Skip to item: of 658
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ [‎110r] (230/658)

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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

( 110 )
8C, f?
\
T
in
Jjetteb feom the Hon'ble the Agent to the Governor-General and Chief
Commissioner in Baluchistan, No. 487-S., dated the 20th August 1932.
I have the honour to invite a reference to your Express Letter No. F.-19^
N.| 32 , dated the 15th June 1932 [Serial No. (84)/, with which was forwarded for
an expression of my views a copy of His Majesty’s Minister, Tehran’s letter
No. 13811-42, dated the oOth May 1932 (pages 11-12 of notes), outlining certain
proposals for the possible concession of territory in Baluchistan to Persia.
2, As was stated in my Express Letter No. 417-S., dated the 23rd June
1932 [Serial No. (88)], I called for the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kalat’s views on the
proposal set forth and 1 have now received his report, a copy of which I attach
to this letter. As will be seen, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. is opposed to either of the
suggestions made by His Majesty’s Minister and has himself made a new sug
gestion for a frontier line calculated to achieve the object desired without sacri-
ficing anything of importance.
3. Of the three proposals now on record I propose to deal first with Mr
Hoare’s line (b), which I regard as unacceptable. As the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. 'has
pointed out it abandons to Persia a considerable portion of a potentially valu
able mineral field, while ,it leaves Baluchistan with a featureless frontier and
an Impossible frontier station, Nok Kundi. It has possibly not been realised
that Nok Eundi lies in the middle of a stony waste, barren of all cultivation
and practically waterless.. For the population of Nok Kundi itself water must
be brought fiom Dalbandin, a distance of over 100 miles and it is inconceivable
that this Administration should agree to any arrangement which would perpe
tuate the situation recently created at Nok Kundi by the temporary location of
the railway terminus there. Furthermore this proposed frontier line takes no
account of tribal, divisions, and would seem to bo finally rendered impossible
by the considerations set forth in the Government of India’s telegram No. 1349
dated the 7th June 1932 [Serial No. (77)J, to His Majesty’s Secretary of State
loi ndia. The present is patently not the time to sacrifice thousands of square
miles of Indian territory, even were it totally worthless, in return for conces
sions which by. no stretch of imagination can be regarded as likely to appeal
to. Indian sentiment. When, as has been shown, the area contains valuable
minerals (however distant the prospect may be of working them) the proposal
must, I submit, be eliminated from further discussion.
4. In regard to His Majesty’s Minister’s first line (a), and the alternative
proposed by the I olitical Agent, Kalat, I consider that either is free from any
serious objection, and it would seem that the choice between them depends very
largely on the future policy to be adopted in regard to the railway. It is true
mat His Majesty’s Minister’s line (a) suffers from the disadvantage of ignoring
P ysical geography but this I do not regard as an insuperable objection and the
nr ier objections set out by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kalat, are of little import,
is remar s m regard to the exclusion of Kacha, for instance, lose their weight
v i Captain.Bomford’s report No. 240, dated the 7th June 1932 (of
winch a copy was supplied to me with Foreign and Political Department endorse
ment No. D.-2642-N |32, dated the 6th July 1932) which suggests that Kacha
is, under a reasonable interpretation of the Holdich boundary, already in Persian
r fi'h'p indefensibility 0 f the narrow salient between Mr. Hoare’s line
m +n 6 indo - A % llan boundary is of little moment inasmuch as there is nothing
Aow, a ir a de . fendin £- Its main failing in contrast with the Politcal
vahTif n V S fkaf. 11 ^ores the possibility of obtaining concessions of real
w the Pe 1 rsl ^ ns ’ b N banding over a moderate area of totally useless
band be f ween /be Kacha Koh and the Indo-Afghan border. On the other
rCd J re . taU J 1 in , 0Iir contro1 the old t rad e route, and if it is ultimately
vbiWn f e ™ nat e the railway at Dalbandin it might conceivably be worth
everd a th® oid route motorable and to bring it into use again. In that
p Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kalat, points out, Saindak would make a useful
as far u'j ’ 0n tbe. other hand, the railway is to be operated once more
Ju 77 at /rr or x t l 11 tbe alternative, the choice of the terminus falls on
have said if ciear . ly the Pobtical Agent’s line is preferable. As I
railway i e . e b 18 impossible to conceive of Nok Kundi being the permanent
f way terminus and if the terminus is to be put foward to the frontier then
t'-rtColiKh Uv
llA FOSEiU"-
jitter
l
No
„ ; 125
ed 8 SEP i 33 p
C?iv

About this item

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
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ [‎110r] (230/658), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3425, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100085225767.0x00001f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100085225767.0x00001f">Coll 28/28 ‘Persia. Perso-Baluchistan Frontier. Demarcation near Mirjawa.’ [&lrm;110r] (230/658)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100085225767.0x00001f">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x0003d2/IOR_L_PS_12_3425_0244.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000602.0x0003d2/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image