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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [73r] (150/617)
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.
3
I#
*
interfere in the country, to at least the extent th^f u
either aggression from the Afghan side bene cessary to prevent
our side iijto the Afghan sidf. In tL L e t r^ line L nt ° ° u ” id ° K
, tefc o,. fl h,Koh.i.Mi,ius,K d ixtc:£:,tfc“^
* In the northern branch of the Barabchah no doubt place others somewhere o ^h^
BriUsli territory. 50 " 1 ' 67 " bra " ches fe " border - We are called upon o e
our Side A?/ 0 e ? eC b the Same ° b iect on
--erid::r tS:
^ImpoLnce of country South of our bindary * thTkrgi'r'port'ionf k^a" ^ is'oufr
reasons, (i) the strategic importance°nf nfJ'rruw'TT Ir !'P ortance for three
ing up and protecting trade betwen Perl the I 1 m P orta r>ce of open-
of gradually opening up more direct relations Tth SdsUn^ (3) desirabilit y
8. A glance at the map* will show the relative position of C hagai with
Strategic importance of Chagai. regard to the Helmand, Kandahar Onetta
„« t,*4. it
'“ ds ’"’ icl hA-5
, T, beri r 1S ’ ' venUl , re t ?.i blnb ’ notbln g in the nature of the country, desert
though it be, sufficient y difficult to prevent bodies of lightly equipped troops
marching from the Helmand to Chagai and Nushki, by different routes either
through Robat or Mamu and the Mazari pass, or through Shah Ismail andKani •
or at a pinch through Registan itself. Our combined camps amounting to some
1,200 men and over i,ooo camels may be taken as an instance of a small but
heavily equipped force passing through the country without any previous local
arrangements whatsoever, and that at an advanced season of the year after a
period of nearly two years’ drought.
The high mountain range north-west of it is inaccessible and quite impassable
except by mountaineers between the Shibian and Mazari passes. The plains of
fertile land east and south of it should render it possible in the near future to feed
a fairly large force here entirely on local supplies. There is abundant and
excellent water at many places in the near neighbourhood of Chagai; facts
which it would be well to remember, either in relation to ourselves or an enemy.
A glance at the relative position of Chagai with regard to other places will
I think show what an important part it might play in the flank defence of any
line which depended at all on the strength of either Kandahar, or Quetta, or
both against an enemy from the north or north-west. The late General Sir
Charles Macgregor, Quarter Master General, used to lay great stress on the stra
tegic importance of Kharan. He called it the “ Key of Baluchistan,” vide his
“Wanderings in Baluchistan.” I feel confident that, if he had, personally knownlthe
geographical circumstances of Chagai and its neighbourhood, a tract which had
not then been surveyed or properly explored, he would have applied his remark,
with still greater emphasis, to Chagai. Chagai effectively^covers Kharan. The
Amir has always been very anxious to retain Chagai and he vehemently
protested against its being included within British territory when, that portion of
the boundary line was under consideration during the Durand Mission to Cabul,
in 1893. He used to tell
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 Umar Khan, my late Afghan
colleague, that he considered Chagai the key not only of southern Balu
chistan but also of the Helmand valley.
It is very important from a military point of view that we should now take
advantage of our opportunities, and extend our influence over this tract, to the
extent at least of making an easy line of communication with Chagai, ready for
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’ [73r] (150/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740552.0x000097> [accessed 6 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