Abstract: The volume contains correspondence relating to instances of slavery on the Trucial Coast. Of the eleven subjects contained in the volume, the first seven relate to the kidnapping and enslavement of individuals within the Trucial Coast and Oman area, frequently by tribes from the interior. Cases 8 to 11 involve slaves imported into the Trucial Coast and Oman region from the Baluchistan and Indian coast. These cases are similar to and in some instances linked to slavery cases in other Residency volumes, in particular IOR/R/15/1/222 and IOR/R/15/1/223.Subjects of note in the volume include the following:Subject 1: The kidnapping of a Muscat subject who was taken to Dubai, and the efforts of the Residency Agent at Sharjah (‘Īsá bin ‘Abd al-Latif), in correspondence with Shaikh of Dubai, to recover the man.Subject 2: A slave trading case on the Batinah coast, mid-1929. In a statement made by one of the recovered slaves, the kidnapper was identified. Bertram Thomas (Wazir to the Sultan of Muscat) wrote to confirm that he suspected the leader of the Yal Saad tribe (Shaikh Hilal) on the Batinah coast to be the suspect. However, Thomas advised against the arrest of Hilal, suggesting it would be 'fraught with serious political consequences', and could undermine the Sultan of Muscat's authority. This case is concurrent and directly associated with correspondence from Thomas found in file IOR/R/15/1/229. Notes at the front and end of subject 2's correspondence state that part of the correspondence was transferred to another file (IOR/R/15/1/229), although it appears to have been reinstated at a later date, before the file was bound.Subject 4: An incident in mid-1929 of the kidnapping and enslavement of some inhabitants of Sharjah, and their transfer to Abu Dhabi by Manasir Bedouins. The matter prompted a strongly worded response from the Political Resident (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Barrett) to the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, demanding action to retrieve the slaves. Office notes written by the Residency Secretary detailed the relative weakness of the Trucial Coast shaikhs in relation to the Manasir tribe, which he described as being the 'irregular army' of Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd]. The Secretary added that the Residency Agent at Sharjah did not have any relations with the Manasir, and recommended a greater presence of the Resident or his Deputy in the area to 'tend to more cordial relations with all concerned.'Subject 7: A 1929 kidnap of two Muscat subjects taken to the Trucial Coast. Both individuals were recovered by the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi, under pressure from the Political Resident. However a ransom (or 'redemption' payment) of 160 rupees was made for one of the slaves. Correspondence followed over a two-year period, between the Political Resident, the Residency Agent at Sharjah, and the Muscat Government, relating to the question of liability for the reimbursement of the payment. The Political Residency was reluctant to approve or encourage reimbursement to the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi for the payment, insisting that the British Government cannot 'recognise any payments for slavery, and [therefore] cannot ask the Political Agent in this case to recover the money.'Subject 10: A case in 1933 of a man in Dubai who was suspected of having kidnapped his employer's son in Karachi six years earlier. The man was detained with the Residency Agent at Sharjah while correspondence between the Commissioner in Sind, Karachi, and the Political Resident, attempted to ascertain if the man was the suspect from Karachi. The man was finally sent to Karachi via Bahrain, where he was arrested and imprisoned pending trial. Office notes in the subject file link the case to that of a young Indian boy imported to the Trucial Coast in 1927 (IOR/R/15/1/223 – Subject 8: folios 87-205).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 338; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: each of the subjects into which the volume is divided has its own internal pagination system, expressed as page number
xof subject number
y. Subject 10 is out of sequence, having been bound into the volume after subject 11.
Abstract: The volume, stamped ‘Secret’ on the front cover and frontispiece, is a précis of affairs relating to Makrān (spelt Mekran throughout) coast in the south of Sindh and Baluchistan. It was prepared by Judge Jerome Antony Saldanha of the Bombay Provincial Civil Service, and published in 1905 by the Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, in Calcutta.The volume includes a preface (folio 4) and list of contents (folios 5-6). The volume is divided into chapters and sections as follows:Chapter 1: Our early connection with Mekran: (I) Jask, our port of trade with Persia from 1615 to 1622, (II) Captain Grant's mission to Mekran, 1809;Chapter 2: Telegraph and Mekran: Persian pretensions: (I) Reverend Mr Badger's reports, 1861, (II) Proposed negotiations with Persia and Mekran Chiefs: completion of the telegraph, (III) Proposed lease or purchase of Gwadur [Gwādar], (IV) Obstruction of the Persian Governor to the progress of the telegraph line - claims of Persia to Gwadur and Charbar [Chābahār], (V) Colonel Goldsmid's report of December 1863 in regard to Persian claims in Mekran, (VI) Colonel Goldsmid's first report of 1864, (VII) Colonel Goldsmid's second report of 1864, (VIII) Colonel Goldsmid's third report of 1864;Chapter 3: Agreements with Maskat in regard to telegraphic extension to Bunder Abbas [Bandar ‘Abbās] 1864-65. Colonel Pelly's report on the country from Bunder Abbas to Jask [Jāsk];Chapter 4: Negotiations with Persia for telegraphic extension westward from Gwadur, 1865-68. Telegraphic Convention of 1868.Chapter 5: Captain Ross's reports about Mekran, 1867-68;Chapter 6: Arrangements with local Chiefs as regards the telegraph undersettled state of the country;Chapter 7: Perso-Baluchistan boundary dispute settled by a Commision, 1870-72: (I) Persian agreement to demarcate the boundary line by a mixed Commission, 1870, (II) Proceedings of the Commissioners, (III) The Persian Government accepts the line sketched out by General Goldsmid;Chapter 8: Telegraph and Persian Baluchistan Chiefs. Internal Disturbances and changes, 1869-95: (I) The Persian Baluchistan Chiefs (including a genealogical table), (II) Disturbances at Jask, 1873, (III) Relations between the various Chiefs, 1883, (IV) Thefts of the telegraph lines in Geh territory, 1883, (V) Certain changes in Chiefs in 1883-84. Death of Sartip Ibrahim Khan [Sartīp Ibrāhīm Khān], 1883-84, (VI) Abul Fath Khan [‘Abd al-Fatḥ Khān], Governor of Bampur [Bampūr], 1886-89, (VII) Rising in Persian Baluchistan, 1889, (VIII) Arrest of several Baluchi Chiefs, 1891, (IX) Internal Affairs from 1891 to 1895. Death of Mir Abdul Nabi [Mīr ‘Abd al-Nabī] of Jask, 1894;Chapter 9: Jask Telegraph Station: (I) The detachment of Jask, (II) British control and jurisdiction within the station, 1869, (III) Interference of Persian officials within Jask station limits. Removal of the detachment and agreement about Jask station, 1886-87, (IV) Alleged Persian interference within the Jask station, 1889;Chapter 10: Protection of British subjects in Persian Baluchistan: (I) Plunder of British Indians by Sardar Hossein Khan [Sardār Ḥusayn Khān], appointed Governor of Charbar and Dashtyari [Dashtyārī] in place of Din Mahomed [Dīn Muḥammad], (II) Murder of a British Indian subject at Baku, 1882, (III) Plunder of Hindu traders of Dizzak and Geh, 1884, (IV) Seizure at Charbar of Doshambi, sailor of a British Indian vessel. Arrangements for his release, (V) Dharmu Mulchand's case, 1889-89;Chapter 11: Rising of Baluchi Chiefs. Anarchy in Persian Mekran. Murder of Mr Graves. British detachments stationed at Jask and Charbar. British policy, 1897-98: (I) Rising of Baluchi tribes, (II) Murder of Mr Graves and measures taken to trace and punish the murderers, December 1897 - January 1898, (III) Detachment sent to Jask and Charbar, January 1898, (IV) Unauthorised action of Commander Baker of the Sphinx in landing a force at Gulag and proceeding with it to Rapch, February 1898, (V) Operations against the insurgent and punishment of the murderers, (VI) Indemnity of the murder of Mr Graves, (VII) Rewards to Persian officers for services rendered in Mr Graves's murder case, 1898-99;Chapter 12: Changes in payment of telegraph subsidy. Settlement of outstanding claims of the British Indian subjects against Perso-Baluch Chiefs. Arrest of the remaining two murderers of Mr Graves. Detachment at Jask and Charbar. Deaths of