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2021-08-25T10:26:27Z

In popular culture

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = McCluskieganj
| other_name =
| nickname =mini London
| settlement_type = Block
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| pushpin_map = India Jharkhand#India3
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Jharkhand, India
| coordinates = {{coord|23.64|N|84.94|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Jharkhand]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[districts of Jharkhand|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Ranchi]]
| subdivision_type3 =Block
| subdivision_name3 = Khalari
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_rank =
| area_total_km2 =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_footnotes =
| leader_title1 =
| leader_name1 =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Sadri language|Sadri]], [[Hindi language|Hindi]]
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code = 829208
| registration_plate =JH
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

[[File:McCluskieganj.jpg|right|thumb|A mosque, a temple & a gurudwara at one place]]

'''McCluskieganj''' is a small hilly town in [[Jharkhand]] State, [[India]], about {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=out|sigfig=|sp=us}} northwest of the capital, [[Ranchi]]. The town used to have a significant [[Anglo-Indian]] community at one time but this has declined considerably.

==History==
[[File:Mcluskiganj station.jpg|left|thumb|McCluskieganj railway station]]
It was founded by the Colonisation Society of India in 1933 as a homeland or "Mooluk" for Anglo-Indians. [[Anglo-Indian]]s could buy [[Shares]] in this co-operative<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-jalandhar/20161225/282385514173541|title=A quiet Christmas at the Ganj - Hindustan Times|last=Kohli|first=Namita|date=25 December 2016|access-date=25 December 2016|via=pressreader}}</ref> - 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.<ref>[http://home.alphalink.com.au/~agilbert/abstra~5.html Memory, identity and productive nostalgia: Anglo-Indian home-making at McCluskieganj - Dr Alison Blunt Department of Geography Queen Mary College, University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS]</ref> In 1932 Ernest Timothy McCluskie, a businessman from [[Calcutta]], the founder of the town, sent circulars to nearly 200,000 Anglo-Indians in India inviting them to settle there.<ref name=":0">[http://deepblueink.com/writing/features/travel_jharkhand_mccluskieganj.htm Deep Blue Ink -> Writing -> Features]</ref> Of the nearly 300 original settlers, only 20 families remain, as most of the Anglo-Indian community left after [[World War II]].<ref name=":0" /> The town has lush green surroundings, dirt tracks and fresh air to breathe.
[[File:Dugadugi river in McCluskieganj.jpg|right|thumb|Dugadugi river]]

==Places==

Today, most of the old mansions have been converted to guest houses for tourists. Duga dugi River and Jagriti Vihar are some of the places to visit. A unique cluster of a temple, a mosque and a [[gurudwara]] draws visitors from far off places. There is also a [[Don Bosco Academy]] in the town. A documentary was made about the town's community in 1993. McCluskie was a property dealer based in Calcutta. He used to visit some villages in the area for hunting, and even built a [[Shanty town|hutment]] at a place called Harhu. His friend PP Sahib worked as the manager of Ratu Shahansha's estate and it was he who convinced the Shahansha to lease out the land to McCluskie.

Subsequently, in 1933, the Colonisation Society of India Limited was formed and the Shahnsha signed an agreement with it. It was decided that the Anglo-Indians could build their settlement in nine villages on land not occupied by the original rahiyats (tenants) of those villages. It was also agreed that the settlers would not be allowed to acquire the rivers and the hills.

==In popular culture==
The town was the inspiration for the [[Hindi]] novel ''Maikluskiganj'' ({{lang|hi|मैकलुस्कीगंज}}) by journalist-writer Vikas Kumar Jha, which was translated into English by Mahasweta Ghosh in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Yeah |first1=Zac |title=Book Review – McCluskieganj: The Story of the Only Anglo-Indian Village in India |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/book-review-mccluskieganj-the-story-of-the-only-anglo-indian-village-in-india |access-date=24 June 2018 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |date=3 October 2015}}</ref>

McCluskieganj is also the setting for the 2016 film [[A Death in the Gunj]], which is [[Konkona Sen Sharma]]'s directorial debut, and set in 1979.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vats |first1=Rohit |title=A Death In The Gunj movie review: Konkona Sensharma makes a brilliant debut |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/a-death-in-the-gunj-movie-review-experimental-surreal-and-successful/story-XtQm5Ff3buS0iYo4I8ZT1O.html |access-date=24 June 2018 |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=21 July 2017}}</ref>

Aided by the stories of [[Buddhadeb Guha]] and [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]], McCluskieganj has been a part of popular culture in Bengal. Guha's novel Ektu Ushnatar Jonno has played a major role in popularising this place as a tourist destination for Bengalis, especially during the fall and the winter seasons. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.in/Ektu-Ushnotar-Jonno-Popular-Romantic-ebook/dp/B07BCX6NGX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8| title=Ektu_Ushnotar_Jonne }}</ref>

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081123014249/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,300683,00.html Time Magazine story about McCluskieganj]
* [http://www.facebook.com/mccluskieganj Mccluskieganj (MINI London) Facebook Account]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBWdOO5hj8Y McCluskie's Ganj: The Lost Home of The Anglos] (2014): short video documentary on McCluskieganj by Dhiraj Singh

[[Category:Cities and towns in Jharkhand]]
[[Category:Settlement schemes]]

McCluskieganj - Revision history

imported>Anibhat1234: /* In popular culture */