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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [24v] (53/617)
The record is made up of 2 volumes (301 folios). It was created in 22 Jun 1896-3 Mar 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
t
e
4
_ ,, fllA t riie Rakhshani
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.
; but
e "Rvdtnl is undoubted y under tlie leidersbin
tlie - ^to his wealc and vacillating nat^e, his opp^ K ’ AIM KiuNi have not
7^0 Chiefs thus offered to increase th,r
been slow to avail tcemse^eb
influence at Ins expense. i aS t year, but it was
4 As to Nushki and its quarrels, X earne^ ^ ()f t ^ e disputes that
of until 1 spent several weeks mvestiga '» h various Mengal and
raa* »•
Rakhshani factions naa D io\^
meIlt offered ’ , . f K , T territory, and hitherto, in common with
5 . Noshki forma P^^^een administered, or, as I will shortly have
other sub-divisions of K ’ the Khan’s name, by a Naib appointed for
cause to show, mal-admimsteied, m ^ de pl„ ra ble condition. Admims-
the purpose. The country rs truly m a mo,t there is none . While all
f ration, in the proper sigm progressing, and, as m the ease of
Baluchistan has slowly but surely , Pg, administration, Ktjshki has
Kalat, benefiting by its P r f 1 Almost the only occasions on
siood still, f hl e to ascertain, we have made any attempt to
which, so far as L ha;. e , , , som o nternal feud has come
interpose our authority in the fighting. On such occasions,
,o a head and involved the country m desulto^ohn ' ^ of the factions
with contempt as soon as it got to a safe distance from Quetfou Of late yea ^
pvpr oi nce a small punitive thana has been posted at Nlshki, the force avauaine
has been too weak to give effect to judicial findings. Intermittent attempts
have been made by the Thanadar to act up to Ins orders, but a rifle shot, or tin
threat of a loaded pistol, has warned him of the folly of attempting impossi
bilities.
6. The only other occasions of our intervention I can trace have been
when the Zagah Mengal
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.
, in whom the right to levy a tax on passing
merchandise has been vested for many successive generations, has seen fit to
heap such burdensome dues on merchandise bound for the Quetta market
as to threaten to extirpate all trade. This action has occasioned on our side the
entry of protests, to be forgotten almost as soon as received. The cause of our
apathetic policy towards the district is probably to be assigned to the fact that
INtjshki and its
Dak
System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company.
form a continuation of Shorawak, and that, as nothing
exists that can possibly be construed into a well-defined natural boundary, we
were apprehensive of identifying ourselves too closely wdth the country, lest we
should be continually embroiled with the Kandahar authorities in disputes
regarding the limits of the Baluch-Afghan boundary in the vicinity.
7, As to the Khan, he appears to have taken hut scant interest in Nushkl
I t must he remembered that the portion of Nushki acknowledging his direct
sway is only the tew hundred a res watered by the Kaisau Stream, with its
ramifications, and the
Dak
System of postal communication used in Moghul India and later by the East India Company.
lands immediately in the vicinity.
As regards the Mengals who lived outside these limits, they have been
subjects of either Khav or Amir, as suited their purposes best; but it is worthy
of note that their leanings as shown by the reference of their disputes, is most
markediv towards Afghan rule. A recent exemplification of the same leaning
was given us at the conclusion of last year’s Boundary Commission, when all
tie loading lomandars, though in many cases owning lands w r ell within the
KaluaT spheie of influence, were induced to journey to Kabul and offer their
a logi n e to the Amir, to he rewarded wdth khilats and apportioned various
scan s oi pay. rx
, b ; ' 1 ; 10 JF 18 : 1 " 1 s to have absented himself from Nushki
* u n w ’ ie - Ver attem r ,ted to consolidate his master’s rule, but
plb, ’ ' ^ !S j lf ” co ' ie '' year by year gradually slipping from his
revenue' n, rhe ^rfin 00 ’ 11 ^., UD ? se ^ d - y collecting an ever dwindling
revenue. Ihe Khans authority m Nushki has thus daily become more
About this item
- Content
The volumes contain papers relating to Persia [Iran], including Seistan, and the tract of land south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary between Nushki and Persia, which had become British territory following the demarcation of the Afghan-Baluch border.
The papers largely consist of printed copies of correspondence between the Governor General of India in Council (Government of India Foreign Department) and the Secretary of State for India (Lord George Francis Hamilton), and enclosed correspondence and papers.
Letters from the Governor General of India in Council to the Secretary of State for India include:
- Number 170, 16 September 1896, relating to the opening up of a trade route between Nushki and the Persian frontier, crossing the tract of British territory south of the Baluch-Afghan boundary, and the protection of the newly-demarcated frontier, with enclosed memorandum by Captain Arthur Henry McMahon, British Commissioner, Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission, containing his proposals for the management and administration of the tract and for the protection of the trade route
- Number 58, 31 March 1898, concerning the trade route between Baluchistan and Persia, including the suggestion that Consular Agents should be appointed at central points along it between Seistan and Meshed, with enclosures including a report by Lieutenant Frank Webb-Ware, Political Assistant at Chagai, on his visit to Seistan at the beginning of 1896, and the measures introduced for the development of trade between Baluchistan and Persia (which includes a blueprint map, Mss Eur F111/350, f 33)
- Number 163, 15 September 1898, forwarding copies of papers regarding the situation in Makran and Panjgur, following recent ‘disturbances’ in Makran.
The file also includes:
- Copies of Government of India Foreign Department papers numbered 40-58 relating to the Kerman Consulate and British interests in Southern Persia, including correspondence between the Government of India Foreign Department and the Secretary of State for India
- A letter from the Secretary of State for India to the Governor General of India in Council, with enclosed despatch from Sir (Henry) Mortimer Durand, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Foreign Office, dated 12 February 1899, in which he gives his opinion on suggestions for the appointment of additional consular officers in Persia (this includes a map titled ‘Skeleton Map of Telegraph Lines in Persia.’ Mss Eur F111/350, f 187)
- A letter from Durand to the Secretary to the Foreign Department of the Government of India, 24 February 1899, enclosing a copy of his memorandum (with appendices) drawn up in 1895 on the situation in Persia, and the steps he proposed should be taken to improve the British position there
- Copies of a draft despatch from the Governor General of India in Council, 2 September 1899, regarding relations between Great Britain and Persia, including improving the British Political and Consular service in Persia, and the extent of the share of responsibility for Persia that should be devolved upon the Government of India, followed by printed comments upon the draft
- Copies of a minute by George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India, on Seistan, dated 4 September 1899, including the question of a railway connection between India and Seistan
- Handwritten pencil notes by Curzon relating to Persia and the ‘Seistan Question’.
In addition to the two maps noted above, the file also includes the following maps: map of the area south of the border between Afghanistan and Baluchistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 300); map of the area west of the border between Persia and Afghanistan (Mss Eur F111/350, f 301); and ‘Route Plan of Robat Nala’ (Mss Eur F111/350, f 302).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes (301 folios)
- Arrangement
Most of volume A is arranged in reverse chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume (from folios 6 to 76); volume B is arranged is rough chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-150) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 151-304); 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.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [24v] (53/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000036> [accessed 28 July 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/350
- Title
- ‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’
- Pages
- front , back , spine, edge , head , tail, front-i, 2r:32v, 34r:62v, 64r:84r, 86r, 89r:93v, 96r:96v, 99v:100v, 101v:128v, 129v:149v, back-i, front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 152r:186v, 188r:189r, 190r:299v, 303r:304v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence