From Teesta to Felani, how many more victims? Bangladesh’s message to India

The Chronify

November 19, 2025

Bangladesh has tasted victory over India after 22 years. Thanks to Sheikh Morsalin’s goal, the long-elusive win finally came to the hands of Jamal Bhuyan, Hamza Choudhury and their teammates. But this match against India was anything but an ordinary one that hardly needs saying! The intensity of that rivalry was visible multiple times throughout the game.

Before the match, Jamal Bhuyan had made it clear that he would fight for every inch. He even added a video clip of his tackle on India’s footballer Brandon Fernandes-carrying the implicit message: “I won’t back down, and neither will my team.”

That message spread among the supporters as well. In recent years, matches of the Bangladesh national football team have meant a surge of red and green in the stadium. In South Asia’s greatest derby, perhaps its finest chapter was witnessed this time.

And that wasn’t all. The famous slogan of the July movement “Delhi or Dhaka? Dhaka! Dhaka!!”-echoed repeatedly in the stands.

But the biggest attention-grabber was a tifo in the gallery, which read: “From Teesta to Felani, how many more victims?” Even in times of supposedly warm relations between the two countries, bodies have fallen one after another on the border, and the then-government couldn’t do anything to stop it. The long-standing frustration over the unfulfilled Teesta water-sharing agreement also lingers. That very anger seemed to erupt today in the banners and tifos of football supporters.

India wanted to win this battle at any cost. Bringing Sunil Chhetri out of retirement right before the first leg, or flying Ryan Williams to Dhaka before this leg without FIFA’s clearance… all of it showed India’s desperation across both legs against Bangladesh. After falling behind by one goal, they lost their composure and even got into altercations with Bangladesh. It’s a derby-how could it not have this kind of tension?

After all this, if Bangladesh had left the field without a win, the celebration would have felt incomplete. But Hamza, Morsalin and the others did not let that happen. Bangladesh secured the victory, and the context surrounding it made that triumph all the more thrilling.