Nineteen eighty

Mujhe States Ke Naam Na: The year 1984 has been immortalised by English writer George Orwell through his classic novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’. Though it has nothing to do with Orwell’s portrayal of a dystopian society, the year 1984 has huge significance in Indian Football, too.

It was the year when Indian Football made a huge turnaround to qualify for the Asian Cup after 20 long years in the wilderness. 1984 was a year of celebration for Indian Football as Sudip Chatterjee and his men marched into the final rounds of the Asian Cup for the first time since 1964. They displayed great team spirit in the qualifiers, and gave a good account of themselves in the finals in Singapore, which included a goalless draw against mighty Iran.

Sadly, Chatterjee is not among us anymore. But there are others to tell the tale about how a bunch of 20 players stood united to accept the challenge of taking India to the elite group. It was like the iconic dialogue from Shahrukh Khan's Bollywood movie ‘Chak de! India’: “Mujhe States Ke Naam Na Sunai Dete Hai Na Dikhai Dete Hai … Sirf Ek Mulk Ka Naam Sunai Deta Hai – India!" (I can neither hear, nor see the name of any state … I can only hear the name of one nation – India).