several Chiefs, 1899.Chapter 13: State of the districts through which the telegraph line passes from Gwettur to Jask, 1909-04;Chapter 14: Gwadur and Charbar affairs: (I) Early history of Gwadur and Charbar, (II) Azan bin Ghias [‘Azzān bin Qays]'s attempts to take Gwadur and Charbar, 1869-70, (III) Seyyid Turki [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd]'s rights to Charbar, (IV) Persian pretensions to Gwadur and Charbar. Demarcation of boundary line between Khelat [Kelāt] and Persia. Capture of Charbar by the Persians, (V) Question of rendition of Gwadur to the Khan of Khelat, (VI) Reported intention of the Russian Government to place an agent in charge of the Customs at Gwadur;Chapter 14: British Political Agency in Mekran.There is one appendix on folio 63, which is a report by Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent at Muscat and Khelat, dated 31 January 1886, entitled 'Report on the nature of the Trade at Gwadur and the probably amount of its Revenues'. This relates to Chapter 5 where the report is discussed.Physical description: Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Abstract: Newsletters sent out by the Officiating Secretary to the Government of India containing compiled summaries of reports from British officials and military officers in various parts of South Asia and the Middle East.Each newsletter is divided into headings, most of which refer to the place a report was sent from. Headings which appear in a majority of the newsletters are: Army of the Indus; Cabool [Kabul]; Joudhpore [Jodhpur]; Lahore; Nipal [Nepal]; Peshawur [Peshawar]; Upper Scinde [Sindh] and/or Lower Scinde; and Items of General Intelligence. Other headings include: Aden; Ava [Inwa]; Bithoor; Bokhara [Bukhara]; Burmah [Myanmar]; Bushire [Būshehr]; Candahar [Kandahar]; Dera Ismael Khan [Dera Ismail Khan]; Egypt and Syria; Finance or Financial; Gwalior; Herat; Hyderabad; Kelat [Kalat]; Kurnool; Mooltan [Multan]; Muscat; Persia [Iran]; Persian Gulf; Sattarah [Satara]; and Turkish Arabia.Several of the reports are concerned with the opening months of the First Anglo-Afghan War, the East India Company’s invasion of Afghanistan in order to depose Dost Mahomed [Dost Mohammad Khan] as Emir and replace him with former Emir Shah Shooja [Shah Shujah Durrani]. These reports cover:Movements of troops and artilleryLogistics of feeding the troops, particularly the acquisition of grainNavigation of mountain passes leading into Afghanistan, including the Boolan [Bolan] Pass and the Khyber PassThe reorganisation in preparation for the invasion of the so-called ‘Army of the Indus’ by Sir John KeaneThe raising of troops in support of the British by the Maharajah of the Sikh Empire [Ranjit Singh], in accordance with the terms of the Tripartite Treaty of 1838A treaty with the Khan of Kelat [Mir Mehrab Khan Baloch II]The invasion of Kundooz [Kunduz, also spelt Koondooz in the file] by the son of Dost MahomedRaids on British camps and convoys by so called ‘plunderers’, particularly in Balochistan and around the Khyber PassAttempts by Dost Mahomed to incite a holy war against the BritishAn uprising against Dost Mahomed in CaboolThe activities of Russian and Persian armies in western AfghanistanThe British capture of Ghuzni [Ghazni] on 23 July and of Ali Musjid [Ali Masjid] on 27 JulyThe death from sickness of Mahomed Akbar Khan, son of Dost Mahomed, while retreating from CaboolThe pursuit and attempted capture of Dost Mahomed after the capture of Ghuzni and his escape to Khoolum [Kholm]The creation by Shah Shooja of the Order of the Dooranee [Durrani] Empire to honour British officers involved in the warA treaty with Shah Kamran of HeratAttempts to force Dost Mahomed out of hiding in KoondoozSickness among British and Sikh troops at Ali Musjid, including from water naturally tainted with antimony.Other topics covered in the reports include:The health of the Maharajah, his death on 27 June, the accession and coronation of his son Kurruck Sing [Kharak Singh] and the late Maharajah’s funeral and tombThe subjugation of Nejd [Najd] by Ottoman forces, and perceived threats against Bahrein [Bahrain] and Kowheit [Kuwait]The renunciation of hostilities with his neighbours by Sooltan Bin Suggar [Shaikh Sulṭān I bin Ṣaqr al-Qāsimī], ruler of Sharga [Sharjah]The capture of Bushire by Bahir Khan [Baqir Khan Tangistani], Chief of Tengistan [Tangestan]An appeal