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File 36/1919 Pt 3 ‘KURDISTAN POLICY & SITUATION’ [‎117r] (246/608)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (295 folios). It was created in 23 Dec 1919-4 Dec 1922. It was written in English and French. 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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-3-
said "during the past year, have you rescued us from the
notable, the Agha, the priest, if you intend to reinstate
him ? Why should you act in such had faith to us ?"
Hone of them could see any reason for tampering with
a machine which was giving satisfaction*
So it is to-day. I put this on reaord because when the
time comes to ascertain public opinion* I know the will
rush forward as the voice of the 94$. The 94% will say
nothing then* They will do so afterwards.
I am not trying to make out a case for the continuance
of the present form of administration unmodified. 1 know
it is impossible on account of external conditions and
resolutions. Only do I desire to have recorded what I know
are facts, which may assist us, when the time comes to avoid
making ourselves the tools of political pRactitioners and
would be sharks, and the people their prey— and thereby
starting on the downgrade to trouble. ,
Sulaimani division is to-day free disorder, of crime
of disturbance. It is only so because of the goodwill o-.
the 94%. It is also thus despite the activities of the
When we lose the goodwill of the 94% we lose security. This
is one thing the 94 % does know very thoroughly- I have been
often reminded by it, that Shaikh Mahmud’s rebellion failed
because the 94% did not support it. I have been told that
because we are giving the 94% a square deal in Government
they are helping us by preserving order. They know we have
no punitive power. They know that did only ten villages
in the mountains continue to raise trouble we could not
quell it. But we have their goodwill and they are acting
fairly towards us. Let us not lose it - and all that goes
with it.

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Content

This volume contains correspondence, memoranda, reports, newspaper clippings, parliamentary notes, telegrams and minutes. It mainly covers conversations between British officials regarding the political situation in Kurdistan, but also contains correspondence from Kurdish representatives and various British organisations.

The volume covers and includes the following:

  • A description of the political situation in Kurdistan by Philippe Berthelot of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs
  • Opinions expressed by British officials as to whether Turkish authorities should be excluded form Kurdistan, whether Kurdistan should be portioned, and whether its frontier should follow that of the ethnological frontier between Kurds and Arabs
  • Opinions expressed by British officials on the growth of political and social movements related to Kurdish nationalism
  • Descriptions of the political movement towards the establishment of an autonomous Kurdish state
  • The views of Hamdi Bey Baban [Ḥamdī Beg Bābān] regarding the Kurdistan situation
  • Minutes of monthly conferences on Middle Eastern affairs throughout 1920, giving views on Kurdistan from British and French officers and covering different subjects regarding the political situation in Kurdistan and Mesopotamia
  • Aspects of the future administration of Sulaimaniyah [As Sulaymaniyah]
  • Plans from British officers regarding the political situation in Mesopotamia and its possible future government
  • Mentions of interest in Mesopotamia in ‘bolshevism’
  • Reports on 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. recommendations regarding Kurdistan
  • A memorandum on Kurdistan, with the following headings: ‘Kurdish political activity', ‘Aims of the Kurds’, ‘Turkish Scheme’, ‘Kurdish Objections’, ‘The immediate situation’, and ‘Suggested solution’ (ff 267-270)
  • Opinions expressed by Kurdish people on Kurdistan and its politics
  • Conflict in Mesopotamia and Kurdistan regarding: British refusal to allow visits to the tomb of Shaikh Kaka Ahmad [Ḥājjī Kākā Aḥmad al-Shaykh], including the imposition of heavy fines and prison sentences; arrests and deportations to Baghdad of unnamed ‘notables’; and the execution at Sakis [Saqqez] of Rusten Khan [Rustam Khān] by order of the Governor of Sineh [Sanandaj]
  • Correspondence relating to Kurdistan, including: repatriation of Assyrian Christians; securing of borders; Kurdish districts in Persia [Iran;] Kurdish nationalism
  • A letter from the Travellers Club regarding the situation in the Kurdistan.

The principal correspondents are: Civil Commissioner, Baghdad; High Commissioner, Constantinople [Istanbul]; Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for the Colonies; Political Officer at Sulaimaniyah; Hamdi Bey Baban.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (295 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 36 (Kurdistan) consists of 2 volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/781-782. The volumes are divided into three parts, with parts 1-2 comprising the first volume and part 3 comprising the second volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the inside last folio with 293; 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 volume has four foliation anomalies: f 106a, f 111a, f 172a and f 203a.

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

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 36/1919 Pt 3 ‘KURDISTAN POLICY & SITUATION’ [‎117r] (246/608), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/782, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100136722016.0x00002f> [accessed 31 July 2026]

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