In a display that transcended the boundaries of sport, fans of East Bengal, one of India’s oldest football clubs, took a definitive stand rallying in defence of the Bengali language and cultural identity. During the club's Durand Cup clash against Namdhari FC on Wednesday, East Bengal supporters unfurled a bold and emotive protest tifo, expressing solidarity with Bengali-speaking communities who, they allege, are facing growing discrimination across various parts of the country.
The East Bengal Brigade's tifo, unfurled from the gallery, carried a powerful message, “We were hanged to win India her freedom. And today, for speaking our mother tongue, we're called Bangladeshi?” The display was a direct response to a recent letter from the Delhi Police that controversially referred to Bengali as a "Bangladeshi language," sparking outrage across West Bengal and among the wider Bengali-speaking community.
This is not the first time East Bengal supporters have used protest tifos to make a political statement. In previous years, they voiced their dissent against the NRC and CAA, taking a firm stand against forced documentation and the arbitrary questioning of citizenship and identity.
Founded in 1920, East Bengal Club has historically been associated with displaced Bengalis from East Bengal (now Bangladesh). The club’s origins lie in the socio-political fault lines created by the partition of Bengal, and many of its players, officials, and fans are descendants of those who fled East Pakistan during the 1947 and 1971 crises.
The protest comes amidst a wave of incidents where Bengali-speaking individuals have reportedly been harassed, detained, or labelled "Bangladeshi" in BJP-ruled states including Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and parts of Delhi.
In addition, the Delhi Police referred to Bengali as a "Bangladeshi language" in an official letter. This sparked widespread outrage on social media and prompted condemnation from several quarters, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Reacting to the letter, Banerjee said, “Now they are saying there is no existence of the Bengali language, imagine their audacity. The language that gave us our national anthem, BJP wants to dismiss it.” She termed the move a deliberate insult to Bengali identity and criticised the central government for failing to uphold constitutional respect for cultural diversity.
However, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya defended the police action, stating that the reference to “Bangladeshi language” was meant only in the context of identifying illegal immigrants. “Delhi Police is absolutely right in referring to the language as Bangladeshi in the context of identifying infiltrators,” he said. "There is, in fact, no language called ‘Bengali’ that neatly covers all these variants. ‘Bengali’ denotes ethnicity, not linguistic uniformity... Such nuances are clearly lost on the poorly lettered Mamata Banerjee,” he added.
Malviya argued that dialects such as Sylheti, spoken in parts of Bangladesh, differ significantly from Indian Bengali and are often incomprehensible to native speakers in India. However, TMC leaders dismissed Malviya’s justification as a thinly veiled attempt to stoke division.
Trinamool Congress National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee called the letter “a shocking escalation” and demanded an apology from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, under whose ministry the Delhi Police functions. “For months now, Bengali-speaking people have been targeted, harassed, and detained across BJP-ruled states,” Abhishek said. “This is a deliberate attempt to equate Indian Bengalis with foreigners.”
Mahua Moitra, TMC MP from Krishnanagar, called the reference to Bengali as “Bangladeshi” on official documentation a “calculated action” and demanded an unconditional apology.
With the 2026 Assembly elections on the horizon, the ruling Trinamool Congress has repeatedly intensified its emphasis on “Bengali Asmita” (Bengali identity), accusing the BJP of deliberately attempting to marginalise Bengali language and culture. The BJP, however, has dismissed these claims as mere political posturing, alleging that the TMC is using identity politics to consolidate its vote bank, far removed from ground realities.
