Thomas Anderson, Cinchona Pioneer's statue installed in Mungpoo

KalimNews, Kalimpong, 2 April 2018: A statue of Dr. Thomas Anderson, the pioneer of starting Cinchona Plantation in the Darjeeling hills is installed in Mungpoo. In the initiative of Dr. Samuel Rai, Director of Cinchona and Other Medicinal Plants the task of finding the pioneer and remembering him is made possible.

He depicts the story of this installation as follows: 

"After I joined as Director of the Cinchona Plantation in Nov 2013, I wanted to know who started the Cinchona Plantation but no one in the directorate could answer me. Later, I came to know it was Dr Thomas Anderson a Scottish. Dr R B Bhujel - my teacher once informed me that Coronation Bridge also known as Bag Pool is in his name and is also known as Anderson Bridge. I went to Bag Pool to see if there is anything written about the bridge and Anderson. I talked to people but got no answer. Suddenly I remembered a huge photo and write up on this bridge in a hotel near Sevoke Petrol Pump at Siliguri. So I went there without wasting any time which confirmed me that it was another Anderson  who was an engineer and not a botanist. 

Thomas Anderson

It took me nearly a year to get the photo of Thomas Anderson. One night while I was searching in the google I found one photo of Anderson. It was midnight but I was so happy that I jumped shouting. My co-workers who were fast asleep woke up to see me if I have gone mad in my official bungalow. They could not understand why I was shouting at midnight. Apologizing them for disturbing them I politely requested them to go to their bed. 

Immediately I made an order to install his statue and after some time it was installed in the office premises. But inside my heart, I had a doubt whether it was the right photo of Anderson or not. So, I kept on searching for his descendants. 
I requested my Managers to help me in finding his descendants. But they told me that to find descendants of Dr Anderson is next to impossible. So they could not help me. Really it was an impossible task but I did not give up. I came across Mrs. Slelagh Southwell of Scotland to whom I sent more than 53 mails giving all details of Dr Anderson. She was also interested to know more about Anderson as she herself was searching for her half cousins in Cinchona Plantation. She worked very hard to find Anderson's descendants and once she wrote me "I feel I could  have become a very good investigating officer". To my utter surprise, she reported of finding them in England. 

Mr Lawrence Anderson - great Grand son of Anderson was the result of her hard work. Kind help of Mrs Sleelagh Southwel made it possible who also was granddaughter of Henry Thomas, the then General Manager of the Plantation. She lives in Scotland who is frequenting Cinchona plantation to find her half cousins (illegitimate offspring of her grandfather). 

So this is the statue of the great man Dr Thomas Anderson who died only at the age of 38 in 1870."

Several documentary proof on the history of the establishment of Cinchona plantation states as follows:  

Under the direction of Dr.Thomas Anderson(26 February 1832 – 26 October 1870), a Scottish botanist and the then Superintendent of the Royal Botanical Garden, Calcutta, Cinchona cultivation in Bengal Presidency begun around 1861.

The grave of Thomas Anderson,
Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

The history of Cinchona starts from 1858, when Mr. Markhan and Mr. Weir tried to import the Cinchona Plant into India from Tombaypata in Brazil but their effort bore no seedling as the plant withered away on the way due to long journey. Later, Mr. R. Cross and Mr. Spruce brought the Cinchona plant to India. Mr. Macklower later played an important role in introducing Cinchona plant to Darjeeling hills which subsequently led to Cinchona Farming in the Hills of Darjeeling.

Sir W.J. Hooker sent the first Cinchona seeds to India in 1861 that was to reach Dr. Thomas Anderson. In 1862, Dr. Thomas Anderson succeeded in cultivating the plant across the Rambi river’s bank of Mungpoo. Afterwards, the then manager Mr. Garnie and Uzirsing Tamang started looking after the farm.

The successful establishment of Cinchona plantation at Mungpoo was made by Dr. Anderson in 1864. Subsequently Munsong plantation started in 1901, Rongo in 1938, Latpanchor in 1943 and Ambotia in 1977.

In the year 1906, the Government Cinchona Plantation comprised of the followings : (1) the Rangju Valley block, consisting of the Rangbi and Mungpoo Divisions, which together measure about 900 acres, containing nearly over 2 million plants,(2) the Rayang Valley block, consisting of the Sitong and Labdah Divisions which together comprise an area of about 600 acres, with over 200,000 plants and (3) the Rangju Valley block comprising the Mungpoo Division.

Mr. O. B. Clarke, during 1870 and 1871, and Dr. George King were the Anderson’s successors.

Initially there was only Directorate of Cinchona, later the Directorate of Medicinal Plants was created in the early 1950 and these two Directorates were ultimately amalgamated to a single Directorate in 1968. The initial objective of the Directorate was to grow different species of Cinchona trees to produce the life saving anti malarial drug, Quinine, from its bark. 

Since inception it has been extended to the three Sub-Division of Darjeeling District thereby becoming one of the largest Directorate in terms of manpower and area in the hills of Darjeeling covering a total Area of 26,181.50 Acres. 

The Directorate has 4 (four) plantations as follows: 

a) Mungpoo – established in 1862 

b) Munsong – established in 1901 

c) Rongo – established in 1938 

d) Latpanchor – established in 1943