McCluskieganj is a small hilly town in

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...

State,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, about northwest of the capital,

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

. The town used to have a significant

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

community. It is now a tourist place for its British era old mansions, hills and streams.

History

Ernest Timothy McCluskie, the Anglo Indian businessman from Kolkata visited the place and impressed by the environment and climate of the area. He decided to built a town for Anglo Indian and purchased the lands from king of Chotanagpur,

Udai Pratap Nath Shah Deo Udai Pratap Nath Shahdeo (23 March 1866 - 21 September 1950), was the Nagvanshi Maharaja of Chotanagpur Zamindari estate. He donated large tracts of land to build infrastructure of Ranchi city. He built the Ratu Palace in Ranchi in 1901. He was c ...

. In 1932, he sent circulars to nearly 200,000 Anglo-Indians in India inviting them to settle there.Deep Blue Ink -> Writing -> Features
/ref> It was founded by the Colonisation Society of India in 1933 as a homeland or "Mooluk" for Anglo-Indians.

s could buy

Shares In financial markets, a share is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation, and can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Share capital refers to all of the shares of an ...

in this co-operative, the Colonisation Society of India - which in turn would allot them a plot of land. It became home to 400 Anglo-Indian families within ten years. Of the nearly 300 original settlers, only 20 families remain, as most of the Anglo-Indian community left after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Now, the population of the town is around 3000.

Geography

Macluskieganj is located at the distance of around 60 km North West from state capital of Jharkhand, Ranchi in Khelari block. It is located at alltitude of 450 metre. It is located near the Dugadugi river which is tributary of

Damodar River Damodar River (Pron: /ˈdʌmoˌdaː/) is a river flowing across the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal. Rich in mineral resources, the valley is home to large-scale mining and industrial activity. Earlier known as the Sorrow of Bengal bec ...

. Jhunjhunia waterfall located near Macluskieganj. Dugadugi river in McCluskieganj

Climate

The climate of Macluskieganj is ideal with low humidity. Macluskieganj witnesses frost during winter which cover grass, vehicles and roofs. During cold wave, It record temperature around freezing points. In 2013, it recorded 1.5° Celsius in month of January.

Infrastructure

Educational institution

*Adarsh High school, since 1985. *Don Bosco Academy, since 1997. *Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir, McCluskieganj, primary school since 1998. *St. Teresa's Primary School. *Janet Academy. *Delhi Public International School. *McCluskieganj Inter college, since 2012.

Transport

National Highway 39 (Ranchi-Daltonganj), an important roadway in Ranchi district, passes near Macluskieganj. Macluskieganj railway station located in Macluskieganj. Mcluskiganj station

Attractions

McCluskeiganj Gurudwara and Temple: lying in the same complex is a place of integrity and shows brotherhood of India.
McCluskeiganj Mosque: It is just besides the Gurudwara and Temple complex.
St. John's Church: A historical place built by Anglo-Indians during British rule.

In popular culture

The town was the inspiration for the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

novel ''Maikluskiganj'' () by journalist-writer Vikas Kumar Jha, which was translated into English by Mahasweta Ghosh in 2005. McCluskieganj is also the setting for the 2016 film

A Death in the Gunj ''A Death In The Gunj'' is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Konkona Sen Sharma. The film features an ensemble cast of Vikrant Massey, Tillotama Shome, Om Puri, Tanuja, Gulshan Devaiah, Kalki Koechlin, Jim Sarbh a ...

, which is

Konkona Sen Sharma Konkona Sen Sharma (born 3 December 1979) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films. She has received two National Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. The daughter of filmmakeractress Aparna Sen, Sen ...

's directorial debut, and set in 1979.

References

External links

{{commons category
Time Magazine story about McCluskieganj

Mccluskieganj (MINI London) Facebook Account

McCluskie's Ganj: The Lost Home of The Anglos
(2014): short video documentary on McCluskieganj by Dhiraj Singh Cities and towns in Ranchi district Settlement schemes in the British Empire Settlement schemes in Asia