to complete the Shield competition”. He also added, “Referees have also submitted protest against Mohun Bagan officials, they have stated that you people are hiring many people in the ground and creating pressure on the referee”. The reply from Mr. Basu countered, “It’s totally wrong; supporters are coming to support us. In the next match they will come up with more numbers”. “Then we have to arrange for more mounted police, right Mr. Basu? It’s my request please try to control your supporters, as because the next match is against a military team”. The conversation ended when Mr. Basu ridiculed, “Don’t worry, we will play and win the match with eleven players, not with fourteen players!!” It was clear that even IFA was not impartial anymore. The foul game started much before and away from the grounds. In the first match against St. Xavier’s, Sudhir Chatterjee did not got the permission from the office to participate in the match; when he arranged for the permission, British manipulators started to stop Shibdas from playing. Shibdas Bhaduri was an inspector of Belgachhia Veterinary College. Just before the Rifle Brigade match, he was ordered to visit Assam where murrain of cows and buffalos occurred. Other than Shibdas, many veterinary inspectors were there in the college, but only Shibdas was asked to go to Assam and the intention was very clear to everybody. But somehow Shibdas managed to stop the order and Bhupendranath Basu helped him a lot in this issue.
In spite of this off the ground conspiracy, the focus of the team was really high along with the moral. Captain Shibdas started the homework regarding Rifle Brigade and here his school friend Jyotishchandra Sen helped him with new ideas, he brought a book with detailed information on football, tactics and skills. In the last practice before the Rifle Brigade match, Shibdas arranged a team meeting where he discussed the tactics to be taken in the Rifle Brigade match. Shibdas started to analyze, “the two defenders of Rifle Brigade, Maden and Clark are rock solid; I and Bijoydas will handle Maden; Kanu you will have to deliver your best and will have to keep Clark busy. Be very cautious Kanu, he is a real hard tackler. I have watched his style of play in the last match against Messer’s. He is a late tackler; he observes the ball till the last moment and then takes the decision when to go for the final tackle. How much ever he tries to force you to move towards the touch line, you need to try and cut inside and Monmohan you will try to take position along the right side touch line. Kanu will pass the ball with an act to move inside and then you will get a big space”. Kanu was famous for his accurate centre and so Abhilash opposed this idea; he replied “if Kanu will cut inside then who will fed us with the accurate centers? I will not get any aerial ball”. Shibdas replied, “Don’t be in panic brother. We will follow this tactics only for this match. Norton, the Rifle Brigade’s goalkeeper is really great in aerial balls, so we have to beat him on the ground and I am really confident we will surely get the success”.
14th July, 1911: The old man was little late to the ground, after loads of shoving and pushing he got a place at last where he can somehow see his team play. The crowd was much more than the last time. A loud roar welcomed the green and maroon brigade. He jubilated and cheered with the crowd. He quickly saw the players and easily recognised Hiralal Mukherjee, A. Sukul, Sudhir Chatterjee, Jatindranath Roy, Nilmadhab Bhattacharjee, Monmohon Mukherjee, Rajen Sen Gupta, Habul Sarkar, Shibdas Bhaduri, Bijoydas Bhaduri and Abhilash Ghosh. A quarter of an hour later, a long whistle, and the match started.
Rifle Brigade dominated the first half with numbers of good attacks, but the “weak and erratic shooting lost them many splendid openings”. Mohun Bagan team mainly tried to regroup themselves in the first half and defense in particular delivering a phenomenal performance. “They developed magnificent defensive tactics which upset the combined efforts of the Military front line”. Mohun Bagan attack was off colour in the first half, as Bijoydas Bhaduri was not in his true state. He was upset with the loss of his best friend, Mr. Prankesto Ghosh, who breathed his last on that very day.
