The 1920s: A Dream is Born

To understand the formation of East Bengal the club, it is important to distinguish between Bangals and Ghotis. Bangal was a derogatory term used by the people of Kolkata to refer to their brethrens from Eastern Bengal (which is now the country of Bangladesh). The bangals, in retaliation, coined the term ghotis for people hailing from the western part of Bengal (which is now the state of West Bengal). The aristocrats of Kolkata, most of who were ghotis, looked down upon the bangals and humiliated them for their accent and their lifestyle. The mutual distrust and dislike extended to the football field as well. It was this inherent and deep-seated resentment between two ethnic groups who spoke the same mother tongue that led to the jingoistic formation of East Bengal football club.

In the 1920 Coochbehar Cup semifinal, Jorabagan defeated Calcutta Football Club to set up a clash in the finals with Mahun Bagan. However, in the semifinal match, two players from eastern Bengal, Sailesh Bosu and Nasha Sen, were unceremonially dropped from the Jorabagan side. Their exclusion had nothing to do with their football skills; rather, it was clear that the club officials, who hailed from Kolkata, had dropped the two players out of their prejudice against players from eastern Bengal. This affronted Jorabagan's Vice-President and Industrialist Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, who himself hailed from East Bengal. He used his influence with the club officials before the final and it was his insistence that led to the inclusion of those two players for the final. Unfortunately, Jorabagan lost in the finals. The club officials found easy scapegoats in Sailesh Bosu and Nasha Sen and publicly derided the bangals and blamed them for the loss. On hearing this, an infuriated and impulsive Chaudhuri severed all his ties with Jorabagan and left the club overnight.
In a matter of a few months, Suresh Chandra Chaudhuri, assisted by the Ray family of Kumartuli (Rai Bahadur Torit Bhushan Roy, Nandalal Ray and Nanilal Ray) formed the club. The name for the club was suggested by Sailesh Bosu, and although Nasha Sen felt it was too regionalist, Chaudhuri liked the name and decided to go with it.

The first meeting of the club was held at the Ray residence at Kumartuli in August 1920, where the working committee was formed. Sarada Ranjan Roy, famously known as the W.G.Grace of Bengal as he was the founding father of cricket in the state, was elected as the first President of the Club. Since there is no definite record of the exact date of this historic meeting, the club does not have a specific birthday. However, 1st August 1920 is generally celebrated as the club’s birthday.

Once the club was formed, the founders debated intensely over the choice of colours for the club jersey. After hunting through innumerable stores, Chaudhuri’s eyes fell on a red and golden colour shirt, hanging imposingly at the Whiteway Ladel Department Store at Chowringhee, and he promptly chose those as the club colours. Red and golden became permanently associated with the club and are possibly the most recognizable aspect of East Bengal.
Amidst stiff opposition, ironically from fellow Indian clubs in Calcutta, notably Mohun Bagan and Aryans, East Bengal was affiliated with the Indian Football Association. The club played its maiden tournament in 1920, the same year it was founded. The tourney was Hercules Cup, a seven-a-side clash. The club’s first ever match was against Vidyasagar College, whom East Bengal trounced 4-0. It was a huge moment for the newborn club when they won the tournament defeating D.C.L.I. in the finals 3-1.

The next stop was to find a suitable ground. The club officials discovered that Mohun Bagan shared their ground with a then-defunct National A.C., and hence had use of the entire ground. It was a rule back then that a single club could not use an entire field in the Maidan area (a huge green area in the heart of Kolkata). East Bengal claimed the ground, and despite vehement protests from their arch rival, became co-sharer of the ground in 1922. Back then, the goal posts were placed East-West and East Bengal took possession of the half towards Red Road.

The club officials realized that it was imperative for the club to gain entry into the second division league to gain prominence and recognition. In the 1921 season, due to the last minute pullout of Tajhat Club (from eastern Bengal), East Bengal managed to sneak into the second division league. The call for a club of players from eastern Bengal appealed to virtually all Bangal players. This allowed East Bengal to form a highly competent team.
1924 was a watershed year for the club. This was the year when they set up their club tent at Maidan. They became Joint Champions at the Calcutta Second Division League with Cameroons AC. However, this did not mean an automatic inclusion into the first division, since only two Indian teams were allowed in the elite league. The then President of East Bengal was the highly influential Raja Manmatha Roychoudhury, who was the Maharaja of Santosh. The Santosh Trophy, the premier inter-state football tournament in India, was contributed by him. Roychoudhury pulled the strings at the right places and managed to rope in the support of the IFA Secretary Medleycot and the top officials of British clubs in the first division. In spite of protests from Mohun Bagan and Aryan, East Bengal became the third Indian club to be allowed into the first division.

The same year, the club arranged for an exhibition match to garner funds for setting up a statue of Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, the prominent educationalist, in Esplanade. The move gave the club tremendous visibility and helped it earn brownie points, much like Mohun Bagan’s contribution to the war relief fund in 1915.

East Bengal played in the first division from 1925 to 1928. In 1925, they clashed for the first time against their arch rivals Mohun Bagan at the Calcutta League, a match which East Bengal won 1-0.

In 1928, E B Railways, an office team that used to play in the first division, decided to form a football club. Its offer of a job and the opportunity to play football for a British team was too difficult to resist for most East Bengal players, most of who played without any pay for their club. The huge defection that followed rendered East Bengal toothless. The replacements that were hastily summoned could not fill the boots of their predecessors. As a result, East Bengal finished last in the league table in 1928. They lost by seven goals to the Dalhousie club, their single biggest defeat till date. Ironically, it was their loss to E B Railways at the fag end of the league that sealed East Bengal’s ignominious relegation to the second division in 1929.

Compiled by: Ranadurjay Talukdar