'Report on the Nushki, Chagai and Western Sinjerani Districts for the year 1897-98 and on the Development of The Quetta-Seistan [Sistan] Trade Route' [‎10v] (20/148)

The only condition attached to this offer is that Government should pro-
vide them with a Munshi A term used in the Middle East, Persia and South Asia to refer to a secretary, assistant or amanuensis. Munshis were employed in the British administration in the Gulf. on a salary of about Rs. 35 per mensem, and also aid
them with sowars, should any exceptional occasion demand.
(b) That, as an alternative, they offer to collect revenue, according to
an approved scale, for a period of three years, on the undoi standing
that y^tli of the gross revenue collected be paid them for their
services.
(e) That, as a further alternative, they express their willingness to aid
Government in collecting revenue for a year without remuneration.
In the event of proposal (b) or (c) being adopted, the petitioners, however,
humbly beg that a muafi, which practically embraces the yield of all the
Karezes in the district, he granted them. The petitioners conclude by pointing
out that, as there is little or no money in circulation in the district and all
business transactions are conducted by barter, it will he necessary, before
any revenue can well be collected, to settle the relative exchange values, in
monev, of arms, carpets and live stock. 1 will now proceed to criticise each
proposal separately.
44. A comparison between the sum of Rs. 2,000 offered in proposal {a) and
the return annexed to this report, enumerating the revenue resources of the
district, is much t > the advantage of the c >n true tors. The sum which 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.
Ali Khan Sinjerani and his partners offer, al ter allowing for a muofi allowance to
a limit of Rs, 800, amounts to about one-third of the sum that might be raised.
The adoption of either proposal (b) or (c), on the other hand, will involve the
^ appointment of a small establishment, such
4 Sowars at Rs. 20 each ... „ so as that marginally n ted,* as experience shows
— 7 that the Sinjerani cannot he trusted to raise
For 5 months ... R x H 5 revenue by iheinselves, unless measures are
— taken to prevent them extorting more than
Rs. jwo ti ie i r legitimate dues. Proposal (c) has also
this further disadvantage that it does not
offer the Sinjerani any inducement to exert themselves. I am confident
that, under the conditions of this proposal, we need not expect any material
assistance from the contractors, as the latter are not likely to face the unpopu-
lai ity which tirni collection would involve, without obtaining some compensat
ing advantages.
4?5. Of the tfiree proposals submitted, I am inclined to recommend that
proposal («) be adopted, but for one year only, and as an experimental measure;
and the following considerations influence me in this opinion. Firstly, in a
iif'iv country like Chagai, it is as well to proceed cautiously, to feel one’s way
slowly, and to make the initial revenue collections as light as possible ; secondly,
the adoption of this proposal would postpone the necessity for deciding questions
of muafi allowances and of collections in kind; lastly, under this arrangement,
uo should he enabled to collect statistics to guide us towards IVamin 0 * an
assessment to be ultimately introduced into the district, while in addition to
this any odium that may attach to the inauguration of a grazing tax will
naturally fall on the shoulders of the 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. of the country.
4G. I am pleased to be able to report that the Chagai district hns quieted
doun considerably of late. In a country inhabited by ignorant nomads, unused
o any sort ot restraint, violent crime must always be more or less endemic. In
The ornfvJ h f 0 "Tft r ’ a d f ci<le ‘ l improvement for the better is noticeable,
for ^ w!^* 3 0 , rbe . mstnct have now begun to refer tribal disputes tome
award haTbeenrepmliikd^ ^ ‘ 0 “ iy k ” owlefl S e “ "hich ^
vieinttv nf T Jwlp la p!!'u IiaSa i l)&undar . v an(1 the Baluch-Afghan frontier, in the
fi'itis f 't '. , m a ’’ unfortunately are two notable exceptions to this
lrontier to mJnt!nv 0t i affair i’ “l" 1 ’ '. ndeea ’ the state of ' the Kharan-Chagai
same condition os fhoi 6 '/ 10 ' 1 '* 8 ! attentl ° n ' kllis f r °utior remains in much the
to conution as that I noted m paragrapii 2S (Appendix I) of my last year’s