!['Seistan' [‎104r] (207/782)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/Mss Eur F111_352_0225.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'Seistan' [‎104r] (207/782)")
The record is made up of 1 file (388 folios). It was created in 17 Jan 1899-4 Apr 1904. 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.
0
Dated Seistan, the 20 th August 1900 (Secret).
From— Major G. Chenevix-Trench, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul for Seistan,
To—The Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department.
I have the honour to enclose a note I have written on
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.
Saiyid Khan,
Naroi Baluch. As the role which this
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.
plays in Seistan may he the
most important feature in local politics, I have written all that I can find out
about his antecedents and his actions up to date.
The
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 refugee from both Afghanistan and Seistan. At present
he appears to offer himself to the highest bidder. The question is whether in
any circumstances the Government of India would be prepared to treat with
him.
As the leading Baluch
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.
of the Afghan-Baluch-Seistan border, he
commands the Baluchis at present occupying the position of being just
beyond the rule of the Government of India, outside the sphere of influence
from Kabul, and averse to Persian rule, whose subjects, if these semi-inde
pendent people can be called by that name, they nominally are.
The Baluchis of this border are fine men, their clansmen extend south to
the ill-defined portion of country, known as Sarhad, to the south of the Nushki
route, and through them to that part of the country known as Persian Baluch
istan. Their sympathies are entirely towards the Indian Government, and
they look with contempt on the rule of the Persians.
Should affairs in Afghanistan and Persia force the Indian Government
towards the Helmand, it would be of importance to find these Baluchis ready
to hand to be formed into levies, &c. The attitude of their leading chief
would influence them powerfully.
Though not such an important
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.
as Saiyid Khan, Khan Jahan
Khan, who has thrown in his lot with him, may still be considered as the next
leading
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.
of the Baluchis, and my suggestions for treating with
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.
Saiyid Khan may be considered in a lesser way with reference to him.
Although at present these Sardars with their hope of being allowed to
return to Seistan, to live among their people, have not recently shown any
desire to break the peace, they with their follow ing are the only internal (if
I may use the word wuth reference to the Baluchis) element which might cause
disorder in this country.
These two Sardars have at various times hinted to British officers fprmerly
in Seistan their desire to come under the protection of the Indian Government.
On the other hand, I have reason to believe that overtures have been made to
these Sardars on the part of the Russians v 7 hen they were in Meshed—overtures
which were refused probably on the ground that, as long as there was hope from
the Indian Government and a chance of returning to Seistan, they would
not seek protection from Russia, so distant and unconnected with the Baluchis
generally. Yet it may be within the political programme of the Russians to
render some help to these Sardars, and so secure their influence, wdiile pleasing
the Wali at Meshed, the Shaukat-ul-Mulk at Birjand, and the Sartip, or
probable heir to the Hashmat-ul-Mulk in Seistan. This last ruler would be the
only one who would be displeased to see the Sardars forced on his country,
which would probably be the form which Russia’s help w r ould take.
Por us to treat with these Sardars would be a delicate matter. The
Russians could say nothing and do nothing, but the Persian Government at
Meshed and the local Governor of Seistan might feel that the loss of
influence over the border Baluchis was merely the thin end of the wedge, to
eventually undermine the rights of the ruler of Seistan. On the other
hand the Persian Government may from apathy and a desire to settle the
question be only too agreeable to see the Sardars settled outside their country,
and in this way remove what is now to them a troublesome question.
About this item
- Content
The file contains papers relating to Seistan [Sistan] and Persia [Iran].
The file includes printed copies of despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General of India and HM Consul-General for Khorasan and Seistan (Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Martindale Temple), to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, with enclosed despatches from Captain Percy Molesworth Sykes to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (the Marquis of Salisbury). Skyes’s despatches regard matters including: Seistan; trade routes into South-East Persia; the boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, in relation to the River Helmund [Helmand] changing its course (in despatch No. 5, which includes four sketch maps, folios 12, 13, 14 and 15); Sykes’s journey to Birjand (in despatch No. 7, which includes a sketch map on folio 20); the ruling family of Kain, which also governed Seistan, Tabbas and Tun; Sykes’s journey from Seistan to Kerman [Kirman] (in despatch No. 11, which includes a sketch map); and the direct Kerman-Quetta caravan trade that Sykes was trying to establish.
The file also includes copies of the following papers:
- A despatch from Temple to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing a letter from Temple to Sir Henry Mortimer Durand (HM Minister, Tehran), with copies of enclosures, regarding the establishment of a Seistan and Kain consulate
- A letter from Charles Edward Pitman, Director General of Telegraphs, to the Secretary to the Government of India Public Works Department, enclosing a copy of a ‘Report on the Preliminary Survey of the Route for a Telegraph Line from Quetta to the Persian Frontier’ by H A Armstrong, Assistant Superintendent, Indian Telegraph Department, which includes six photographs of views along the route [Mss Eur F111/352, f 52; Mss Eur F111/352, f 53; Mss Eur F111/352, f 54; Mss Eur F111/352, f 55; Mss Eur F111/352, f 56; and Mss Eur F111/352, f 57], and a map showing the proposed route of the telegraph line [Mss Eur F111/352, f 59]
- Letters from Hugh Shakespear Barnes, Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan, to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, enclosing copies of the diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai, for the weeks ending 16 February, 28 February, and 8 March 1900
- Diary No. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 of Major-General George Frederick Chenevix-Trench, HM Consul for Seistan (Diary No. 6 includes a sketch map, folio 86)
- A copy of a ‘Report on Reconnaissances Made while Attached to the Seistan Arbitration Commission’ by W A Johns, Deputy Consulting Engineer for Railways, Bombay
- A copy of the report ‘Notes on Persian Seistan’, compiled by Captain Edward Abadie Plunkett, and issued by the Government of India Intelligence Branch, Quarter-Master General’s Department
- Two copies of map signed by Plunkett titled ‘Persian Seistan-Cultivated Area’ [Mss Eur F111/352, f 270]
- A booklet entitled ‘Notes on the Leading Notables, Officials, Merchants, and Clergy of Khorasan, Seistan, Kain, and Kerman.’
- Printed copies of letters from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), relating to the maintenance of British interests in Persia, dated 4 September 1899 and 7 November 1901 (the former with an enclosure of a minute by the Viceroy on Seistan).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (388 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 390; 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. The file contains one foliation anomaly, f 301A
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'Seistan' [104r] (207/782), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/352, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069721604.0x00000a> [accessed 22 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721604.0x00000a
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721604.0x00000a">'Seistan' [‎104r] (207/782)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100069721604.0x00000a"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/Mss Eur F111_352_0225.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000001452.0x0003bc/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/352
- Title
- 'Seistan'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:51v, 58r:58v, 60r:112r, 113r:125v, 147r:218r, 218r, 219r:269v, 271r:301v, 301Ar, 301Av, 302r:388v, 389v:390r, 389r, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence