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Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ [‎43r] (96/658)

The record is made up of 1 volume (323 folios). It was created in 14 Apr 1924-20 Nov 1935. It was written in English and Persian. 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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3
officials, who may hereafter have to be stationed at Kobat, with
some place near at hand where they can temporarily escape from
the heat and unhealthiness of Robat in summer.
14. To continue the boundary line along the watershed of all the hills,
north of Kaeha Koh, draining eastwards into British territory, would necessi
tate a line from peak 7033 (near Bagaiwad Pass) stretching far westwards to
the crest of the Buzaf, Lakshak and Wawaila Ranges. This nr* uld bring
the Persian routes from Seistan to Bampur, Ladis and Talk, via Duzdap, within
our territory and would naturally be strongly objected to by the Persians.
15. The line which gives us what we want, and does not interfere with
the Persian routes, is as follows : i.e., from peak 7033 (near Bagaiwad Pass)
along the main watershed to just beyond the Bandi Pass, and thence in straight
lines, or along the crests of ridges between nullahs, to Mina Bazar and the
highest peak of Lar Koh (peak 7766) and theuce in a straight line to the
highest peak of the Koh-i-Malik Siah.
16. This line, to distinguish it from the blue line of Holdich’s boundary
from Kacha Koh northwards, should, for facility of reference, be drawn in
red, and I will allude to it hereafter as the red line. It will be seen that this
red line disposes of the objections attaching to the blue line. It gives as a
boundary not only the western and main watershed of the Kacha river and
its affluents, but the watershed a 1 soof the Piran river.* It leaves our Bobat
post 2,552 yards within our territory, instead of only 423 yards as in the case
of the blue line.
17. If it be remembered that the whole tract of country through which
these blue and red lines are drawn is absolutely barren and uninhabited, it
would not appear unreasonable to ask Persia to consent to the slight rectifica
tion of boundary involved by the adoption of the red line.
18. The question for consideration now, is how this rectification is to he
effected. The idea is entertained in some quarters that I may be able to obtain
from the Persian Commissioner an interpretation of the Holdich agreement
favourable to us, and this is based on the supposition that the Yamin-i-Nizam
is not adequately provided with accurate maps and information, and may be
found amenable to argument when brought face to face with the hardships
attending deferred negotiations in that desolate tract. I myself held these
views at first, but am now most thoroughly convinced that to base any hopes of
success on the above supposition must only lead to disappointment.
19. I will naturally endeavour to make the most of the vagueness of the
Persian version of the Perso-Baluch Boundary agreement, and the misuse of
the name Mirjawa river and, by claiming more than we want, try and get the
Yamin-i-Nizam to agree to the red line, but I entertain no hope of success.
In the map given to the Persian Commissioner, Kacha Koh and Lar Koh are
distinctly shown as separate ranges, and the Lar Koh is shewn thereon further
within Persian territory than it really is. Moreover, the Yamin-i-Nizam, before
my arrival in Seistan, was very carefully tutored by the Russian Consul in all
that relates to this portion of the boundary.
20. The instructions given to the Yamin-i-Nizam (vide Sir Arthur
Hardi age’s Despatch to Lord Lansdowne No. 72 of 20th May 1903, are so
explicitly worded that it seems hopeless to expect him to take upon himself
the responsibility of agreeing to any line more favourable to us than that of
the Holdich Agreement and map. From what he has said from time to time
on this subject, I know that he is afraid to depart, in any respect, from the
letter of his instructions, and is fully determined to do nothing on his own
responsibility.
21. At the most, I can succeed in bringing about a deadlock and hanging
up demarcation work until references are made to Tehran. Beyond that,
all that 1 can reasonably be expected to achieve by local diplomacy is to get
the Yamin-i-Nizam indirectly to support my proposals by reporting that their
* I use the word ‘ river ’ as written on the map, but it must be remembered that the Kacha and Piran rivers
are dry torrent beds with only occasional springs, here and there, in their beds.
A. H, McMahox.
J

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Content

Correspondence, memoranda, maps and other papers relating to the establishment of a precise position of the frontier between Persia [Iran], British Baluchistan [in present-day Pakistan], and Afghanistan, arising in response to the proposed transfer to Persian ownership of the Mirjawa [Mīrjāveh] to Duzdap [Zahedan] stretch of the North Western Railway, and territorial claims made by the Khan of Kalat, Mir Mohammad Azam Jan Khan, and the Persian Government. The volume’s correspondents include: Foreign Office and 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. officials; the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Charles Dodd); the Government of India (Francis Verner Wylie); the Agent to Governor-General and Chief Commissioner for Baluchistan (Alexander Norman Ley Cater); the British Consul for Sīstān and Kain [Ka’īn] (Clive Kirkpatrick Daly).

The correspondence covers:

  • The historical basis for negotiations, being surveys carried out in the 1870s, and a demarcation agreement concluded on 24 March 1896 by Colonel Thomas Hungerford Holdich, later referred to as the Holdich Line. Papers include correspondence from the 1930s in response to uncertainties about the precise position of the line (including extracts of the agreement in Persian), and copies of correspondence from 1895-1896 relating to the conclusion of Holdich’s agreement.
  • Arrangements in 1932 for a joint British and Persian survey party to map the frontier, with Captain Guy Bomford of the Survey of India leading the British party. The results of Bomford’s survey are summarised in a copy of a secret letter, dated 9 June 1932, with accompanying maps (ff 113-119).
Extent and format
1 volume (323 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 321; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and two ending flyleaves.

A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Persian in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ [‎43r] (96/658), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3425, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100085225766.0x000061> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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