But in the second half, the total scenario was transformed. Bijoydas started to concentrate on the match after getting the consolation and inspiration from Bhupendranath Basu during the lemon break. Mohun Bagan started to raise one attack after another in the Rifle’s box. Kanu’s shot was brilliantly saved by Norton and just after few minutes, Shibdas’s shot went outside after kissing the crossbar. But the most coveted goal came within five minutes, Shibdas got the ball and passed to Bijoydas, who brilliantly powered down Clark, dribbled past Maden and then placed the ball to the right side of Norton. Norton had nothing to do but just watch the ball crossing the touch line. This was the winning goal for Mohun Bagan and with this win Mohun Bagan moved to the semi finals of the IFA Shield.
This was not only about a tournament or a game of football. With this win, the native declared a jihad against the Britishers. A soft yet a lethal revolution. It can be a revenge of 1757 or 1857, but historians articulate the Shield win as a spank on the Empire’s face, a true retribution of the Division of Bengal.
THE CHALLENGE AND THE STALEMATE
Present Day, 2010:
1. 13th October 1905 - A black day for all Indians, Bengal was divided. Every one looked for something that can re-unite the various parts of the ‘Partitioned Bengal’’.
2. Year 1920, Indian Movement saw new lights when Gandhi declared Non–Cooperation against the ruling British Government. Indians refused to use or buy foreign commodities.
3. Mohun Bagan Won 1911 IFA Shield.
Three individual events and are not at all related to each other. I will try to relate all the three events before we give the awaited match report of the Semi Final.
In 1920 the Gandhi declared non-cooperation movement. Nearly a decade before the so called natives had already started revolution, the revolution of non-cooperation. “Bare footed natives playing against the mighty Middlesex”. Leathered boot against bare foot, Foreign vs. Desi. It would be that the bare footed Mohun Bagan players were not comfortable with boots but history defines the event as a symbolized national movement. 1911 Shield win united the entire Bengal. From the books on Indian football and from literatures on football in Kolkata we get insights about the celebrations of the Bengalis and the Indians all over the country. It is said, Chattagram did not sleep that day when Mohun Bagan lifted the Shield.
Re-uniting the divided Bengal, Symbol of non–cooperation, 1911 IFA Shield and Mohun Bagan, all somewhere, somehow are tied with a thin undetectable line visible only to true patriots.
Just before the third round match against Rifle Brigade, Britishers were worried about the performance of Mohun Bagan and by any means they tried to stop Mohun Bagan’s progress; it was tough for them to digest that an invited club can create such menace. They tried by conspiring against Mohun Bagan out side the field or by creating pressure on Mohun Bagan officials. British officials even started to suggest McGregor, the then IFA Secretary to somehow stop Mohun Bagan even if it is by managing the referees!! But the God of Football thought otherwise and his blessings were with Mohun Bagan; keeping all those obstruction, confinements and pressure out side their mind, eleven lion-hearted Bengali faced Middlesex on 24th of July at Dalhousie ground in front of huge crowd, “the biggest crowd that has ever attended a football meeting in Calcutta”. “Dalhousie ground wore a unique appearance with the bubbling sea of humanity with which it was thronged on all sides. There was not to be found a single look of vantage which was not occupied. Enthusiasts were to be found on the tops of trees, people squatted on the ground, just beyond the touch and goal lines”. Even people from distant places like Sunderban came to watch the game defying all the challenges and pains of traveling from such great distance. Many spectators had no idea about rules and regulation of football. They just came to watch the fight of Mohun Bagan against the British team.
24th July 1911: “Oh my god, please, bless us, bless the true sons of the nation”, the old man prayed in silence. The crowd was huge and unexpected.
