When football rivalry stopped in Kolkata over the horrendous rape and murder of an innocent doctor

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There is an old saying, you can never take fish and football out of a Bengali. What has transpired in the last few days in Kolkata and its suburbs is something unprecedented, a Derby match between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal not being played at the Salt Lake Stadium due to security reasons.

The first impression one would get of any mention of the word 'security' is how fans can turn more than loutish and indulge in arson and violence over these two teams.

No, what one has witnessed in the last 24 hours plus is something so different, so defining, and yet, something which makes you wonder why sports is all about emotions and tears.

Nobody, not even a man in his 80s living in Kolkata would have ever imagined, that fans of Mohun Bagan and East Bengal would be standing together and taking on the cops, who were a worried lot on Sunday. Fans of Mohammedan SC, the third big club from the 'City of Joy' also joined the other two in protests.

There is no mystery as to why these fans, known for fighting at the slightest pretext have come together. It is to mourn and draw attention over the gruesome rape and murder of a lady doctor, who did not know the night of August 8, 2024, she would herself become a corpse in the RG Kar hospital.

This is the same hospital where the victim had treated patients, a few hours before. Yet, she did not know, she would be treated so inhumanly. Forget outraging modesty and all that, this was one of the most sanguine scenes which are now being reconstructed by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), on directions from the Calcutta High Court.

Before you wonder what a piece on rape and murder has to do in the sports section, hang on, there is a big connection. One unnatural death, a gruesome murder, has shaken and stirred the collective consciousness of the entire nation.

From doctors to lawyers and common man to cops all over India, people are in shock at what happened with the late doctor. What was her fault? None. Yet, what she faced as horrifying moments is now all over in the public domain and makes you shiver to the bones how a girl could be tortured like this and killed.

It is this massive sense of outrage and shock among the public which has ensured, even those in a sport like football have stood up and united. Imagine, a football match being called off as a preventive measure, this has never happened before in Calcutta or Kolkata.

More importantly, for two rival teams' fans to join and pose for pictures is a clear sign, that sports is not all about fun and entertainment. There is a human side to sports, athletes as well as the fans who watch and enjoy it. To say that people are in a daze would be putting it mildly.

Over the decades, Calcutta and erstwhile West Bengal, have always been associated with a rich culture and respect for women. Calcutta is the same city which has seen a Divine Sharada Devi, wife of revered Ramakrishna Paramahansa, whose Belur Math Ashram stands testimony to sanctity and peace next to the Holy river.

So, how could the same city -- now Kolkata -- indulge in such madness wherein an innocent doctor had been beaten, broken and killed after her modesty was outraged in a way that people would associate with perhaps the Taliban in Afghanistan.

It is this cruelty for which sports stand up today in Kolkata to project a united face. This is not about points being split or won in a football match, this is about how the soul of a city has been torched and football can wait. After all, protests have not been symbolic. They are one of extreme emotion, where the cry for justice is reaching a crescendo.

This is the power of sports and the power of football, to beg for attention. For those familiar with politics and crime in Bengal and it now being spoken of as a lawless state, football rivalry has united in the fond hope nothing like this will ever happen ever again. Be sure, that this show of unity was not symbolic. This is the power of sports, how to join hands, forgetting own rivalry.

The impact it has made will be talked of, many years later. To imagine Mohun Bagan and East Bengal fans will return to cheering football right away seems improbable. A nation weeps for an innocent lady doctor killed and the message from football fans is they love humanity more than just rivalry on the field.