to the British Government against the Government of India by the Raja of Sattarah [Pratap Singh] and the Company’s deposition of the RajaAnti-British sentiment and activities in NipalAnti-British sentiment and activities in Burmah and the stationing of Royal Navy ships in Rangoon [Yangon] harbourAn uprising by Moobaruz ud Dowlah [Mubarez-ud-Daulah] against his brother the Nizam of Hyderabad [Sikandar Jah]Disturbances near British borders with Colapore [Kolhapur] and GoaRiver transport between Kurachee [Karachi] and Tatta [Thatta]The appointment of a Political Officer to handle 'anarchy and disorder' in Shikarpore [Shikarpur]Relations with the Guicowar [Sayaji Rao II Gaekwad, Maharaja of Baroda]The capture of Kot [Kota] on behalf of JoudhporeAn intercepted Arabic letter from Khan-i-Alum Khan, a cousin of the Nawab of the Carnatic, asking the intended recipient (believed to be Ibrahim Pasha, commander of the Egyptian army) to invade India and drive out the BritishDuties on goods exported from Lahore to Bombay [Mumbai], and a reduction of duties for boats on the IndusThe imprisonment of Colonel Charles Stoddart by the Emir of Bokhara [Nasrullah Khan]The withdrawal of the British Embassy from TehranThe reinforcement of Aden, and a census taken thereThe death of the heir to the throne of JoudhporeThe British occupation of Kharrack [Kharg] Island, to counter the Persian siege of HeratAn uprising in Suddya [Sadiya]The journey of the Euphrates Expedition up the Tigris to near Masoul [Mosul]A civil war in Bhootan [Bhutan]Negotiations over the position of the British in BushireA physical altercation between the Nawab of Bhopaul [Jahangir Muhammad Khan] and his wife Secunder Begum [Sikandar Begum]The arrest of forty-six Wahabee [Wahhabi] for sedition in HyderabadChinese measures against the opium trade in Canton [Guangzhou] and a proposal to send ships to protect British merchants and blockade portsA conspiracy against Maharajah Kurruck Sing and his son Now Nehal Sing [Nau Nihal Singh, also spelt Nao Nehal Sing in the file], and an enforced oath of allegiance to the MaharajahPerceived military intentions of the King of Ava [Tharrawaddy Min, King of Burma] against Britain and Siam [Thailand], and British responsesAn Egyptian victory over the Ottomans [Battle of Nezib]The reported raising of troops in Persia, possibly to target Herat, Bushire or Bagdad [Baghdad]An experiment in sending mail to Damascus via Bussora [Basra] instead of BagdadArrangements for steam navigation on the IndusA reported increase in Russian hostilities in the War in Circassia [Russo-Circassian War]The withdrawal of the British Resident from Amreepoora [Amarapura]Reported Russian preparations to invade Stambol [Istanbul]The temporary seizure by the Sheik of Muhumarah [Khorramshahr, also spelt Mohamrah in the file] of a shipment of Company coalThe British occupation of Joudhpore to put down a rebellion against the Maharajah Mann Sing [Man Singh]A request from Nipal for passage through Sikkim in order to invade BhootanThe reported insanity of the Nawab of Kurnool [Ghulam Rasul Khan], and the British examination of troops and the arsenal thereThe outlawing of Suttee [sati] by the new Raja of Sattara [Shahaji]A genealogical account of the descent of Shah Newaz Khan [Shah Nawaz Khan] to support his claim to the Khanate of KelatA demand from the Shah of Persia for reparations to Persian merchants who lost property during the Ottoman capture of MohamrahA demand from Mehemet Ali [Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt] for the removal of Khosrow Mahomed Pasha [Mehmed Emin Rauf Pasha] as Ottoman Grand VizierTroops sent by the Emir of Bokhara to put down a rebellion against Moorad Beg, Chief of Koondooz [Mohammad Murad Beg, Khan of Kunduz]Unrest and riots in Persian cities, including against the Armenian population in Tabreez [Tabriz] and against the Prince [Fereydoun Mirza] in ShirazThe removal of Mirza Mahomed Hossein as Governor of BushireA rumoured Russian invasion of Toorkistan [Turkestan]A survey of the road between Kurachee and SehwanThe reported intention of the Imam of Muscat [Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Sultan of Muscat and Oman] to establish a commercial relationship with the United States of America.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 575, and terminates at f 950, 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.