Sgt. Pigott won the toss and elected to defend the Red Road end goal. Mohun Bagan kicked off the match. It was Middlesex who started in an offensive mode and tried to lift numbers of attacks in Bagan box, but Bagan defense was alert; more specifically Rev. Sudhir Chatterjee who averted couple of dangers for his team. But after a spell of attacks, Middlesex had to move to their own box, as this time it was Bagan who started to show good moves that proved dangerous to the British team. Shibdas Bhaduri was in the lead getting equal efforts from Rajendranath SenGupta, Jatindranath Roy and Bijoydas Bhaduri. In a move, Shibdas Bhaduri got the ball from Bijoydas and took the shot that was nicely saved by Pigott. After a few minutes, Shibdas Bhaduri again got a chance to score but the ball went far away from the target. Middlesex was not in a mood to retreat and thus they again came up with good moves and from such an attack they got the lead; though the decision from referee was quite controversial. Mohun Bagan team took the decision sportingly but the crowd reacted furiously as was expected. On the restart, Mohun Bagan attacked, Bijoydas Bhaduri got the ball and went past Middlesex defense line, but again Pigott appeared as the savior for his team by timely collecting the ball. At the end of the first half, Middlesex was ahead by one goal to nil.
In the second half, Bagan started in a furious mode to get the coveted equalizer. The game turned into a fast and exciting game and both the teams kept the pressure and the match was filled with attacks and counter attacks. Both the custodians, Mukherjee and Pigott delivered their best in this half and averted couple of dangers for their teams. Mohun Bagan earned a free kick when Daw handled the ball, but no fruitful result was achieved from the free kick. Mohun Bagan in this half made a small change in the tactics; Shibdas Bhaduri moved into the central position, Jatindranath Roy moved to left wing and Abhilash Ghosh in the right wing. This strategy worked well and Roy scored the equalizer for his team from a long ranger amidst the huge jubilation. After that both the teams tried their level best to get the lead, but the match ended in a stale mate. The decisive match was declared to be played the next day. As usual, the team consisted of Hiralal Mukherjee, A. Sukul, Sudhir Chatterjee, Jatindranath Roy, Nilmadhab Bhattacharjee, Monmohon Mukherjee, Rajen Sen Gupta, Habul Sarkar, Shibdas Bhaduri, Bijoydas Bhaduri and Abhilash Ghosh
THE DECLARATION: STOP US IF YOU CAN
The Background: Political dominations are often countered with similar retributions. The immortal eleven differed from that school of thought and responded differently. They kept the game and the ball limited to the pitch.
The country was under foreign tyranny and exploitation; natives were barred from basic freedom. The ruling race considered Mohun Bagan not only a threat on the football pitch but a risk in the political arena. Pressures from all corners were mounting on the native club. Submission was obvious and an easy choice for the Bagan eleven. Common occurrence does not create history, and the ‘Egaro’ was in no temperament to endure defeat. Submission was not a choice. As intellectuals say, “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”, and it was a mantra that needed to be proved again. The police dominance on the ground increased in the name of “Disciplining the crowd”, there was poking from various official and political levels.
On the 25th of July Replay was about to take place; the swadeshish knew, playing with bare feet indicate strong bond between Mother India and true sons of the Nation. Status, Class, Religion or Creed had no effect on the desire to win. It was said that the moral support helped the Mohun Bagan reach the semis. It was necessary and absolutely essential that the ELEVEN should make a mark now. Make a statement, a statement embroidered with skills and talent and not politics and or mere words.
Few years later, the old man was addressing a crowd of 5 kids, his grandchild and his friends. He started the story and went on, and then suddenly the children saw a glitter in his eye. He was about to talk about that remarkable day, the day when thousands of countrymen made a statement, made it possible, it was the day when for the first time in history an all Indian team entered the finals of IFA Shield.
