Abstract: This file contains summaries of reports, letters and memoranda concerning Bolshevik and Pan-Islamic movements in Central Asia, Persia and Afghanistan. The file is divided into a series of sections, each of which contains summaries of reports, letters and memoranda. Prominent correspondents include the Chief of the General Staff (officially known as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during this period but referred to here as 'CGS'), the Directorate of Military Intelligence ('DMI'), the Secretary of State for India ('S'), the Foreign Secretary (abbreviated simply as 'FS'; given the department in which this file was produced it is most likely that 'FS' refers to the Foreign Secretary of the Government of India), and the Viceroy and Governor-General of India ('V').The contents are listed as follows (the date ranges of each section are provided in brackets):I. Bolshevik Missions to Kabul (12 May-3 November 1919);II. Afghan Missions to Bokhura [Bukhara] and Khiva (8 June-3 November 1919);III. Intrigues at and with Tashkend (3 May-26 October 1919);IV. Afghan Mission to Kushk (3 June-14 October 1919);V. Movements in Afghan Turkestan (3 June-14 October 1919);VI. Afghan Missions to Moscow (28 May-2 November 1919);VII. Movements in Ferghana (2 May-20 October 1919);VIII. Bolshevik relations with Bokhara, Samarkand, and Khiva (12 June-29 October 1919);IX. Bolshevik-Afghan trade (27 July-12 October 1919);X. Barkatullah (18 July-13 October 1919);XI. Afghan aggression into Russian territory (2-31 October 1919);XII. Kasim Beg (24 July-19 October 1919);XIII. Pan-Islamism (30 May-30 October 1919);XIV. Bolshevik designs on Persia (24 July-31 October 1919);XV. Bolshevik Promises of Assistance to Afghans (16 June-2 October 1919);XVI. Miscellaneous (21 July-31 October 1919);XVII. Government of India's appreciations of position, etc. (23 June-10 September 1919).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: A confidential report on Central Asia, compiled by Captain H H Dowding, Captain of the General Staff, War Office, 1905.Contained within the report are chapters on the history, geography, administration, communications, resources, ethnography, and military of the region. Also included is a preface by Major-General J M Grierson, General Staff, War Office (folio 3), appendices (folios 63-78), including detailed information on the railways of the region, and a colour map of Central Asia (folio 81).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 81; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The file has one foliation anomaly, f 34a.
Abstract: The item consists of a summary document enclosed within a letter from the Government of Bombay [Mumbai] to the East India Company Court of Directors. The document, written by William Henry Wathen, Secretary in the Persian Department, provides brief details on the political status of 'states' under the following headings:'Cashmere' [Kashmir]'Chinese Tartary' [parts of modern-day China, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Bhutan and Nepal]'Independent Tartary' [parts of modern-day Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan]'Countries formerly dependent on or in the vicinity of Afghan states''Afghan territories''Beloocheestan [Balochistan] and Mukran [Makran]''Scind' [Sindh]'Persia' [Iran]'Persian Gulf''The Provinces of Oman in Arabia''Coast of Arabia from Muskat [Muscat] to the straights of Babeel Mandeeb [Bab el Mandeb]''Red Sea''Arabia''Egypt and Nubia''Abyssinia (Hubbush)' [Ethiopia]'North East and East Coasts of Africa''East Coast of Africa called by the natives Suwahil [suwāḥil or ‘coasts’ in Arabic]'The title page of the item contains the following references: 'P.C. [Previous Communication] 1631, Draft 696, 1835', 'Coll[ection] N. 4', 'Bombay Political Department', 'Examiner’s Office 1835'.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 60, and terminates at f 69, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the bottom right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the item also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 47 of 1856, dated 25 June 1856. The enclosures are dated 22 April-13 May 1856.The enclosures comprise copies of despatches sent by Richard W Stevens, HM Consul in Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, copies of which are forwarded for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Government of India. The despatches chiefly relate to the Persian [Iranian] military campaign against Herat, notably:Intelligence that the Persian Army of Prince Sultan Moorad Meerza [Prince Sulṭān Murād Mīrzā] defeated the Heratees in a battle at Ghorian [Ghurian] which is now garrisoned by the Persian ArmyThe apparent plan of the Shah [Shāh] of Persia to also conquer Kandahar [also spelled Candahar in this item] where there is purported opposition to Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], and the order of a detachment of Persian troops to Kandahar via Seistan [Sistan]Unverified intelligence received from the news-writer at Meshed [Mashhad] that the brother of the Ruler of Herat, Mahommed Youssuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf], and Essau Khan [ʻĪsá Khān], the anti-Persian vizier of Herat, have arranged terms of surrender with Sultan Moorad MeerzaIntelligence received from an Italian officer (ff 395-396) whose brother is attached to the Persian Army of Herat, alleging: Essau Khan’s defection to the Persians; the surrender of Herat due to scarcity of provisions; the garrisoning of Herat on the orders of the Shah; the poor condition of the Persian Army; and the agreement of the Heratees to all of Persia’s terms apart from the permanent occupation of Herat. (The copy of the original intelligence is in Italian, with an English translation. A duplicate of the Italian letter and translation is in IOR/L/PS/5/487, ff 426-436, ff 430-432)Intelligence brought to Tehran by the post-master of Semnaan [Semnan] claiming that Persian regular troops had entered Herat, the postponement of celebrations in Tehran following reports that the news was false, and punishment of the messengerReports in Tehran that Essau Khan in fact discovered Mahommed Youssuf in secret talks with the Persian Commander, ousted him in a coup, expelled him to the Persian camp ironically offering him as peeshkesh [peshkash, a fine or a present to the ruling authority on receiving an appointment or assignment of revenue], and did not surrender to the Persians.The item also covers the following matters:Russia’s expression of friendship for Persia by withdrawal of protection to the family of a Russian subject who died in Persia last year owing the Persian Government half a million tomansThe Persian prime minister’s intention to spread anti-English propaganda, in Bokhara [Bukhara], Khiva and Afghanistan, following the Ottoman Sultan’s firman placing his ‘non-Mussulman’ [non-Muslim] subjects on equal footing with ‘Mahommedans’ [Muslims] (referring to the Treaty of Paris March 1856 in which an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain, France and Sardinia ended the Crimean War with Russia)Intelligence from Asterabad [Gorgan] of the murder of the Khan of Khiva by a group of Turcomans [Turkmen] of the Yamoot [Yomut] tribe, and fighting between Yamoots and Yoozbegs [Uzbeks] potentially leaving Khiva vulnerable to Russian ‘designs’The circulation in Tehran of an article originally printed by a Persian-language newspaper in Bombay [Mumbai], and Stevens’s assertion that only a complete retraction by the Persian Government of the ‘unfounded accusations’ and ‘calumnious statement’ contained in it will repair the ‘injurious effect’ (f 387) on Britain’s image.Physical description: 1 item (16 folios)
Abstract: This item comprises copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of India Secret Department (Camp at Meerut) to the East India Company Secret Committee, Number 1 of 1838, dated 8 February 1838. The enclosures are dated 18 September 1837-7 February 1838.The primary correspondents are: Captain Claude Martine Wade, Political Agent at Loodeana [Ludhiana, also spelled Loodiana, Lodhiana and other variations in this item]; William Hay Macnaghten, Secretary to the Government of India; and Captain Alexander Burnes, on a Mission to Cabool [Kabul, this spelling and other variations also used in this item].Enclosures 3-120 and 126-128 (ff 49-505 and ff 525-532) comprise despatches between Wade and Macnaghten and between Burnes and Macnaghten. The despatches concern British policy towards and relations with the ruling parties in Afghanistan and with the Sikh Ruler Maharajah Runjeet Singh [Maharaja Ranjit Singh, this spelling and variations of ‘Ranjit’ also used in this item]; the latter two’s relations with each other, notably over Peshawar [also spelled Peshwar and Peshawur in this item]; Afghan relations with Persia [Iran] and Russia; and other political, economic and military affairs in Afghanistan and the Punjab. Burnes’s despatches are forwarded to Macnaghten by Wade and often include Wade’s critical remarks on Burnes’s situation assessments and actions, in addition to Wade’s own political analyses. The correspondence takes place amid a rumoured then an actual Persian expedition to conquer Herat.The papers cover the following matters in detail:British relations with Maharajah Runjeet Singh, including: the issue of the return of Mazari territory to the Ameers of Sinde [Amīrs of Sindh] by Runjeet Singh; intelligence reports by Wade’s munshi [secretary] (ff 52-56, ff 110-115); correspondence regarding a potential meeting between Runjeet Singh and the Governor-General of India; and reports of Lieutenant Frederick Mackeson on affairs on the Peshawar frontier (ff 265-268, ff 272-274, ff 277-289)Relations of Herat with Persia and British policy regarding them, including: news of the arrival in Tehran of an envoy from Shah Kamran [Shāhzādah Kāmrān Durrānī], Ruler of Herat; and views of Burnes and Wade