Gostha Behari Pal (20 August 1896 – 8 April 1976) was an Indianfootballer who played primarily as a defender. Nicknamed "theChinese wall", Pal was thecaptain of theIndia national team,[1][2] who played during the 1920s and 30s.[3]
Spending most of his career inMohun Bagan, Pal is regarded as the best Indiandefender of all time and best player ever to have played for the century-old club.[4][5]
Born on 20 August 1896 inBhojeswar,Faridpore,Bengal Presidency (now inBangladesh),[6] Pal was son of Baboo Shyamlal Pal, a businessman.[7] He moved toCalcutta when he was an infant and lived there till his final days. Pal was a student of Sarada Charan Aryan Institution in Beniatola.[8]
Even if you did not find it necessary to inform us about your marriage, it is my responsibility to bless you on behalf of the Club. After we won the1911 IFA Shield, I got 12 of these badges made. I gave 11 to the 11 players and still have the 12th one with me. I had thought I will give it to someone who will carry forward the tradition and heritage of Mohun Bagan, someone who will always be with the Club.
— Major Sailen Bose, then secretary ofMohun Bagan, after giving the Mohun Bagan badge to Pal after his marriage.[8]
Since his childhood, he used to play both football and cricket, alongside hockey and tennis.[7] He later represented Mohun Bagan cricket team many times.[8] Pal was married to Pushpa Kundu and gave birth their sons Nirangshu and Sukumar.[9][8] He was influenced by legendary footballerShibdas Bhaduri and choose football later, after watching Mohun Bagan's historicIFA Shield victory in 1911 from gallery.[10]
Pal went toVidyasagar College in Calcutta and came close to then principalSaradaranjan Ray,[7] who is regarded as father of cricket in Bengal. He was given thetitle "Chowdhury" duringBritish Raj, but never used it due to nationalist sentiments.[11] Pal went on to write his autobiography which is unfinished and unpublished.[7]
SirDukhiram Majumder was the father figure of football in India during the pre-independence era, credited for bringing up players like Pal,[12][13] Shibdas Bhaduri and others.[14][15][16] He was also groomed and coached by Rajen Sen and Major Sailen Bose.[17]
"I see, you are Goshto Pal, the Chinese Wall."
— Rabindranath Tagore, Asia's first Nobel laureate, addressed Pal after meeting him, after arrival of Mohun Bagan players inSantiniketan.[18]
Nicknamed as "Chiner Pracheer" (The Great Wall of China),[19][20] Pal was one of the best defenders of contemporary Indian football.[21] He started playing forKumartuli Athletic Club at the age of 11, and was spotted there by Kalicharan Mitra,[22] also known as Kali Mittir, one of only two Indian members in the governing body of theIndian Football Association (IFA) at the time. Mittir was influential and well-connected in the Indian football scene, and the first to identify Pal's unique defence techniques. He was signed byMohun Bagan at the age of 16,[23] as a replacement for Reverend Sudhir Chatterjee.[8] After joining the team, he played in the 1914Calcutta Football League second division; Mohun Bagan for the first time played in the tournament and finished third with only the top non-military team be promoted to CFL 1st Division.[9] They played their first match of the first division on 15 May 1915 againstCalcutta Cricket and Football Club, which was drawn.[24] In 1916, he appeared in Asanullah Cup in Decca, in which they went down to Sovabazar Club in final.[25]
Gostha Imapegnable as the Chinese Wall
— The proverb on Gostha Pal, was written by a British journalist under the pseudonym "Red Rose" inThe Englishman.[7]
Playing barefooted, Pal faced problems in his early games but regained his composure quickly to mark his monopoly in the defence, and is unanimously praised for his contributions in defence in the match against British teamBlack Watch.[18] In 1921, Gostho Paul was honoured with the captaincy of the Mohun Bagan football team, and he remained as the club captain for next 5 years.[26] He gained legendary status in 1923 when Mohun Bagan participated at theRovers Cup inBombay and defeated several English teams to reach the final,[18] the first Indian team to do so[27][28] – but lost 4–1 to a technically superior team2nd Battalion of Durham Light Infantry.[29][30] In the same year, they defeated Calcutta Cricket and Football Club, the oldest football club in the country with having Europeans in squad, for the first time in the return leg of CFL.[4] In 1925, Mohun Bagan became the first civilian Indian team to be invited to the oldest football tournament in Asia,Durand Cup, where they lost toSherwood Foresters in the semi-finals.[31][32]
During a match between Mohun Bagan andCalcutta FC in 1935, Pal protested against the biased refereeing, that angered then British-dominatedIndian Football Association.[49] He retired from football in 1936.[17]
Between 1924 and 1935, during theBritish rule in the country, Pal representedIndia national football team in their tours toCeylon andAustralia.[50] He took part, and also captained in India's earliest known matches against visiting European teams.[17] In 1924, he was appointed captain of the national team consisted both Indian and British players, that toured toCeylon.[51] Thus, he became India's first captain and the tour became first known official international tour by the team.[51]
Pal was again selected in the Indian team for anaway match againstCeylon in 1933 as the captain ofIFA XI. He played againstCeylon in 1933 and led his side to 1–0 victory.[52][53] In next year, he missed an opportunity to play for India in theirSouth Africa tour due to injury, in which Sanmatha Dutta succeeded him in leading the team.[54]
After retirement, Pal was associated with Mohun Bagan and scouted players for the team.[55] In 1948, he took up the responsibility of secretaryship of the club temporarily whenBalaidas Chatterjee went on to guideIndia at theSummer Olympics in London.[56]
Beside football, Pal also appeared in thesilent era movieGouri Shankar, which was directed by Anandamohan Roy, produced by National Pictures Limited, and released on 26 October 1932.[7][57]
People know me because of this Mohun Bagan jersey. This jersey and club have taught me how to play. This is my most favorite possession. I respect this Green and Maroon jersey. I have told my sons that after I die, they must lay the jersey on me during my last journey. This is my last wish.
