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'Report on the Development of the Baluch-Persian Caravan Route and on the Nushki, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts, for the year 1899-1900' [‎9v] (18/64)

The record is made up of 1 volume (28 folios). It was created in 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. .

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REPOET ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FALUCH-PERSIAN CARAVAN ROUTE AND
cart traffic could be made for a sum of from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000, and as regards the objec
tion urged that wheeled carriage would not be used, I can only say that the reason why whee ed
carriage is not employed elsewhere in Baluchistan in because every true trade route in Balu
chistan is furnished with a railway. The Baniahs and traders I have questioned on this
subject have told me, without exception, that as competition is daily growing keener and as
wheeled carriage is the cheaper, they are prepared to employ wheeled carriage as soon as the
road is opened to traffic.
14. Of the several causes which have contributed, during the past twelve months, to
reduce the charges for carriage between Meshed and Quetta, none has had a more important
effect than the concession granted by the Local Government to Krayakashes, under which
caravans returning to Persia are permitted to graze their camels in Katchi free of all
tirni charges. The privilege I refer to is one which has been made extensive use of
during the year and is one which Karayakashes greatly appreciate. I note this as it is
gratifying to perceive that the consistent attempts which are being made to popularize the
route are bearing fruit.
15. I am constantly receiving letters from merchants, pilgrims and others interested in the
Indo-Persian trade and in the caravan route, and tlie general tenor of the queries which are put
to me go to show that my questioners possess little or no knowledge either of the country
through which the trade route passes, or of the trade route itself. To dispel this ignorance,
as well as to advertise the route widely, I have written, in pamphlet form, a brief description
of the route and of the advantages which it offers traders and others. This pamphlet is being
translated into Persian, and when it is ready copies of it will be supplied to all Local Govern
ments in India who will be requested to circulate them as widely as possible. The native
press of India will also be supplied with copies.
16. In my Administration Reports for the years 1897-98 and 1898-99, I have called
attention to the importance of developing the natural resources of the country through which
the caravan route passes, and I have pointed out that the development of the district which
the route traverses and the development of the route itself are so closely interlaced that the
two cannot well be disassociated from one another. I have further noted on the important
part which the development of the country lying in the immediate viciuity of
the caravan route is likely to play in attracting trade and in assisting the passage of
caravans. The funds placed by the Government of India at my disposal, at the close of last
year, were allotted for various purposes directly connected with the improvement of the
caravan route itself, and no provision of any sort was made for extending the area under
cultivation by digging new karezes and by providing existing wells with Persian irrigation
wheels. The scarcity which characterised the later months of the year under report
rendered it necessary for me to devote the larger portion of the small provincial takavi
grant, allotted my Political Assistancy, to the purchase of seed grain for zamindars and to the
alleviation of the distress which prevailed. It thus came about that out of the grant of
Rs. 3,000 allotted under the heading “ Takavi advances,only Rs. 400 remained available to
meet expenditure on new karezes.
17. I have referred elsewhere in this appendix to the advantages which the alignment
now followed by the caravan route west of Nushki offers of extending cultivation. By dint,
partially of persuasion, partially of small doles, some little progress towards making the cara
van route self-supporting was attained in the course of the year. I now propose to explain
in detail what has been done in this respect.
18. At Ledar,* a stage midway between Nushki and Mall, water in promising quan
tities has been found and work was started on a karez. Lack of funds ouly has prevented me
carrying work on this karez to a satisfactory termination.
19. E xamination of the ground between Mall and Kuchaki Chah has disclosed the fact
that several good karezes could be opened along this section of the road to the great
berefit both of the caravan route and of the revenue we derive from the district. It is
unnecessary to dwell here on the effect it would have in the district if the restless Nomad
Balucht population, who now alternate between the plains of Mall and the grazing grounds
of tlm Western Dak System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company. , settled down and cultivated the rich alluvial plain which runs along the
foot of the Sheikh Hussain hill. No better scheme could be devised for winning the local
tribes over to pacific pursuits than by giving them small takavi advances for thm purpose.
.Provided that the one initial difficulty, want of funds, be overcome, there is no substantial
reason that I can see why five or six karezes, each supporting its own twenty or thirty
families, should not be opened here. It is only a few months ago that I sent the head of the
Alakaki tribe to Lagar Koh with instructions to examine that locality and report on the pros-
pects of starting karez cultivation there. On my return from Seistan, I found that the
Makaki had been so favourably impressed with the possibilities of the place I refer to, that
not only had they begun a karez, but they had made considerable progress towards its comple
tion. \\ ant of funds has delayed the completion of this work.
* Ahmad W al has, as a temporary measure, been made the first stage out of Nushki on the new road.
cultivaUon. Makfakl ° ther “ Baluch tribes differ from tbc tribes to the we8t in Possessing a predilection for

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Content

Report by Captain Frank Cooke Webb Ware, Political Assistant, Chagai. Printed in Calcutta at the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1900. The annual report concerns the conditions and administration of the region and the development of the Quetta-Seistan [Sistan] trade route and follows on from Ware's similar reports of 1897 (Mss Eur F111/362) and 1898 (Mss Eur F111/364).

The report opens with a letter from Ware to the Agent to the Governor General in Baluchistan, Quetta, dated 31 July 1900, in which the main points of the report and certain events of the year are summarised. The report itself consists of four appendices, as follows:

  • I 'On the administration of the Nushki, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts' (folios 5-7)
  • II 'On the Quetta-Seistan Caravan Route' (folios 8-15)
  • III 'Nushki Trade Returns for the year 1st April 1899 to 31st March 1900' (folios 15-23)
  • IV 'Miscellaneous' (including genealogical tables of the main Seistan and Shorawak families) (folios 24-29).
Extent and format
1 volume (28 folios)
Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 30; 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.

Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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'Report on the Development of the Baluch-Persian Caravan Route and on the Nushki, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts, for the year 1899-1900' [‎9v] (18/64), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/374, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100065028790.0x000013> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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