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Kolkata Derby is always a tense affair with no team willing to lose the highly contested match. Sometimes tensions on the field, influence the fans off the park generating intense banter amongst themselves. With a rich history behind them, Kolkata Derby have always managed to divide the Bengali society into two groups - 'Bangals' and 'Ghotis', vying for sporting supremacy.
Often these factors lead to banter and online trolls as heated debates take place between the fans. Let's have a look how both sets of fans play the 'Banter Game'.
#1 'Macha' - East Bengal fans' favourite word to tease their rivals
The East Bengal fans often taunt the Mohun Bagan fans by calling them 'Macha'. Mohun Bagan represents the native population of West Bengal while East Bengal represents the immigrated population of the British Province of Bengal who migrated to the Indian state of West Bengal during the Partition of India in 1947 and also during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
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As per several notions, the natives used to gossip on top of the trees earlier by building some sort of shed using logs, which are known as 'macha'.
Macha is a colloquial Bengali expression for a mast of a boat, derived from the original Bengali word - 'mecho' which signifies oaring a boat as seen in the logo of Mohun Bagan.
Several online trolls and memes are shared on the basis of these stories by East Bengal fans to taunt the Mariners.
#2 'Lota' - Mohun Bagan fans also have a name for their rivals
Mohun Bagan fans on the contrary call East Bengal fans 'Lota'. According to the Mohun Bagan fans, after the partition, the immigrants before settling in permanently had a daily routine of carrying a 'Lota' (an open-mouthed vessel) to the fields for answering the nature's call.
The immigrants from the Eastern Part of Bengal Province (British India) lived in makeshift camps in the initial days. 'Lota' also refers to the luggage and other stuff the immigrants carried to the Western Part of Bengal Province.
Mohun Bagan fans detest the East Bengal fans and vice-versa. The clash of two ethnically different cultures has made the Kolkata Derby a social and psychological war over the years.
#3 East Bengal fans are teased for only managing to win the CFL in recent years
East Bengal have not won a National League title since 2003. They finished runners-up thrice in the I-League but failed to win the title. East Bengal also won their last national-level title in the form of the Federation Cup in 2012. On the contrary, Mohun Bagan have had an immense amount of national-level success in recent times. The Mariners won the I-League in 2015 and also won the Federation Cup in 2016.
Despite having a dismal national level record in the past decade, East Bengal have won eight Calcutta Football League (CFL) titles on the trot. Mohun Bagan fans use this instance as an opportunity to mock their rivals sighting their poor show in I-League.
As Compact Fluorescent Lamp is also abbreviated as CFL, the Mohun Bagan fans tease the East Bengal fans as 'bulb winners' thus mocking the city league and as well their rivals.
Mohun Bagan fans also call East Bengal as a 'local team' for managing to win only the CFL year after year. However, East Bengal still hold a superior head to head record when it comes to Kolkata Derbies in the last five years.
#4 'National Club of India' or not?
In the late 1990s, the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi during the Centenary Celebrations of Mohun Bagan called the Mariners as the 'National Club of India'. Since then the Mariners started terming their team as the 'National Club of India' and even imprinted the same on the club gate.
East Bengal fans lodged an RTI (Right to Information) to the MoYS (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) to query about Mohun Bagan being honoured the much-debated title of the 'National Club'. To the delight of the East Bengal fans, the RTI replied negative and asserted that no club in India has been honoured with the 'National Club' title.
East Bengal fans now taunt their rivals for trying to bend the truth which unleashes heated debates both on social media and in the actual world.
Mohun Bagan recently failed the AIFF Club Licensing test and troll pages took to the internet and mocked their fans reminding them that a club which call itself the national club of India aren't even able to pass the license test.
#5 Mariners are accused of being slaves of the British
In the year 1924, East Bengal were jointly tied at the top spot of the CFL: 2nd Division along with Cameroons B, but as Cameroons A were already playing in the First Division, East Bengal were promoted. The process wasn't smooth as the IFA's Governing Body rules permitted only two Indian teams to play in the elite division and the quotas were already occupied by Mohun Bagan and Aryans. It called for a change of rules and in the following Governing Body meeting, those who opposed the club's promotion were ironically the Indian teams, Mohun Bagan and Aryans.
The remaining nine British clubs conveyed their approval. Majority prevailed and East Bengal embarked upon their campaign in the Premier Division.
Mohun Bagan were believed to favour the dominance of British clubs in the Premier Division at a time when revolutionists were in constant battle with the British to gain Independence. Due to this incident, East Bengal fans detest the Mariners by calling them 'Slaves of the British'.