After the first day 1–1 tie, Bagan got a thumping 3–0 victory over Middlesex and stormed into the finals. Apparently it looked as if it was an easy win for Bagan, but the real story was some what different. In the first day of the semi–final, the referring was shocking; Middlesex scored the goal courtesy to the intentional blunder of the linesman and the referee. In the replay match, IFA gave the responsibility of refereeing to Mr. H.G.Pooler, a player of Calcutta Club, who was given the marching order on the lost match against East Yorkshire Regiment. On the other hand, Mohun Bagan goalkeeper Sri Hiralal Mukherjee was not fully fit on the day of the replay. In the tournament he was often brutally handled and hammered by the British players during the matches; but the referee failed to see it and turned a deaf ear! Mr. Mukherjee was a person with strong attitude and ignored the illness, pain and suffering and took the responsibility to be the Mohun Bagan custodian.
The match was witnessed by a record crowd and the Dalhousie ground was packed. Not a bit of space was available; the heavy shower before the match disappointed the Mohun Bagan supporters as it was believed that rain was unlucky for Bagan. Scientifically the fact was simple, Bagan players used to play bare footed. The heavy pitch will definitely become a hindrance and keeping strong hold on the ground will be a challenge itself. The natural game of Bagan was thus not expected and this demoralized the crowd.
Mohun Bagan actually started the match with great vigilance; major share of attacks in this half was drafted by Middlesex. The tournament was marked with brilliant performance of the Bagan defense and on that day they were able keep all the attack at bay. Middlesex midfield created number of chances for their forwards, but hesitation and unnecessary short passes in front of Bagan box deprived them from some sure goals. The remarkable incident of this half was the injury of Pigott, the goalkeeper of Middlesex. He suffered an eye injury during the replay, Pigott was the best goalkeeper of the tournament so far, and he already saved nine sure goals including couple of penalties before the replay match. Abhilash Ghosh was really angry with the rough and tough play of the military team and also with the quality of referring; during the last few minutes before the lemon break, in a collision between Abhilash and Pigott, the later got a serious eye injury that left him dazed for full thirty minutes of the play. The match moved into the lemon break without producing any fruitful result for both the team.
The exchanges during the second half was very much in favour of the Dum Dum squad, but Mohun Bagan defense put up a jolly fight. With the time elapsing, the military players started to loose their temperament as Bagan started to play a fast and “tricky” football by swapping their position frequently; Bhaduri brothers started to surprise the military defense by their recurrent flank changing. During the last ten minutes of the second half, Mohun Bagan team just walked over the military defense and scored three goals in quick succession. First goal was scored by Captain Shibdas Bhaduri which was greeted with huge jubilation. “A unique scene of excitement followed and before the prolonged cheers had hardly died down, Bagan increased the lead by Habul Sarkar, this practically sealed the fate of the military team who now looked like a tamed horse”, and then just after few minutes, Jatindranath Roy hammered the last nail in Middlesex coffin with a fine ankle-shot. After conceding these three goals, military team was morally upset but still tried to revive their glory with an immense fight. They devoted everything they had and forced the so called the last effort and sketched a numbers of attacks in Bagan box; but Bagan defense was invincible and they fought steadily to keep the military from achieving anything but success. The match ultimately ended 3–0 in favour of Mohun Bagan and the eleven along with thousands of countrymen made that awaited statement. The message was simple and effective, “Stop us if you can”.
The ambience was marvelous; Mohun Bagan supporters, rather Indians started to enjoy the victory in their very special ways. Enjoyment for reaching the finals, enjoyment for defeating yet another British team. May be this win made a lot of difference for the freedom movement. But the essential need was a taste of victory, a moment of glory. Indians were already witnessing a fight for freedom. The only remaining necessitate was a win and all the country men looked on to one team and one historical day. All was waiting for the 29th.
The Next Day, Morning:
The old man was walking fast. It was just dawn, but he had no time. At last he reached the local ‘chai shop’. There was already a small crowd and the famous ADDA was on its way. “The other semi final was a battle of the favourites. East Yorkshire Regiment defeated the Calcutta team. What will happen in the finals?” All was excited, scared yet thrilled.
The stage was set, the ambience was passionate. Mohun Bagan vs. East Yorkshire Regiment… The Natives vs. The Whites.
