File 3360/1916 Pt 1 'Persian correspondence (1916-17)' [‎82r] (168/804)

3
ii P U J- lD /P 6 ^ 0 ^ °f 9 montlis, it may be assumed that nearly all the
able-bodied male inhabitants of villages of Tangistan, Chahkutah, &c., within
a radius of 40 miles have come in to market at least once, with the exception
of the rebel khans, their families, and a certain number of Raises, and notori
ous scoundrels.
A table has been drawn up from the registers of names of tufangchis
depositing rifles at the Inspection post for these 9 months, and I now have the
honour to forward this to you, thinking that it will give you reliable inform
ation as to the number of armed men in Tangistan and Chahkutah. Each
man’s name has only been included once in these lists. The majority of
Borasjun villages trade via Shief and the searoute with Bushire, and do not
biing aims into Bushire at all i this is the reason why only some 8 Borasiun
villages figure on the list, and so few men from Borasfun itself.
The results obtained from the table attached may be compared with the
summary of the estimate of the late Haider Khan, Tangistani, and his son,
enclosed in my despatch to you, No. 25—207-C. of 19th June 1916, of which,
for convenience of reference, i attach a printed copy.
Many exaggerated reports have, I fear, reached His Majesty’s Government '
and military authorities of the numbers and fighting strength of the Tangis
tani, Cbahkutahi tribesmen, etc.: the rebel and hostile Khans have been in
consequence considered far harder a problem to tackle than they really are.
I venture to think that this list shows that the Darya Begi, with the loan of 2
or 3 guns, would have had no difficulty in dealing with these hostile Khans,
and His Excellency, of course, has constantly expressed this opinion.
It will be seen that the interior villages of Tangistan possess according to
this list some 750 rifles (allowing for a few of these weapons to have been
borrowed from their owners by those who do not possess rifles). Of these some
270 are Mauser magazine rifles, and it is notorious that Mauser ammunition is
extremely scarce : some 400 rifles take ’SOS (British) ammunition, but the
majority of these are of an old pattern, not magazine rifles, and the Inspector
states that bandoliers rarely contain more than 15 to 20 rounds.
Shaikh Hussain Chahkutahi’s district owns some 200 rifles, of which 100
take *303 ammunition and 65 are,, Mausers.
Those villages of the Borasjun district, which border on Tangistan, the
Shahi road and Chahkutah, and use the land-route number some 80 rifles
taking *303 ammunition and 60 Mauser weapons.
A further point needs to be borne in mind, /Az., that several of the larger
villages of Tangistan mentioned in these lists, e.g-, Qabakulaki, Suraki, Gulaki
Abad, Anbarak are either altogether, or partly hostile to Z dr Khidar, and
ready to rise against him, should any Government force appear on the
scene: this in itself reduces the number of rifles, likely to oppose any advance
to a very few hundred.
Owing to the scarcity of ammunition (the Khans alone having any stocks
which thev keep for their personal retainers), the values of rifles, especially
Mauser weapons, has fallen very low. Consequently one of the projects in
connection with the recently proposed expedition by the Darya Begi was t le
disarmament of the Tangistan and Borasjun villagers and tribesmen, to w 10 m
some small compensation would have been given to make the measure more
acceptable. This would have finally crushed the power of the Khans and?
tribesmen of the Bushire Hinterland, and rendered them incapable 0 *1 y lr T5 f
the local Government either by holding up the “ Shahi road, ” or by refusing to
pay revenue.