Abstract: The volume relates to construction, by the British Government, of electric telegraph communication between India and England, specifically the line through Sind [Sindh], along the Beloochistan [Balochistan] and Mekran [Makran] coasts and dominions of the Sultan of Muscat, December 1860-October 1867. It comprises a mixture of manuscript original and copy letters and reports; printed letters, reports and surveys; manuscript transcribed and translated Persian letters; and some telegraphic messages.The contents notably cover and include:Copy of original proposals submitted to the Government in Bombay, on the options for land and sea lines between Kurrachee [Karachi] and Bussorah [Basra, in modern-day Iraq], via Persia, by George Perry Badger, Chaplain (later in charge) of the Muscat-Zanzibar Commission, December 1860 (folios 10-15); views on Badger’s scheme by the Political Agents in Khelat [Kalat, also spelled Kelat in the volume] and in Turkish Arabia, March-May 1861 (folios 18-20, 28-30); Badger’s detailed geographical report on the coast from Bunder Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] to Kurrachee (folios 31-33)Surveys undertaken for the Bombay and Sind authorities, analysing the geographical, historical, political and socio-cultural character of territories the telegraph is proposed to run through, including: printed reports by the Political Agent in Khelat and J P Darke, Commanding HM Steamer
Hugh Lindsay, on the ports of Gwadur [Gwadar], Ormara and the Mekran coast (folios 34-38), June 1861; manuscript copy of detailed report by Major Frederic John Goldsmid, Acting Commissioner in Sind, on Official Duty in Mekran, February 1862 (folios 75-140), documenting the Mekran Coast Route with reference to the telegraph’s purposes, agriculture, water and supply sources, inhabitants, political history of the Mission, ancient geography and history (printed version on folios 298-324), supplemented with ‘rough notes’ by the mission’s Assistant Surgeon, Lalor, 2nd Sind Horse, adding analysis of the climate, water, general health of the people, security and fertility of the land (folios 154-180)Negotiation of terms and conditions with the Shah of Persia regarding territories acknowledged to be within his realm but over which we was not exercising direct control, materials costs, protection expenses, and future ownership of the telegraph (folios 64-74)British negotiations with local chiefs and rulers ‒ in the context of political instability and diplomatic sensitivities ‒ concerning permission to construct the line through their territories and arrangements for its protection, with particular regard to disputed lands and ports along the Beloochi [Balochi] and Mekran coast (e.g. Gwadur); agreements with the Khan of Khelat and the Jam of Beyla [Jam, or Cham, of Las Bela, Balochistan]; British payment of subsidies to local rulers (and their rivals) for protection services. Includes printed report by Goldsmid ‘On Special Duty’, to the Government in Bombay, December 1863, on the respective claims of Persia, Khelat and Muscat to sovereign rights in Mekran and on what they are founded (folios 243-246)Engineering logistics, labour, security, costs and materials, including formation of the Mekran Telegraphic Department on 20 January 1863 in the territory of the Khan of Kelat, with construction commencing 7 February 1863 (folios 187-188)Temporary recall of the telegraph work party on the Pusnee [Pasni] to Gwadar line due to unstable situation created by ‘ravaging’ activities of a 'Beloochi Sirdar named Oughan’, late 1863 (folios 202-211)British convention with the Sultan of Muscat, Sultan Soweenee [Sayyid Thuwaini bin Said Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for extension of the telegraph line through his dominions of Gwadar (sovereignty historically disputed with the Khan of Khelat) and Chabhar [Chahabar], including challenge to the Sultan’s rights in Chahbar by the Governor of Bunpoor [Bampur], ‘Ibrahim, a Persian Sirhang’) in March 1863 (folios 192-194, 218-226).Folios 339-417 chiefly comprises correspondence and papers of the Commissioner in Sind, Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind, and the Secretary to the Government, Bombay, 1864 and 1866. They are covered by two manuscript lists of numbered contents. (Folios stated below include the title page to the item number).Folio 339: ‘1866. Political Kelat’, comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. Items (No. 4 ‘Disturbance at Muscat’ and No. 8 ‘Raids on the Punjab Frontier’ are not present)Folios 340-346 (item No. 1): ‘Murree affray at Soee, death of Naib Rassuldar Shaik Hassan Ali [Nā’ib Rasūldār Shaikh Ḥasan ‘Ali], 3rd Regiment Sind Horse’, regarding attack made by 'the Native Officer Commanding the Outpost at Soorie' [probably Suri, also spelt Sooee in this volume] upon a group of Murrees [inhabitants of Mari] who had assembled 'for the purpose of plundering in British territory'Folios 347-349 (item No. 2): ‘Khureetas for HH the Khan of Kelat’ [Kalat] (two letters, not kharitas)Folios 350-359 (item No. 3): ‘Pension for Abdool Russed Khan’. Includes correspondence with Pension Pay Office, Poona [Pune]Folios 360-363 (item No. 5): ‘HH the Khan of Kelat’s subsidy for 1866/67’Folios 364-367 (item No. 6): ‘Trade and revenues of Gwadur’. Printed ‘Report on the nature of the Trade at Gwadur and the probable amount of its Revenues’ by Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, Assistant Political Agent at Muscat and KelatFolios 368-373 (item No. 7): ‘Abdoolla Jageer [Abdullah Jagir, a trader] claims British Consular protection from the Jam of Beyla’Folio 374: ‘1864. Political Miscellaneous’ comprising a list of items numbered 1-8. (Items No. 1 ‘Report on the political state of the Frontier Districts for 1863’ and No. 8 ‘Naturalised B…’ [this is crossed through] are not present)Folios 375-379 (item No. 2): ‘Proposition for including in travelling allowances to Political officers allowances for tentage also’Folios 380-384 (item No. 3): ‘Sanction for Political Superintendent’s Toshakhana’ [treasury of objects]Folios 385-390 (item No. 4): ‘Bhawalpoore [Bahawalpur] rebels’Folios 391-394 (item No. 5): ‘Transfer of the Ionian Isles to the Greek Government’. Official notices to the Indian authorities that the British Government has left the Ionian Islands in June 1864 and the protectorate will be handed over the ‘King of the Hellenes’ [King of Greece] next yearFolios 395-401 (item No. 6): ‘Sulphur imported from Bagh in Cuchee [Kacchi, in Kalat, Balochistan] by the Engineer Department’Folios 402-403 (item No. 7): ‘Rates for Telegraph in Persia and Russia’The end of the volume consists of :Folio 404: ‘Sketch of Oka Mandel’ [Okhamandal, Gujurat, India]. Map, signed Lieutenant-Colonel R Phayre, Quartermaster-General, 27 September 1859Folio 405: ‘Route surveys in Abyssinia [Ethiopia] from Antalo to Magdala’ surveyed by the Quartermaster-General’s Department, Abyssinia Field Force. Map, signed Captain T J Holland and Lieutenant-General R Napier, 25 May 1868, with notesFolios 406-413: Manuscript, badly water damaged (past repairs visible), possibly relating to SindFolios 414-416: Printed ‘List of Dehs in the Frontier District of Upper Sind, with their population, etc., etc.’ by Colonel Francis Loch, Political Superintendent, Frontier District of Upper Sind (undated)Folio 417: Printed memorandum, dated 25 Sep 1875, issued by Bombay Government Financial Department on tentage allowances.The principal correspondents over the period 1860-67 are: H L Anderson, Chief Secretary to the Government, Bombay; A Kinloch Forbes, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; M J Shaw Stewart, Acting Secretary to the Government, Bombay; Jonathan Duncan Inverarity, Commissioner in Sind; Samuel Mansfield, Commissioner in Sind; A D Robertson, Acting Commissioner in Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Henry W R Green, Political Agent in Khelat, later (sometime Acting) Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper Sind; Major (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Malcolm S Green, variously Political Agent in Baluchistan, Political Agent in Khelat and Political Superintendent and Commandant, Frontier Upper SindOther correspondents include: Captain William Dickinson, Acting Political Agent in Kelat; James McAdam Hyslop, Officiating Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Lieutenant-Colonel Arnold Burrowes Kemball, Political Agent in Turkish Arabia; Major William Lockyer Merewether, Political Superintendent and Commandant in Chief, Frontier of Upper Sind; Charles Umpherston Aitchison, Secretary to Government of India; Colonel Henry Mortimer Durand, Secretary to Government of India (Foreign Department); Sir George Russell Clerk, Governor and Resident in Council, Bombay; Charles Gonne, Secretary to Government, Bombay; William Henry Havelock (Officiating Secretary), Bombay; Charles Alison, British Minister at Teheran; Earl (John) Russell, British Foreign Secretary; Hormuzd Rassam, Acting British Resident at Muscat; Captain Herbert Disbrowe, Acting Political Agent, Muscat; Lieutenant Edward Charles Ross, variously Assistant Political Agent Gwadur, Assistant to the Political Agent in Beloochistan [Balochistan], and Assistant to the Political Agents at Kelat and Muscat; Major P Stewart, HM Bengal Engineers, on Special Duty at Kurrachee; Lieutenant Arthur William Stiffe, Acting Director, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; H Izaak Walton, Superintendent, Mekran Coast and Submarine Telegraph; P W Hewett, 1st Class Inspector of Telegraphs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 420; 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 original pagination sequence dating from the 1920s is also present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. This sequence correlates to the description found in Samuel Charles Hill's
Catalogue of the Home Miscellaneous Series of the India Office Records(London: HMSO, for the India Office, 1927).