After storming into the finals, Mohun Bagan established a strange situation for any Bengali; they never had such experience. Food, sleep and work was secondary, all thought were just worries about a single event. The Finale…
29th July 1911: The first ray of sun on 29th July brought sundry feelings. Anxiety, vendetta, anger, passion and love, all was there for each and every true son of India. Legend has it that the immortal XI on 29th morning went to the Kalighat to pray to Kali Maa, the goddess of Death. The prayers were obvious, “Death or Win”. Calcutta was ready for the greatest sports event the country has ever seen. Special trains ran from Burdwan to Howrah, ferries towards North Calcutta. People moved in to Kolkata from remote areas of Sunderban, Nadia, Patna or even Assam. The venue started to fill up even before noon. The match was scheduled at 5:30 PM at the Calcutta Football Ground. Officially it was stated that an unexpected crowd gathered which numbered 80,000. Only a handful of this crowd actually got a glance of the match. The innovative Bengalis formulated an out of box communication system. The updates of the match and the score were communicated with the help of kites.
At 5:30 pm sharp, the whistle declared the start of the eternal match. The first half marked brilliant football by the Regiment and superb fight from the Bagan eleven. Attacks and counter attacks were witnessed frequently. In order to foil a Yorkshire attack, Rajen Sen Gupta leaped to clear the ball and committed a foul against Regiment’s Jackson. The free kick was converted by Jackson himself and Yorkshire regiment took the lead. The British spectators were overwhelmed with this goal. They started to celebrate this goal by igniting the effigies of Mohun Bagan! The Mohun Bagan crowd was shocked by the goal and by the celebration of the British. The regiment took advantage of the situation and created pressure on the Bagan defense. Yorkshire Regiment pulled 3 consecutive corners and maintained the pressure on the Bagan eleven. The off coloured Bagan went into the lemon break with a goal down.
Trust and belief was the mantra for Bagan. “Do or Die”. The crowd support, decades of dominance and tyranny by the British was enough to boost up the Bagan squad. The second half started and Mohun Bagan was a transformed side. They attacked, built pressure but in vain. The equalizer was not coming. Kanu Roy, Habul Sarkar, Bijoydas Bhaduri and Shibdas Bhaduri were excellent on the field. Ten minutes to go, Captain Shibdas Bhaduri received a pass and dribbled to reach the opponent’s goalmouth. The clever powerful shot, the dancing net and the roar announced the long awaited equalizer. Two minutes to the final whistle, Abhilash Ghosh collected a spectacular pass of Shibdas, the trigger was pulled, and the shell shot trounced the Yorkshire goal keeper. Goal, the winning goal was scored at last. After a few minutes, a long whistle pronounced the new IFA Shield Champion. Mohun Bagan won the IFA Shield. The crowd was wild, mad and disoriented from the joy of win. Mr. Frank W. Cartar, the then president of Calcutta Football Club handed over the IFA Shield to Mohun Bagan captain Mr. Shibdas Bhaduri. Mrs. Watson also appreciated the members of winning team with gold medals.
Present Day, 2010: Legend has it that the Immortal eleven faced a particular question many a times. “When will the British flag be removed from the Writers’ Building?” A pious pundit said, “We will get freedom when Mohun Bagan wins the next IFA Shield”.
After 36 years we got freedom, the same year Mohun Bagan won their second IFA Shield. The seed was sowed long back. The Mohun Bagan squad of 1911 became The Immortal Eleven.
29th July, 1911, the way it began: The celebration was crazy, people acted wildly; some cried some danced others cheered. Amidst the jubilation, the old man was awestruck. Tears rolled down his cheek. Freedom at last… liberated at last… Joy Mohun Bagan… Jai Hind… Vandemataram…
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Special thanks to Shibram Kumar for this great work on Indian Football and Mohun Bagan.
Researched by Sandipan Gupta and Written by Prasenjit Mitra
Sabuj Maroon Swapna
