1911 is a landmark year in the history of football in India when Mohun Bagan emerged as the winners of IFA Shield by beating a number of European teams. This historic win of Mohun Bagan provided an impetus to a movement which was gathering great pace in India then. It was the time when the historic partition of Bengal had taken place and the nation was rallying to fight the British against it. Bagan’s victory which trumped all odds provided a great impetus to the movement in the nation.
Shovabazar Club was the first Indian club to beat a European team when it defeated East Surrey Regiment by two goals to one in Trades Cup in 1892. In 1900, the National Association of South Kolkata became the first Indian team to win the Trades Cup. Another Indian team, Sanatan Sampradaya Football Club beat British Team HLIA Company in the final of the Oriental Cup in 1907. From these examples, it can be said that the colonial rulers were defeated by the ruled Indians a number of times in the field of football. However, the triumph of Mohun Bagan created a different dimension in the context of the partition of Bengal.
Several attempts had been made by the British rulers to divide Bengal. In 1891, it was proposed that the Lushai Hills and Chittagong District should be shifted to Assam. The proposal was accepted in 1892. In 1896, before executing this decision, another suggestion was made to shift the districts of Dacca and Mymensingh to Assam. The proposal was strongly opposed by the entire Bengali community which forced the British Government to transfer only the Lushai Hills to Assam.
On 20th July 1905, Lord Curzon announced the partition of Bengal which was implemented on 16th October 1905. The movement against this partition was started on 7th August 1905 by the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Swadeshi and Swaraj movements were also initiated. Bengal became united to prevent this partition. When the movement was at its height, the success of Mohun Bagan in IFA Shield in 1911 created a national sentiment in this context.
In the first round of IFA Shield in 1911, Mohun Bagan defeated St. Xavier’s by 3 goals to nil, while in the second round they beat Rangers Club by 2 goals to one. In the third match, Mohun Bagan defeated Rifle Brigade by a solitary goal. The semi- final match against the Middlesex Regiment ended in a draw while in the replay match Mohun Bagan scored three goals to beat their opponent convincingly. In the final against East York Regiment, 80,000 Indians witnessed history as Bagan defeated their English opposition by 2 goals to 1, thus becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield.
This success of the bare- footed Indian players against the well- equipped British players was praised not only by the Indian media, but also by the foreign media. On 31st July 1911, The Englishman wrote, “What the Congress failed to achieve, Mohun Bagan has. In other words they have succeeded in degrading the English.” The performance was appreciated by The Manchester Guardian and The Empire. On July 30, 1911, India Mirror reported, “The Japanese victory over the Russians did not stir the East half as much as did the match between Mohun Bagan and East York”. The victory of Mohun Bagan in the 1911 IFA Shield provided a direction to the movement against the partition of Bengal as Indians rallied together and compelled the British rulers to withdraw their decision of dividing Bengal.
To commemorate this historic victory, the Government of India issued a Postage Stamp in 1989. Even today, that glorious day in history is remembered, for the bare- footed Indians who created a history in 1911, will always be remembered in the history of Indian football as warriors who gave direction to a historic movement.
(The author is a Lecturer in the Department of Sports Management at Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management)
