Anglo-Indians
Anglo-Indians represent a distinctive minority community whose history is closely intertwined with colonial governance, land experiments and questions of belonging in South Asia. This research examines the formation of the Anglo-Indian community and the establishment of McCluskiegunge as a proposed homeland during the final decades of British rule. By situating McCluskiegunge within broader debates on minority identity, land ownership and regional transformation, the study highlights how Anglo-Indians negotiated uncertainty, aspiration and change in both colonial and post-colonial India.
ANGLO-INDIANS
One of Kuntala’s early research topics was to document the history of McCluskiegunge, a settlement set up in the early 1930’s as an utopian homeland for Anglo-Indians in the face of the decline of the British Raj. McCluskiegunge, named after the main proponent for the homeland, Mr ET McCluskie, is situated about 60 km SW of Hazaribagh and a similar distance NW from the state capital of Jharkhand, Ranchi.
It was thought then that maybe as much as 100,000 ha of land could be leased. Initially, 163 Anglo-Indians from all over India and also Burma and Pakistan took up selections whose average area was ~ 5 ha, though a few exceeded 40 ha. Perhaps about 5000 ha were eventually taken up.
This research into the whys, wherefores and questions of identity resulted in a book, published by Minerva, Calcutta in 1990 ‘ In Search of a Homeland‘. A chapter from this book was recently reprinted in “The International Journal of Anglo-Indian Studies (2015, vol 15, 55-78).“
The Anglo-Indian community has mostly faded away, due the impacts of Independence (many Anglo-Indians emigrated) and the passage of time. Nowadays, large open-cut coal mines are only a few kms away from McCluskiegunge and it is now in the Naxalite-Maoist belt which stretches along the eastern side of India. In 2003, our vehicle was stopped by a Maoist blockade and we were surrounded by about 100 bandana-wearers beating our car with sticks. David got out, perhaps unwisely, to remonstrate – fortunately they were taken aback by the presence of a whitey. We had a local friend with us and after some discussion, they allowed us to proceed. Ours was the only vehicle to get through that day. They had legitimate complaints – no electricity, no telephones.
That evening at the McCluskiegunge Guest House, we treated the cadres to a ‘few’ beers!
Near McCluskiegunge is a small Birhor settlement. Birhors are a particular vulnerable and sparse tribal group scattered in this part of India; originally hunter-gatherers now struggling to survive in the modern world. They live in humpies, a sort of vegetarian igloo. Attempts to provide then with very basic housing were not that succesful. It is amazing that groups like the Birhors can still survive in a crowded developing country such as India. Maybe not for long.
Anglo-Indians, Land and Minority Identity
The Anglo-Indian experience in McCluskiegunge offers an important lens into the broader question of minority identity and territorial belonging in late colonial India. The attempt to establish a rural homeland was not merely an economic project but also a political and emotional response to uncertainty during the decline of the British Raj. Land ownership was imagined as stability, dignity and continuity for a community negotiating its future.
McCluskiegunge and Regional Change
Although conceived as a self-sufficient settlement, McCluskiegunge evolved within a region undergoing rapid economic and environmental transformation. The expansion of nearby coal mining areas, infrastructural shifts and political unrest reshaped the social and economic landscape.
This regional transformation places the Anglo-Indian settlement within wider histories of extractive expansion and uneven development in eastern India.
Migration and the Anglo-Indian Diaspora
Following Indian independence, migration became central to Anglo-Indian history in India. While constitutional recognition acknowledged the community, shifting employment patterns and changing political realities encouraged many families to relocate overseas.
McCluskiegunge therefore represents both a historical homeland and a site of dispersal — a place that symbolises aspiration as well as transition.
Neighbouring Communities and Shared Landscapes
The presence of nearby Birhor settlements underscores the layered social histories of the region. Anglo-Indians and indigenous communities inhabited overlapping landscapes shaped by forest resources, land allocation and later industrial development.
By situating McCluskiegunge within these shared landscapes, the research moves beyond community history to examine broader questions of regional change, land and livelihood.
The history of Anglo-Indians in McCluskiegunge reveals how questions of identity, land and belonging intersected during moments of political transition. It remains a significant case study for understanding minority communities, colonial legacies and regional transformation in eastern India.