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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎61v] (127/617)

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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. .

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4. The crant for initial expenditure will be mostly spent before Mr. Webb
Ware starts. Any balance will be advanced to him for the construction of
levy huts or shelters en route and the purchase of supplies at Nushki, and the
advance will be adjusted by detailed bills sent through my office and counter
signed by me. Considerable preparations and much forethought and care are
necessary in arranging for the march of even so small a party as 40 men across
the 400 miles, which intervene between bJushki and the Persian border. The
country is mostly desert and uninhabited; no supplies of any kind are obtain
able at present en route, and the marches between the wells are very long.
The grant will be spent with the utmost economy, but I think the whole of it
will be required.
5. I now come to the recommendations which, as invited in paragraph 4
of your letter, I have to make for the protection of the caravan road through
the Khan’s district of Nushki, and for the regulation of the dues hitherto
collected at Nushki by the Khan and the Zagar Mingal 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. . An accurate
description of the Nushki district, of the extent of the Khan’s control over
it, of the amount of the dues collected, and their injurious effect on the Nushki
trade is given in j)aragraph 13 of Captain McMahon’s report of the 21st June
1896. I have nothing to add to Captain McMahon’s remarks, except that
the amount of the dues collected varies very considerably from year to year,
and that so far as I can ascertain the total sum collected both by the Khan and
the Mingals, including a special tax over and above the dues of four annas
per loaded camel, which has always been collected by the Mingal 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. , has
probably amounted to from Es. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 a year. Shortly after
my arrival here the Khan of Kalat came to see me in Quetta, and I took
advantage of the opportunity _ to send also for the Zagar Mingal 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, so that, if possible, a satisfactory arrangement re 0,, ardin o '
these dues might be made without further loss of time.
copy of Sir Robert Sandeman’s letter to the PoliS^
fn^a^hh^n ?,! 890 ^ 0 WhiC ' 1 ref ™ is V Captelf McvS
that S in 13 f K his Memorandum, and m which it is distinctly laid down
Annendix^^^-wil 1 ^ a V las t0 ^ shares iQ the ^ushkf dues. In
f Q ? 11 found the original scale of rates, according to which Sir
f explain^ to” 1 tL KhaTflf" 1 T" n* 6 ™ 1 the dueS sll0uldD be collec te d -
with the oinA L nf tL ^ G ° vernment of India connection
a hone tw T/ P u the . c ” avan route to the Persian border, and expressed
had L Tiew I appointed out ThT^Pt* t 1 h \ ob f ect w Mch the Government
permit the late Khan to eniwt n i lr , {tohert bandeman had refused to
him larger powere d thl resdet T SMa ’ 1 COuld not eoncede to
therefore 8 ! could not without the A * ^ ere ?i?y ed b y llis fatl 'er, and that
collect any dues on A own P Tf ^ government, allow him to
as Nushki was Kalat territory ''itAA th' An' I further explained that,
protection of the road to see^tlnt tv a- 6 f, ian s du ty to assist in the
and to so arrange that the Zao-ar M? o- 'f 1 Q Ct Was P ro P ei 'ly administered,
collect dues in excess of the S • Sa 1 rdar sb !' uld “0* be able to
After some conversation the Khan ascertamed b y Slr Robert Sandeman.
circumstances explained, to relinaukh ®n Pr f s , ed hls readiness, under the
share in the Nushki customs duties • hut , e alm . on bis own part to any
that, as he received practically no w. % pointed out, with some force,
obtained from these duel he could not hfla' f r0m 1 Nushki > exee P t what he had
posts for the protection of the Ad thrn^} k ed to establis b any levy
afford to do so. He added, however that helA 6 Nl ! sbki di ^-rict, nor could he
authority to make any arrangements I thnnJ!f n ° 0 ^ ection to give me full
both for the protection of the road ami thl per 7 lth tbe M iugal 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. ,
maintenance of order in the dttrict S, f gUlatl0I J ° f tbe d «ca a ud for the
etter, dated 20th November, of which a conT^ 7 the K . haI1 wrote me *6
me a ached. It will be seen from this nane/tl a translation (Appendix C)
to any share m the Nushki dues and luth 18 - th !,. K;ha ". waives a11 clain r
e any arrangements it thinks 'suitable ,? rls ® s tbe British Government to
2 suitable direct with the Mingal 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. .

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
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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎61v] (127/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000080> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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