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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [30v] (65/617)
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
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f
S?2S&t
here This is a matter that cannot be ignored. Hurmuk* is situated on
the main Seistan-Makran and Seistan-Nushki
* Vide map attached. roa d S} and, should a Pathan post come here, it
would effectually block all traffic, l^rom the enquiries I made, J believe that
it is impossible to devise another route which would outflank Hurmuk, nor do
I think any such exists. And here X should like to point out how imperatively
necessary it is that the southern Seistan-Afghan frontier should be clearly
demarcated, To do this would be an easy matter, for, between Koh-i-Malik Siah
and JJend-i-Kamal the I^erso-Baluch boundary runs in a straight
line across sand hills and barren desert, containing not a single point I am
aware of to which either Persian or Afghan can possibly attach any importance.
The demarcation of this frontier is a matter intimately connected with the
welfare of the new route, and I trust that it will not be lost sight of. Up to
the present, the long expected Pathan post has not arrived at Koh-i-Malik
Siah ; but that orders have long been issued for the institution of such a
post is a matter of public knowledge.
17. In oeistan, although the orhcials I met were outwardly the personi
fication of politeness and hospitality, it needed little insight to perceive that
they viewed my visit to Seistan with uneasiness, not to say suspicion. This
appears to have been due to an absurd rumour which was current that
Government intended annexation, aimed at absorbing all southern Seistan
and, by diverting a portion of the water of the Helmand, proposed to
reclaim the broad alluvial tracts north of the Shela river. My visit was, so it
was rumoured, only the prelude to a vigorous development of this programme
lo combat this distrust was my first aim. I declined to permit Seistan
oardars to have audience of me, excepting in the presence of Persian officials
a policy on which I had cause to congratulate myself subsequently before
leaving the country, when I learned that many questions asked bvBALUCH
Sardars were put at the instigation of the leading Persian officials. '
• ^ ffisagteeably astonished to find what ascendency Russia had
gained throughout Seistan. i'heir policy towards the country appcars to hate
been a most progressive one, while ours has been just tbf revere I tl!
I trust Governnmt ndil’ answer If ’ Sy T y f° US te . rms ~ is astonishing,
in Nasibabad. Persia Z “T.^ °. nee ms » allin S a British Agent
feeble opposition to such a sten if f’ 61 the cireumstances adverted to, but
ment of a direct trade route iff ovemment does not do so, the develop-
present hosturcofdhio™ honeTetf 1 and PEIlSIA is > un ‘ ler ^
precautions, we have had ’an illuttf ti™ of the late Plague
in mind-of the advem influe, cftCh""^ 0 111 would . beas to keep
so-called precautions, while I was in eX | ertS *“ Se1stan - Th osi
to strangle direct trade communication bet "' >1 a 0n '’ era ployed as an engine
between Makbak and Se“ travellers n ft ? EISr4N and Q uetta . while
go Unquestioued. ~ sellers and traders were free to come and
owing to tShtluh^ which is important,
clmf ?„ and e ste l )s taken to safeguard R On S ® ISTAN1 s --ogai-d the new
me and claimed eoninen^ntiAi -p i* Pasand Khan, Mamasani
by P ardin g the rtmfe Ke 0 s tat°eTtVat bi ? h t he r allege<i th&t 1 llad
ms interview with me, several ‘ ie state d that, but a few days nrior tn
«mt for him and told him. that as t!™”' 561 ' 8of the Se wta N tradin'- fc t “ n itv
proposed in future to dispense ^ efficientl y yarded, they
the friendliest of terms 'with 8 T ices - Pasaad Khan
:i. and it w,. t,;„ , " 11,1 ev ery border ruffian between
S™ NUSHKI ’ and rt wa. hiscS tVZr7 ^ luffian
ssste; ‘.r 4 «r™
their owners ,lar g e of by the local post 'mil ; , l,AK ’ these loads were
on nets on their arrival with fresh “ due course surrendered to
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’ [30v] (65/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000042> [accessed 13 August 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