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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [69r] (142/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 1900. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
[ 3 ]
5.
qUife “ ra P idl y ^ Captain McMahon
proposes nor is it necessary to administer the Chageh conntey asTf it
Bnt ls h district. Nothing in the shape of
Af.hans P and W the nIoT^ ^ “ they are P rotected ^ the
Afghans and the Naosherwams, would he left to manage their own affairs
subject to the advme of the Political Officer. Since 1886 when
Sardar
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
Ali Kh n
Smjeram, was forcffily turned out of Chageh by the Afghans, we have paid S
Chief a subsistence allowance of Ps. 10 a day.
Sardar
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
Ali Khan has now been
emstated m Chageh, but, as it is important to utiUse his services on the border, we
propose to raise his allowance to Rs. 350 a month, and to continue it as a service
allowance m return for which he will be expected to maintain a few levies for
he protection of the frontier beyond Chageh and towards the Helmand. But
i we are to give the people the protection they require, the whole of the
road from Nushki to the Persian border, and the political arrangements in the
country through which it passes, should be placed under a British officer, and
this can only be done by adding a Political Assistant to the staff of the Governor-
General s Agent in Baluchistan. It would be necessary to give this officer a
small office establishment, and also to place at his disposal, as suggested by
Captain McMahon, a body of 50
Political Assistant, 3rd Class, Rs. 500 per mensem
Fifty camel sowars at Rs. 20 each per mensem
Native officers for these levies, say Rs. 250 per mensem...
Khan aiyl his levies at Rs. 350 per mensem
Total
Deduct allowance now paid to
Sardar
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
Ali Khan
Net cost
Rs.
6,000
12,000
3,000
4,200
28,200
3,650
24,550
mounted levies to be stationed at
suitable places along the road.
The total cost of these arrange
ments would, as shown in the
margin, amount to about Es.
" 28,200 a year. The net increase
of expenditure, if the allowance hitherto paid to Ali Khan is taken into
account, would be Es. 24,550. If Your Lordship is of opinion that the
opening up and maintenance of this important trade route, and the protec
tion of the newly demarcated frontier is worth this expenditure, we would
ask sanction to the addition of a Political Assistant of the 3rd class to our
Political Department, and for permission to incur the other charges named
within the total indicated. "We are of opinion that the control of this new tract
of country cannot be effectually exercised in any other way or at a smaller
cost, but if we are permitted to incur the expenditure we have named, we think
that it will be possible not only to ensure the protection of the
kafila
A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers.
route, but
also to establish peace and order along the whole of this portion of the Afghan
border. One result of the peace that will be established will be certainly a
considerable increase in the cultivation of tracts like Dalbandin, which are
suitable for agricultural operations. This will mean greater facilities for
the passage of caravans, and if it should be found desirable to take such a
course, it is probable that some portion of the expenditure might be
recovered by the levy of a light revenue in those parts of the country where
the Afghans have hitherto been collecting one-half the gross produce. The
levy establishment placed at the disj>osal of the Political Officer would enable
him to collect such revenue as is available at present, and we do not propose
to incur any further expense on establishments, unless the Political Officer
can show that he can meet the expenditure from his collections.
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [69r] (142/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x00008f> [accessed 25 August 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence