McCluskieganj, a charming hill town near Ranchi, faces an uncertain fate. It grapples with decaying colonial structures, a departed Anglo-Indian community, and environmental threats posed by illegal brick kilns.
It is commonly called the “Ganj”. McCluskieganj is quite a mouthful. A tongue-twister as twisted as its perfect past and a tense present and future.
McCluskieganj is a charming hill town perched on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand, about 65km northwest of Ranchi, and is often affectionately referred to as “Mini-England”. It bears witness to a fading legacy – that of the Anglo-Indians, once a thriving community that built the town and now stands as a mere remnant of its glorious past.
A place of rich heritage, history, and colonial-era buildings, this town was once home to over 400 Anglo-Indian families. The community that once flourished in unity and festivity now dwindles with time. Just 4-5 families remain as most have migrated abroad or shifted to other states for livelihood and a better future for their children.
Meet Malcolm James Hourigan, 49, a prominent figure among the last surviving Anglo-Indians in McCluskieganj. A sense of melancholy permeated his voice as he revealed the stark reality: “In our childhood, there were so many Anglo-Indian families in the Ganj, where vibrant celebrations, especially during Christmas, would fill the air with joy. But all that is gone now. I live alone as my children too have moved to other parts of the country for jobs.”
One of the compelling factors that contributed to the community’s migration was the absence of educational and medical facilities. Anil Kumar Pathak, a 50-year-old traditional healer who has resided in McCluskieganj since the late 1990s, summed up McCluskieganj’s decline: “The Anglo-Indian community initially paid little attention to education when establishing the settlement. Gradually, the absence of schools and other basic necessities, including livelihood opportunities, began to be keenly felt. The community then began to depart and slowly the trend intensified. McCluskieganj lost its charm for which it was known globally.”
Recognising the dire need for education and livelihood prospects, Don Bosco Academy was established in McCluskieganj in 1997. Soon, the school evolved into one of the region’s premier educational institutions, attracting children from various parts of the country. Today, McCluskieganj boasts several schools and hostels, providing a significant source of livelihood for the locals.
Chandra Kala Devi, an 80-year-old widow living in McCluskieganj since the 1960s, delved into the history of her town. In the 1930s, Ernest Timothy McCluskie, an Anglo-Indian businessman from Kolkata, visited this alluring place. Enthralled by its climate and natural beauty, he envisioned building a town for his fellow community members.
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“In 1933, he bought around 10,000 acres from the Raja of Ratu and formed the Colonisation Society of India, a joint-stock company that extended land to every Anglo-Indian shareholder. Circulating invitations to around 2 lakh Anglo-Indians across India, McCluskie lured around 400 to establish their homes in this picturesque location,” said Devi, revealing that nearly 100 families called this place home in the 1960s. Over the years, a wave of “outsiders” has settled here.
Surrounded by lawns and charming flower gardens, guava and mango trees, the high-roofed heritage bungalows, scattered throughout the town, once resonated with echoes of British-style revelry and music. These once-elegant structures now wear a coat of desolation, with most of them reduced to ruins by the ravages of time. Only 15-20 out of the 400 manage to stand tall.
Some of these surviving relics have been acquired by locals for accommodation or transformed into guesthouses for visiting tourists. The town attracts vacationers, particularly from neighbouring West Bengal and Odisha, because of its cooler climate and natural setting.
The town caught the eye of Bollywood actor and director Konkana Sen Sharma, who in 2016, brought its essence to the big screen with her period drama, “A Death in the Ganj”.
Once hailed as the summer capital of Bihar, before Jharkhand was carved out as a separate state in 2000, McCluskieganj still boasts abundant greenery and serene waterfalls that gift visitors with a soothing retreat.
Nonetheless, this idyllic town faces a myriad of challenges. Pathak said the ecological treasure trove that McCluskieganj once was, housing several rare species of plants known for their medicinal properties, has been illegally harvested by corporate entities, leading to the extinction of nearly 50% of the precious species.
The absence of adequate healthcare facilities, coupled with connectivity woes, compounds the hardships faced by its residents. Kamal Kant Sharma, a 40-year-old social activist, said: “The government should focus on building a good hospital as children often need to be transported great distances, mostly to Ranchi, for quality medical treatment. We have been demanding this the past several years, but nothing has been done. McCluskieganj’s primary health centre remains ill-equipped.”
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The town’s transportation network has been plagued by reduced train services since the pandemic. Long-distance trains, including one from Kolkata, which used to stop at McCluskieganj, no longer do so. Road transport isn’t better either, as only one direct bus plies daily to Ranchi. “These have severely impacted tourism, contributing to the town’s economic woes,” Sharma said.
The town also faces environmental degradation due to the unchecked proliferation of illegal brick kilns, causing significant air pollution. “These have thrived due to a nexus between politicians, kiln owners, and law enforcement. They have encroached upon vast areas of land, indiscriminately felling trees to fuel their operations. This not only decimated the town’s natural beauty but also resulted in a change in climate, making it hot and humid. Our residents are grappling with serious health issues,” said a local, who does not want to be named fearing backlash from the powerful kiln owners.
To make matters worse, these kilns have played a major role in the depletion of groundwater levels in McCluskieganj.
Local MLA Sammari Lal acknowledged the gravity of the situation, saying: “We have persistently raised our voices in the legislative assembly, urging the state government to address these issues. The health facilities remain woefully inadequate. Around 40 illegal brick kilns have inflicted significant pollution. But these would be banned soon as the government is committed to transforming McCluskieganj into a prominent tourist destination for Jharkhand.”
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The lead image shows the McCluskieganj railway station (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)
Gurvinder Singh is a journalist based in Kolkata.
