Coll 28/28A ‘Persia: Perso-Baluchistan frontier; demarcation near Mirjawa [mostly copies of papers on 28/28]’ [‎37r] (73/572)

•Tuzzftk (Tnftan) is the obvious place for it; It becomes necessary to interpolate
here a few remarks about the water supply of Juzzak. Hitherto the railway
authorities have held that the water at this point is too salty to be used in
railway engines and it has also been assumed that it is not fit for permanent
human consumption. This postulate I venture to doubt. Experience elsewhere
has shown that a few month’s steady pumping of water from any initially salty
source tends to remove the salt from the soil, and it is most desirable in my
opinion that before coming to any decision on the location of the railway ter-
minus, an experiment of this nature should be made with the w*ater sources both
at Juzzak and Mnkak, a few’ miles north of the Railway. The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
in Kalat has suggested that an agreement might be effected with the Persians
to enable us to take water from the Mirjaw’a supply and this is another possibi
lity worth consideration, though the previous attitude of the Persirins in regard
to our taking w’ater from their supplies has not been generous. In any event
I w’ould not suggest that Persian complaisance on this particular point should
be a deciding factor on the question of frontier rectification.
5. Apart from the possible water difficulty, the Political Agent’s proposed
line is, equally with His Majesty’s Minister’s line (a), free from objection and
has the advantage that it makes better use of topographical features. Either
line^will have little or no effect on our tribes as the population concerned is in
finitesimal and almost wholly of the Reki tribe, the greater part of which already
lives in Persian territory, wdiile their 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. is a Persian subject. The only
place of any Value to us which w T ould be involved in the cession of territory fol
lowing the adoption of either line is Racha, and as has been pointed out before
there is already doubt whether Kacha lies wnthin British or Persian territory
under the terms of Holdich agreement.
Copy of a coxfidenttal letter from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kalat, to the Sf.cj
RETARY TO THE Hon’bLE THE AgENT TO THE GoVERNOR-GeNERAL AND CHIEF 1
Commissioner in Baluchistan, No. 264-C., dated the 8th August 1932.
With reference to your Express letter No. 418-S., dated the 23rd June
-1932, I have the honour to report as follows.
2. I have considered the alternative proposals • put forward by His
Majesty’s Minister Tehran in the light of my own local knowledge and of the
attached report by the Assistant Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. ; Chagni, who at my request
consulted the Sinjranis, Rekis and other inhabitants of the area concerned
during his visit to Nok Kundi last month. ’
3. In the opinion of Captain Cox and myself, the line (b) proposed by His
Majesty’s Minister is open to the following objections :—
(i) It includes in Persia an area which geographically does not belong
to the Sarhad, the “ frontier province ” of Persia.
(it) It leaves us with a featureless border-line and a bad frontier station,
Nok Kundi.
(«u) It gives Persia part of what may one day prove a valuable mineral
field, namely the volcanic area between Sornehan Knh (4000 A )
and Knh-i-Malik (3048 A ) which abounds in such minerals aS
bauxite, kaolin and sulphate of alumina.
4. On the other band, His Majesty’s Minister’s line (o) has the following
disadvantage, in addition to that pointed out bv His Majesty's Minister him
self in paragraph 4 of his letter: the long and sharp salient involved would be
no less difficult and expensive to, administer effectively than the existing one
and w T onjd be of even less value to us, as it w’ould exclude the only reasonably
habitable spot in the area, Kacha.
5. The line which I would suggest, if it is decided to rectify the frontier in
such a way as to give Persia a substantial strip of territory, is the following
From boundary pillar No. IT to the south-eastern end of the Kuh-i-
Rihi, thence along the axis of this range to its north-westerrt end south
of the railway at Juzzak. Thence to a point on the railway imme
diately to the north-west of Kiih T i-Taftan station (wrongly marked
Juzzak ” in the survey of India maps). Thence northwards via
intersected points 5291 and 5514 to trig station 1881 north of Saindak.
Thence almost due north to the Afghan frontier opposite Dardan well.