File 1341/1921 Pt 1 'Khorassan Intelligence Summaries 1921-1922' [‎404v] (456/1080)

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The first result of a laxness of control is seen in the constant desertions
from the ranks of the gendarmerie. This automatic process of reducing the
numbers borne on the pay rolls would possibly be fiewed with relief by the
authorities who must regard dubiously a future presenting few prospects of
revenue Nevertheless, the fact that the absentees are invariably too attached '
to their rifles and horses to leave them behind must temper the satisiaction
felt at the shrinkage of the force to the dimensions sanctioned by the Budget.
It is stated unofficially that at a recent roll call only 1,500 gendarmes
answered to their names. This would mean a defection ot some 2,000 after
allowing for detachments still abroad in the Province, hut this total cannot be
accepted as yet.
The story goes that when an individual absconds a small party is sent to
apprehend him which in its turn fails to return. A larger party is then
detailed to bring in the last named and so on in geometric progression.
The most serious defection has been that of a one time notorious thief and
bandit, Barat Ali, who by reason of his following was given a commissioned
rank in the Gendarmerie. He has taken his commando of about 100 sowars
and withdrawn north where he has probably joined his fortunes to those of the
Kurd leaders. Mahmud Khan, the acting Governor-General, has tried to win
him back by sending him a Qoran signed by himself as a token of good faith
but bis mission has been unsuccessful.
The attitude of the officers is not easy to define.. Perhaps it would not be
wrono 1 to say that a majority wishes to be loyal yet is uneasy as to its future
safety while a minority, among whom are Taqi Khan, commander of the
“ Kava ” force, which dispersed the tribes in the Bakharz country, and Ali
Reza Khan, commander of the “ Shamshir ” force, is irreconcilable.
The abject collapse of the Gendarmerie commander de facto was opportune
as the Turk community was maturing schemes to make the city safe, for
Bolshevism. Authentic stories of what they meant to do havo transpired.
Among the items in their programme were the hanging of all Anglophils, the
placing of the wealthy in the forefront of a battle to be fought with the Kurds,
the deportation of the members of the British Consulate General, the looting of
that institution and of the Imperial Bank of Persia. Major Ismail Khan would
have gone further. He intended to seize the persons of British officials and to
use them as instruments for dictating terms to Tehran.
The late staunchness of the Barbari element in the Gendarmerie has
reacted in their favour for the acting Govern or-General has surrounded himself
with a guard of them and has ordered the enlistment of 200 more sowars from
among these people. What effect this will have on Persian opinion, how it
will be received by the Barbaris who fought against the Gendarmerie, and
where the money is to come from to feed, equip, and pay this increment, are
problems the administration prefers to leave reposing in the future.
Bolsheviks .—The one-armed chemist Ghulam has returned from Russia
whither he was sent as an emissary by Muhammad Taqi Khan. He was
accompanied on his return by four Russians said to be aeroplane builders and
mechanics. He boasts 2,000 Bolshevik troops are ready to invade Khorasan as
a result of his negotiations. There are indications of the beginning of a more
peaceful penetration for every day parties and single individuals arrive in
Meshed from Russia. Some may he called legitimate travellers, that is, those
whose objects have the sanction of the Bolshevik authorities, while others are
fugitives and refugees who cross the mountainous frontier by unfrequented paths.
This tide of immigration isbnevitable for impelling it are the powerful forces of
hunger, cold, and political persecution. Among these refugees are many
able-bodied young men for whom there is no scope in this part of Persia
but whose presence may prove to be a factor for that country to reckon with
later on.
Sedition.— 'Yh.Q Turk element is decidedly nervous regarding its future
security and allhough it is surmised they may have been warned of possible
penal action against themselves nothing definite has transpired. One of the
most virulent of the leaders of the Nationalist party is skulking in his house
and was thought to have disappeared from Meshed. This is the man known