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‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [117r] (238/617)
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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t 15 ]
(v) Secret E., June 1891, Nos. 171-181 is full of ;„t„ o r
ra'lway schemes, including memoranda written in October r8?g Pape / S n a I"l n0tes about
Sir Henry Brackenbury, when Director of Mint., t , J,. 9 ani1 Oetober 1890 by
Sir Edwin Collen noted in November 1890—“Speaking fn t* tbe War Office,
say that the project for a railway from BalS™ to sS DepM 1
a great strategical victory." Sir Henry Brackenbury said— W ° UM ’ lf earaed ° Dt > 1,6
‘ So long as Russian railway communication does not extend south of fl,„«. • y
Trans-Caspian hue, my opinion is that she cannot invade Britth India thw 8
larger than our army could deal nwri u r u *™ stl ln aia with forces
which would cause herVelndt'r Sa^utWri*'^ ^ Sh ° U,i i0
“To construct a railway to Seistan would, it seems to me, compel her to make such
^dToTV Itw< »; ld t beto PV the g^o£ ^ Russian military party .
and to hasten on what we should endeavour to postpone. ^
“ But the circumstances should change, and Russia should take the lead in making
railways southwards, then it may be necessary for us to follow her lead- a^d we
shall be in a better position to do so if all possible lines are previously'surveyed
We are sure to have the earliest information of any such attempts on her part and
we ought to be able to keep pace with her” ^ u
Lord Lansdowne thereupon noted—
The political objection has been stated with great force by General Brackenbury. I
concur with what he has written, and I am convinced that a sudden access of
activity on our part would lead to corresponding activity in railway development
on the part of Russia. Our policy is to obtain as much knowledge as we can
of the routes along which we may ultimately be compelled to construct lines of
railway.”
It was practically settled that a reconnaissance for a line to Nushki should be made ; but
when the case went to the Finance Department, Sir David Barbour asked what this was to
lead up to and said —“ If it is intended to make this reconnaissance the starting point for a
railway towards the Helmand, or the Persian frontier, I think the whole case should be put
forward and considered before any further steps are taken.”
The case was then brought up in Council on the 21st May 1891 and the order was—“No
further action required regarding reconnaissance.”
8. Before examining later papers, I will give here a few extracts from the Hon’ble
G. N. Curzon^s ‘ Persia/ which was published in 1892 :—
“ Seistan presents to Russia a positive and a negative value should she at any
r, t _ OOQ time find it politic or necessary to
Yol. I, pages 6- . absorb Khorassan, the possession of
Seistan would give her the whole, and not the northern portion only, of that
province Russia in Khorassan means Russia at Herat; and Russia in Seistan
would mean Russia at Sebzewar and Farrah as well, the two most important
strategical points on the march from Herat to Kandahar.
“ I do not for a moment lay stress upon the other aspect of the positive value to
Russia of Seistan— viz., as facilitating her approach to the Southern Seas—because
I assume that a Russian port upon the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
or the Indian Ocean would
no more be tolerated by any English Minister or Government than would an
English port on the Caspian by any Czar The negative value of Seistan to
Rufsia is the inverse aspect of its positive value to Great Britain. In other words,
Russia would like to get hold of Seistan herself, in order to prevent Seistan from
W got hold of by Great Britain; and because, in the latter event, not only wouffi
the ambitious andfor-reaehing schemes that I have sbet f ad b ? b //^/
England would be in a /
rival The adianta ewi \r or th Eastern Persia with her manufactures,
enables Russia to flood the markets -n the bazars of Meshed
and to undersell her sole competitor, g VeD terms with her
The one means by which the latter could comp 7 railway 0 n the
"l^o'mal’if MnXii ^ 0 ^ 0 ^ Such a Railway
starting from India must point, as its first objective, to Seistan.
starting trom rnu a r ’ .. ... t j think be denied, as bringing
a°flanklng positio/in defenciTofthat Afghan°territory which she has undertaken
“ The potential ^sources'of Seistan and the uses of ^s
Yol. I, page 629. border are so great that
such a railroad might in time become a profitable speculation
and exit
the east
I believe
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’ [117r] (238/617), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/350, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100072740554.0x000027> [accessed 30 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