— Pal showing love for Mohun Bagan before death.[58]
After his death, a statue was erected in memory of him at the Gostha Pal Sarani (named after him)[59][60] in 1984, in opposite to theEden Gardens atKolkata Maidan area.[61] The statue was unveiled by then PWD minister Jatin Chakraborty.[7]
In 1998, a postage stamp dedicated to Pal, was unveiled inCalcutta by theIndia Post.[17] Thus, he became the first Indian footballer to have a commemorative postage stamp in his honour.[62] Later, within Mohun Bagan club tent, a museum has been built in his name.[7] Gostha Pal Championship, named after him, under the aegis ofAll India Football Federation's 'Golden Baby Leagues', was incorporated to include more children from Kolkata into the football culture.[63] In memory of him, Gostha Pal Football Academy was incorporated by theGovernment of West Bengal, in which noted Indian playerPrasun Banerjee served as chief advisor.[64]
In 2025, an in ink brand, namedKoliketa launched Green and Maroon coloured inks tributing him.[65]
Padma Shri in 1962,[68][69] fourth highest civilian award in India (first footballer to receive the honour).[70][71][72]
Mohun Bagan AC awarded him theMohun Bagan Ratna posthumously, which is given to former greats of that club, in 2004. The family of Gostha Pal returned the Mohun Bagan Ratna to Mohun Bagan Club in 2019 in protest of the lackadaisical attitude of the club towards the legend's memorabilia.[73][74]
^abcdefghChakraborty, Rana (20 August 2019)."প্রাচীরের নাম গোষ্ঠ পাল" [The Wall Named Gostha Pal].ekhonkhobor.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Ekhon Khobor Bangla. Archived fromthe original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved22 October 2022.
^Saha, Nirmal Kumar (29 July 2020)."বিপ্র-কুটিরের 'পঞ্চম পাণ্ডব' শিবদাস" ['Fifth Pandava' Shibdas of Bipra-Kutir].thecalcuttamirror.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: The Calcutta Mirror. Archived fromthe original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved20 October 2022.
^Dasgupta, Biplab (11 October 2020)."প্রসঙ্গঃ স্যার দুখীরাম মজুমদার" [Context: Sir Dukhiram Majumdar].justnews24x7official.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Just News 24×7. Archived fromthe original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved21 October 2022.
^Webdesk, Xtratime Bangla (21 April 2020)."ভাইপোকে পোস্টে বেঁধে লাথি মেরে ছিলেন স্যার দুখিরাম মজুমদার…" [Sir Dukhiram Majumdar tied his nephew to a post and kicked him...].xtratimebangla.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Xtratime Bangla. Archived fromthe original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved21 October 2022.
Sen, Dwaipayan (2013). "Wiping the Stain Off the Field of Plassey: Mohun Bagan in 1911". In Bandyopadhyay, Kausik; Mallick, Sabyasachi (eds.).Fringe Nations in World Soccer. Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-99810-5.
Sen, Ronojoy (2015). "The Empire Strikes Back: The 1911 IFA Shield and Football in Calcutta".Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. Columbia University Press.ISBN978-0-231-16490-0.
Dutta, P. L.,Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir)
Bhattacharya, Ayan (10 September 2023)."বাংলা ভাগের ক্ষত কিভাবে বিষিয়ে দিল মোহনবাগান আর ইস্টবেঙ্গলকে?" [How did the wound of the partition of Bengal poisoned both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?].inscript.me (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনস্ক্রিপ্ট বাংলা নিউজ. Archived fromthe original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved7 November 2023.
Ahmed, Rasel (1 February 2019)."জাদুকর সামাদ: বাংলার একজন অতিমানব" [Magician Samad: The Wizard from Bengal].roar.media (in Bengali). Dhaka: Roar Media News. Archived fromthe original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved17 December 2023.
Padma Shri in 1962,[68][69] fourth highest civilian award in India (first footballer to receive the honour).[70][71][72]