on the ‘designs’ of Persia on Herat (ff 297-301)British policy towards Dost Mahomed Khan [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy], Ruler of Cabool, including: Burnes’s reports from Cabool on his meetings with Dost Mahomed (ff 134-141, ff 360-369); Burnes’s and Wade’s views on the ambitions of Dost Mahomed regarding branches of his family in Candahar [Kandahar; this spelling is also used in this item] and Peshawar, and his relations with Persia and Russia; British encouragement of Dost Mahomed to seek a reconciliation with their ally Runjeet Singh; Burnes’s and Wade’s assessment of the geo-political situation on the western frontier of British dominions in India and the aim of maintaining a balance of power advantageous to Britain between Cabool, Candahar, Herat, Persia, the Punjab and Sinde and which might avert any alliances with Russia (ff 78-82, ff 345-358)Burnes’s activities with regard to Candahar, and Candahar’s relations with Cabool and Persia, including: Burnes’s efforts to prevent Sirdar Kohin Dil Khan [Sirdār Kuhandīl Khān Muḥammadzay] sending his son Mahomed Omar Khan [Muḥammad Umar Khān] with an envoy, to conciliate Persia (ff 235-237); Kohin Dil Khan’s and his chief advisor’s letters to Dost Mahomed expressing obedience to the Ameer of Cabool, fear of Persia and the desire to depose the Ruler of Herat who repeatedly threatens to attack Candahar (ff 379-383); and Burnes’s instructions to Lieutenant Robert Leech, whom he deputes to Candahar with an offer of monetary and military support in the event of Persia conquering Herat (ff 471-477)Dost Mahomed Khan’ s relations with Russia and Persia, and British policy regarding them, including: Burnes’s alarm at the arrival in Cabool of a Russian agent, Captain Waitcawitch [Jan Prosper Witkiewicz] (ff 444-449); Wade’s detailed views on the positions of Persia and Russia in connection with Dost Mahomed and Afghanistan and the policy of discouraging the latter’s ‘ambitions’ (ff 415-421); and Macnaghten’s disapproval of Burnes’s promise of troops and pecuniary aid to the rulers of Candahar in the event of the Russian-supported Persian capture of Herat (ff 451-457)The Persian expedition against Herat, including: news of the defeat of Ghurian [Ghuryan, also spelled Ghoorian in this item] and siege of Herat; and Wade’s suggestion that Lieutenant Eldred Pottinger, detained by the Herat authorities, act as a mediator (albeit without authority from the Government of India), provide intelligence, and ensure that Kamran Shah resists Persia.The following matters and documents are also included:Wade’s response to overtures of friendship made to him by Mir Alam Khan [Mīr ‘Ālim Khān], Ruler of Bajour, and Fatah Khan Panjtari, [Fatḥ Khān, Ruler of Panjtar] (ff 124-125)Disruption to the indigo trade in Cabool caused by differences between the Governor of Mooltan [Multan] and the Ruler of Bhawalpoor (ff 132-133, ff 152-153)A report by Lieutenant Leech, Bombay Engineers, entitled ‘Description of the Khyber Pass and of the Tribes inhabiting it’ (ff 143-150)Praise by Wade and Burnes of intelligence provided by Charles Masson in Cabool (ff 180-183)Burnes’s emphasis on conciliating the Lohani [a Pashtun tribe] ‘chiefs’, described by Wade as ‘meritorious merchants’ (f 184)Burnes’s report on the ‘commercial views and prospects of Russia in Central Asia’ (f 203), notably Russia’s relations with the rulers of Bokhara, Khiva [also referred to as ‘Orgunge’] and Kokan (ff 199-207)Burnes’s deputation of Dr Percival Lord and Lieutenant John Wood to Meer Moorad Beg [Mīr Murād Beg] Uzbeck ruler of Koondooz [Uzbek ruler of Kunduz], to treat the eye ailment of Moorad Beg’s brother (ff 251-263), and Macnaghten’s approbation for Burnes’s improvement of British relations with Koondooz.Enclosures 121-125 (ff 506-524) comprise despatches between Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pottinger, Agent to the Governor-General for Sinde, and Macnaghten, notably regarding the apparent procrastination of the Ameers of Sinde over the establishment of a British Resident in their territory. Also covered is the progress made by Lieutenant Thomas Greer Carless in his survey of the Indus and Kurachee [Karachi] Harbour.Physical description: 1 item (505 folios)
Abstract: This item consists of copies of a Political Despatch from the Government of India Foreign Department to the Secretary of State for India, dated 1 September 1873 and received by the India Office Secret Department on 30 September 1873, forwarding copies of a letter from the Minister at Teheran [Tehran] to Lord Granville, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, explaining the grounds of his belief that the completion of a railway between the Caspian [Sea] and Teheran would be fatal to the independence of Persia [Iran].Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 244, and terminates at f 248, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The sequence contains two foliation anomalies: f 244a and f 246a.
