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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [26r] (56/617)
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.
not far to seek. Some sixteen years back, the Khan found * i
the Zagar Mengal Chief to cede a half Jordon of the net “ t0 C T Pe ]
from “ Sung ” collections to Kalat. Till then, the dues levied were^n accord 1
ance with a scale in vogue generations, and fairly reasonable. The result of
tills was, as one might anticipate, that the Zagar Mengat 1
himself for the heavy loss sustained, forthwith enhanced the dues, in some S
so heavily as to amount to an increase of 100^ , with such disastrous results to
trans-frontier trade as quickly made themselves felt in Quetta The Octroi
Darogha called attention to the serious diminution in such imports as ghi and
wool Sebtan merchants and Ntjshki traders complained bitterly of the
extortion they were subjected to; and on certainly 'one occasion ^ British
officer was deputed to halt at Nushki to report on the matter. The only
result of his visit was that further protests Were addressed to both Khan and
Zagar Mengal bardar, to which neither paid the slightest attention Very
soon, the consequences made themselves felt further afield. Seistani mer
chants m despair sought other markets for their goods, and many Nushki
Bamahs emigrated m search of fields offering more profitable investments.
Ihe few Seistani kafilus which continued to find their way to Quetta either
made a detour through Shorawak to avoid NusHKl-having once paid toll
to the Afghan authorities at Chagai, they had nothing further to fear— or
when their numbers warranted a chance of success, fought their way through
16. Trade converges on Ntjshki from five different sources:
(а) From Jalk, via G-alachah and Dalbandin, chiefly dates.
(б) From Seistan, via Amircha*®- and Dalbandin, sheep, goats;
local Seistani products, including ghi, wool, namdahs, carpets.
(<?) From Garmsel, via Khawaja Ali, JRobat (Malik Dokand),
ghi, wool, grain.
{d) From Eastern Helm and, via the Purdil Khan Road, wool,
ghi, grain, dried fruits.
(e) From Shorawak, by numerous routes across the frontier, ghi,
wool, grain.
17. Government, by allotting to
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.
Muhammad Ali Khan a fixed
annuity in lieu of his hereditary right to levy “ Sung,” and thus freeing the
district from the dues trade had struggled against so long, has given a sorely
needed impulse to trade, and the good effects of this arrangement have already
made themselves widely felt. The fruits of this liberal policy, I unhesitatingly
affirm, would, had it not been for the action of Persia in closing Seistan
to traders, have been a stream, though possibly an intermittent one,
of camel-borne trade between Quetta and Persia. Closing Seistan to
trade has exercised —it is to he hoped but temporarily—-a most disheartening
effect on those traders whose enterprize prompted them to venture their wares by
the new route. To my certain knowledge, three test caravans were refused
permission to quit Seistan, and several others were turned back on reaching
the frontier. The trade that has thus benefited by the abolition of “ Sung ”
has been confined almost solely to the local Chagai-Nushki-Shorawak trade.
That this trade has benefited is clearly established by the re-opening of
several shops in Nushki and by the general revival evinced by Nushki
imports and exports returns, which show transactions aggregating, for the
months of February, March and April 1897, Rs. 95,247-lS-0. These figures,
however, must be taken as merely approximate, for although most trade un
doubtedly passes through Nushki, yet a portion, which cannot well be
ignored, finds its way to Quetta by other routes.
18. The system in vogue under which Nushki Baniahs conduct their trade
is somewhat as*follows :—They advance large sums to trusted Baluch agents.
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’ [26r] (56/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000039> [accessed 25 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