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Coll 7/37 'Afghanistan: sale of 25,000 1914 pattern rifles from War Office stocks and 7 million rounds of ammunition from Government of India stocks; negotiations with Afghan Government' [‎575r] (1152/1201)

The record is made up of 1 file (598 folios). It was created in 13 Jul 1935-28 Mar 1941. 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. .

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SECRET
UC/AW, (183 groups) 4914.
DSCYPHSR OF TSLBGBAM .
From Government of India, Foreign and
Political Department, to Secretary
(COPIES of State for India.
CIRCULATED)
Dated Simla, 14th September, 1935.
Received 14th September, 1935, 10.30 p.m.
XXX
£47 5 0 Part Two R
2 C we feel that our future policy in this matter
must be determined mainly by what we feel to be the basic
necessity of maintaining and affirming decision and control
in the policy towards Afghanistan secured to the Government
of India in conjunction with the Secretary of State by the
agreement arrived at in .1921 between the Secretary of State
and His Majesty* a Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ~ see
correapondence at serial numbers 36 and 62 of Afghan eerie b,
part The necessity for this single control of policy on
both sides of the Afghan frontier has, in our view,, been
clearly established by the experience of the 13 years which
have elapsed axnce the establishment of the Legation in Kabul.
Division of control would involve dangerous possibilities of
friction and delay in handling of the frequent problems which
arise, in which both the Afghan Government and our frontier
administrations are vitally concerned, such, for instance, as
the events following on the Ellis outrage in (? 1923), Khost
rebellion of 1924, inoursion of Wasir tribesmen into
Afgnanlstan in 1933, and the present trouble with the Terobo
Ghiizais, who are residents of Afghanistan but winter on the
Indian side of and close to the Durand Line, we recognise that
a necessary corollary to this power of control is the
acceptance by us of the primary responsibility for peace-time
expenditure in Afghanistan under both of the heads mentioned
above

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Content

This file is a continuation of Collection 7/36, reference IOR/L/PS/12/2203.It contains correspondence between the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for India, HM Minister at Kabul, the War Office, the Government of India Foreign and Political (later External Affairs) Department, and the 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. Political Department.

Much of the early correspondence duplicates that found in IOR/L/PS/12/2203, and concerns the Afghan Government's request for an additional 25,000 rifles plus ammunition, debates over the division of liability between British and Indian revenues, and discussion of possible payment options.

The rest of the correspondence concerns arrangements for shipping the arms and ammunition, and is accompanied by delivery invoices and reports on the quality inspections conducted prior to shipping. Details of the procedures, including examples of examiners' marks, and a sketch of the packing crates used, can be found at folios 262, and 234-238.

Prior to sale, the War Office had undertaken to perform firing tests on all the rifles for an additional charge. These tests were not conducted, and the file contains correspondence between the 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. and the War Office, discussing the best options for presenting this fact to the Afghan Government, options for conducting the tests or reducing the price of the order, and the potential damage that would be caused to Britain's reputation, and Anglo-Afghan relations.

The correspondence also concerns complaints by the Afghan Government that a number of rifles were damaged in transit or badly corroded. It documents the disagreement between the War Office, 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. and the Government of India over the provision of replacement rifles and parts, and contains details of the eventual arrangements and final agreement with the Afghan Government (found at folios 117-122).

The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are found at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-3).

Extent and format
1 file (598 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 599; 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.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 7/37 'Afghanistan: sale of 25,000 1914 pattern rifles from War Office stocks and 7 million rounds of ammunition from Government of India stocks; negotiations with Afghan Government' [‎575r] (1152/1201), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2204, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100036310622.0x000098> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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