McCluskiegunj - The Lost Anglo-Indian Dream

MCCLUSKIEGUNJ, RANCHI, JHARKHAND, INDIA - 2017/04/02: Clayton Gomes (26), one of the Anglo-Indians living at McCluskiegunj, runs a hostel at his house. McCluskiegunj is a town founded by Ernst Timothy McCluskie, a businessman from Calcutta (now Kolkata) of Irish-Indian origin. He formed a co-operative, Colonisation Society of India, in 1933 by taking permanent lease of 10000 acre of land at Lapra, an insignificant place some 70 km from Ranchi, from the king of Ratu. His idea was to eventually build an enclave for the Anglo-Indian and Euro-Indian people living in India which would be a "mini England" providing solidarity and security to the minority community from getting its identity lost in the vast population of India. It attracted as many as 400 Euro-Indian families who were eager to realize the dream of McCluskie who died in 1934. But things gradually took a different turn as lack of economic opportunity for the younger generation and the general political atmosphere before the Indian independence made the Euro-Indian population doubt their future in a country where their culture was closer to the colonial British. With the passage of time many of the the old generation died while others moved away to seek fortune elsewhere. Today only a handful of them remain in McCluskiegunj reminiscing the glorious past. Quite a few of them have to face difficulty in making a living too. But with the opening of Don Bosco Academy school there has been an economic revival in McCluskiegunj as many residents have converted their houses into hostels for students. But it will never be what it once was or what it was first conceived to be. McCluskiegunj tried to look towards the future but ironically today it lives in the past. (Photo by Subhendu Sarkar/LightRocket via Getty Images)
MCCLUSKIEGUNJ, RANCHI, JHARKHAND, INDIA - 2017/04/02: Clayton Gomes (26), one of the Anglo-Indians living at McCluskiegunj, runs a hostel at his house. McCluskiegunj is a town founded by Ernst Timothy McCluskie, a businessman from Calcutta (now Kolkata) of Irish-Indian origin. He formed a co-operative, Colonisation Society of India, in 1933 by taking permanent lease of 10000 acre of land at Lapra, an insignificant place some 70 km from Ranchi, from the king of Ratu. His idea was to eventually build an enclave for the Anglo-Indian and Euro-Indian people living in India which would be a "mini England" providing solidarity and security to the minority community from getting its identity lost in the vast population of India. It attracted as many as 400 Euro-Indian families who were eager to realize the dream of McCluskie who died in 1934. But things gradually took a different turn as lack of economic opportunity for the younger generation and the general political atmosphere before the Indian independence made the Euro-Indian population doubt their future in a country where their culture was closer to the colonial British. With the passage of time many of the the old generation died while others moved away to seek fortune elsewhere. Today only a handful of them remain in McCluskiegunj reminiscing the glorious past. Quite a few of them have to face difficulty in making a living too. But with the opening of Don Bosco Academy school there has been an economic revival in McCluskiegunj as many residents have converted their houses into hostels for students. But it will never be what it once was or what it was first conceived to be. McCluskiegunj tried to look towards the future but ironically today it lives in the past. (Photo by Subhendu Sarkar/LightRocket via Getty Images)
McCluskiegunj - The Lost Anglo-Indian Dream
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Credit:
Subhendu Sarkar / Contributor
Editorial #:
664819262
Collection:
LightRocket
Date created:
02 April, 2017
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Source:
LightRocket
Object name:
McCluskiegunj 45
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3500 x 2336 px (29.63 x 19.78 cm) - 300 dpi - 5 MB