Abstract: This item comprises a copy of an enclosure to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 53 of 1856, dated 28 July 1856. The enclosure is dated 19 May 1856.The enclosure comprises copies of despatches sent by Richard W Stevens, HM Consul in Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, copies of which are forwarded for the information of the Government of Bombay and the Government of India. The despatches notably cover and include:The bastinado (punishment by caning the soles of the feet) of the post-master of Semnaan [Semnan], convicted of bringing false news of the capture of HeratIntelligence from a European (Italian) officer attached to the Persian [Iranian] Army at Herat that the Ruler of Herat, Mahommed Youssuf [Muḥammad Yūsuf], has been sent a prisoner to the Persian camp by his Vezier [vizier, minister] Essau Khan [ʻĪsá Khān], that the Vezier has ‘sold himself to the Persians’ (f 428) and with other Heratee leaders has agreed to all Persian surrender terms apart from the admission of troops into Herat (ff 430-432. (The copy of the original intelligence is in Italian, with an English translation. This is a duplicate of a document in item IOR/L/PS/5/487, ff 381-396, on ff 395-396).Stevens’s belief that Essau Khan has not surrendered but has: pretended to espouse the Persian cause; got the Persian Army to withdraw to Bernabad [Baranabad] 25 miles from Herat; ‘set the Persians at defiance’ (f 429) after disposing of the Ruler of Herat to the Persian camp; and infuriated the Shah [Shāh] and Persian CommanderReports of great Persian losses during attempts to storm Herat, and the assembling of more Persian troops in Khorassan [Khorasan] and Teheran [Tehran]Authorisation given by the Persian Sadr Azem [Ṣadr A‘ẓam, minister] to the Commander of the Persian Army at Herat to confirm Essau Khan in power provided he allows the town to be garrisoned by Persian troopsThe Sadr Azem’s claim that Persian troops have occupied the forts of Laush, Jeven [Lash-e Juwayn?] and Kohak, former dependencies of KandaharDetails of the present distribution of the Persian Army (f 434)Intelligence that prior to peace negotiations in Paris (to end the Crimean War) Russia amassed war stores at Lankeran [Lankaran] and Bakoo [Baku] for troops collected at Astracan [Astrakan], which would have been sent to Herat to assist PersiaIntelligence regarding friendly relations between the Governor of Asterabad [Gorgan] and Russian agents stationed there.Physical description: 1 item (11 folios)
Abstract: The file chiefly comprises typescript and some manuscript copies of letters, memoranda, notes and minutes by General Herbert Vaughan Cox. There are three letters to Cox from external correspondents, some printed memoranda and one cutting from the
Morning Post.Folios 1-2 comprise a list of the file documents, numbered 1-55, including type of document, addressee, date, and normally an indication of the subject. The fifty-five documents are numbered in blue pencil in the top right hand corner of the first page. Note that the contents list is not exhaustive and there are sometimes related documents between those marked with blue pencil. (There is duplication of some memoranda in the file; duplicates contain very minor differences).The content comprises information, advice and opinions of General Cox to the War Cabinet, War Office and other government and military officers, mainly relating to British military strategy in Afghanistan, Persia [Iran], Trans-Caspia [Central Asia], the Caucasus, Mesopotamia [Iraq] and India, including:Securing British interests in Persia, Afghanistan, the Caspian Sea and British India, against Turco-German threats, prior to the November 1918 ArmisticeFall of Baku (in modern Azerbaijan) to Turkish forces in September 1918 and the role of commanding officer Major General Lionel Charles DunstervilleStrategic importance of the Siestan [Sistan] railway (part of the Trans-Baluchistan railway)British policy regarding interests in ‘the East’ at the Paris Peace Conference 1919, notably North West Persia, Mesopotamia, the new republics west of the Caspian Sea, new Armenia, Syria and PalestineThe Malleson Mission, led by Major General Sir Wilfrid Malleson, whose role after the Armistice was to protect North East Persia (or Trans-Caspia, modern Turkmenistan), from Bolshevik incursions and influenceBritish military and diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, notably frontiers after the Armistice and following the assassination of Habibullah Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, in February 1919Turbulent situation in Waziristan, October 1919 and impact on Indian ArmyIndian Army organization, command, military requirements, training and instruction, and compositionCommand structure of the British Imperial Army in the East, senior appointments, organization and military requirements.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 230; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 79-229; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: Part 2 consists of correspondence relating to alleged Turkish activities in Afghanistan and the wider Central Asia region. The discussion is centred around reports, conveyed to them by the Russian Ambassador in London, of the following:Turkish officers training Afghan troops;the Turks seeking a treaty of alliance with the Amir of Afghanistan;Turkish propaganda in Central Asia on behalf of the Pan-Islamic (or Neo-Islamic) League.The papers also contain reports of negative public opinion of the British due to the refusal to allow Turkish troops to pass through Egypt.The correspondence is between the India Office, Foreign Office, Government of India (Foreign Department), British Agent at Kabul (Malik Talib Mehdi Khan), and the British Ambassador at Constantinople (Gerard Augustus Lowther).Physical description: The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.The subject 4327 (Turco-Italian War) consists of one volume divided into four parts.