East Bengal Vs Mohun Bagan - Indian Football's Legendary Rivalry Has All But Fizzled Out

We talk of the Manchester Derby or the El Clasico, but halfway across the globe in the eastern part of India there is another football rivalry that draws fans to the stands in huge numbers.

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The Kolkata Derby - played between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, has been the highlight of Indian football since time can remember.

The main reason for the rivalry is that Bagan represents the Ghotis (those from the west) while Bengal represents the Bangals (those from the east).

Culturally, this derby is very similar to Scottish Premier League's Old Firm derby, since a majority of the Mohun Bagan supporters represent the 'nativist' population (similar to Rangers FC) and a majority of the East Bengal fans represent the 'immigrant' population (similar to Celtic FC).

However, a lot of people having origin in Bangladesh also support Mohun Bagan as it is one of the oldest and most controversial football clubs in India.

Similarly, some people of West Bengal origin also support East Bengal considering it is the most successful football club in India.

So there is actually an existence of cross-ethnic support base.

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Ironically some of Mohun Bagan's greatest players were from the other side originally.

The best example would be Chuni Goswami, a football legend in India.

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The first Derby in a major tournament outside Kolkata was held on 28 December 1957 in the Semifinal of the Durand Cup at New Delhi in which the rivals played out a barren draw. In the replay held two days later, East Bengal won 3-2

Fans and players have known to let their emotions get the better of them and several violent clashes have taken place. However, over the last 2 decades the craze has died down. The rivalry seems to have fizzled out.

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Why? Well, the answer is pretty obvious. Most Indian football enthusiasts look to European clubs for entertainment and rarely follow local teams. But the primary reason is the lack of Bengalis in the team. Without any ethnicity to support, fans in Kolkata have lost interest. Foreign players and those from other states have reduced the Bengalis to a minority in both clubs.

However, there are still those faithful who never miss a game no matter what. Perhaps that is what has prevented this once fierce rivalry from completely fizzling out.