Abstract: This item comprises printed Foreign Office correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], covering geopolitical, political, economic, social and cultural matters. The despatches are dated 7 July 1897-22 September 1898.The first page of each despatch includes the heading ‘ASIA. CONFIDENTIAL.’ on the top left, and the day and month of the despatch in square brackets on the top right e.g. ‘[July 7.]’. The letters in each despatch are numbered, e.g. No. 1, followed, where relevant, by numbered enclosures (spelled ‘inclosure’ in the volume), e.g. ‘Inclosure in No. 1.’ or ‘Inclosure 1 in No. 2.’. A few of the letters from Charles Hardinge, First Secretary, Tehran, to Persian Government ministers are in French.The item notably covers and includes:The financial difficulties of the Persian Government including: negotiations for foreign loans to the Persian Government, notably a proposed loan of forty million francs by Messrs Solomon Oppenheim of Paris and Cologne on the security of the customs revenues of the southern ports of Persia, and proposed Russian loans (including a copy of a draft agreement, in French, presented to the Persian Government by the Russian Legation, ff 375-376); and loans negotiated with the Imperial Bank of Persia, notably a loan of fifty-thousand pounds secured by control of the customs revenue of Bushire [Bushehr] and KermanshahAffairs relating to the Persian Mint and its relations with the Imperial Bank of PersiaThe murder of Mr Graves, a commissioned officer of the Indo-European Telegraph Department, at Karwan in southern Persia, the indemnity demanded from the Persian Government by the British Government, measures taken for the arrest and punishment of the murderers, and arrangements for the future protection of the telegraph line and company employeesFactionalism, internecine strife, and changes in personnel within the Persian Government and Cabinet, including the dismissal of the Sadr-i-Azam [Ṣadr A‘ẓam, Prime Minister] in June 1898The assassination of Sheikh Mizal [Shaikh Miz’al Khān], Governor of Muhammerah [Khorramshahr, formerly Mohammerah], and recognition of Sheikh Khazal [Shaikh Khas’al bin Jābir bin Mirdāw al-Ka’bī, also spelled Khasal in this item] as the new GovernorAn attack on Koweit [Kuwait] by the Persian Sheikh Yussuf Ibrahim [Shaikh Yūsuf Ibrāhīm]The state of affairs in Azerbaijan and TabrizThe state of affairs in Persian Beluchistan [Balochistan]Rumours of a raid by members of the Shahsavend [Shahsavan] tribe into Russian territory allegedly killing twenty-five CossacksConstruction of the (Gulf of) Enzeli-Kazvin Road [Bandar-e Anzali-Qazvin], involving a concession by the Persian Government to the Russian Insurance and Transport CompanyRusso-Persian relations notably following the Russian doctors and Cossack escort forced upon the Persian Government against their willMilitary news and reportsThe persecution of Jews in Ispahan [Isfahan] and in Lar, including British official protests and concern to protect British Jews at those placesDisturbances at Charbar [Chabahar] and Jask and the deputation of (British) Indian troops to those placesThe construction of a road from Ahwaz [Ahvaz] to Ispahan and from Shuster [Shushtar] to Ispahan, and agreement of Messrs Lynch Brothers with Ali Guli Khan [Alī -Qulī Khān Sirdār Asad Bakhtiyārī] and others (ff 310-311), guaranteed by the Persian GovernmentA report by HM Consul in Ispahan on his journey to Kermanshah and Tehran, in connection with the question of the disputed properties of the British Agent at Kermanshah (ff 325-327)A report by Captain G S Elliot, HM Vice-Consul at Van, of a journey across the Persian frontier and reporting generally on state of affairs on both sides of the [Persian and Turkish] border (ff 362-368), notably covering the activities of Armenians in Van, and the Russian Mission to Nestorian Christians in Urumiah [Urmia or Orumiyeh]An insurrection in Yemen and the deployment of five to six thousand Ottoman troops to repress itA report of a journey across a part of Persian Baluchistan [Balochistan] by Captain Percy Molesworth Sykes (ff 400-401).The primary correspondents are: the Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary; Charles Hardinge, First Secretary, Tehran; Sir Philip Currie, Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire; Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Imperial Bank of Persia; the India Office; and the Foreign Office. Enclosures are chiefly: correspondence of British diplomatic officials in the Middle East, notably William Loch, Consul-General at Bagdad [Baghdad]; reports and monthly summaries from Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Philip Picot, Military Attaché at Tehran; and occasional letters from Persian Government ministers.Physical description: 1 volume (215 folios)
Abstract: Copies of correspondence, minutes and other documents chiefly relating to logistical and financial arrangements made by Colonel Henry Pottinger, Resident in Sinde [Sindh, also spelled Scinde and Sind in this volume], in connection with the Army of the Indus arriving and marching through Sinde (and Khelat [Kalat]) in advance of the British invasion of Afghanistan.The papers notably cover and include:Arrangements for landing of troops at Kurrachee [Karachi] and stationing at Tattah [Thatta], including costs of building temporary store houses at Kurrachee (f 275)Obtaining treasury funds to finance operations, provision of supplies, means of transport and secret intelligenceAcquisition of camels for the Army of the Indus and their strategic placement along the marching routeArrangements for the Dâks (postal communication service) and salaries for runners (ff 302-303)Relations with the Ameers of Sinde, notably regarding: treaty negotiations; currency values and exchange rates; route of the Bombay [Mumbai] division of the Army of the Indus through their territory; protection of the British troops from attack and robbery; and how they will handle capturing the murderers of Captain Hand of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment on 21 March 1839Dilapidated state of the Fort of Bukkur, on the Indus River (ff 270-272)Pottinger’s communications with and instructions to Brigadier J Valiant, Commanding the Sinde Reserve Force, Kurrachee, and Lieutenant Whitelock, Assistant Resident in Scinde at Tattah.The principal correspondent is Colonel Pottinger. Other notable correspondents are: John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, India; and Brigadier Valiant.There is a note before the papers commence stating: ‘Enclosure in Bombay Secret Letter No. 56, dated 8th May 1839, is missing from this collection’.Physical description: The papers are not in chronological order.
Abstract: Copies of correspondence and other papers, chiefly comprising communications between Henry Pottinger, Resident in Sinde [Sindh, also spelled Scinde in this volume], and the Government of India, Bombay [Mumbai], regarding his arrangements for obtaining and transporting stores and supplies for the Bombay division of the Army of the Indus advancing from Kurrachee [Karachi] under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir John Keane.The papers notably cover:Obtaining boats, camels, horses and bullocksLogistics of moving stores down the line by land and river towards Bukker [Bukkur]Reports on the route from Kurrachee to Tatta [Thatta], by Lieutenant Buckle, Indian Navy, and Lieutenant Macleod, Bombay Engineers, and use of the Garrah [Gharo] Creek near the port of Kurrachee, including compass sketches of the route to the Creek (catalogued as sub-items IOR/L/PS/5/375, ff 632 and 633)Payment of the Jam of Garrah for British use of the Garrah CreekCost estimate for repairing the Manora Fort [also spelled Munnara, Munara, and Moonarat in this volume] for damage sustained during the bombardment by HMS
Wellesley, including drawing of fort (catalogued as sub-item IOR/L/PS/5/375, f 599)An account of a potential route from Sonmeanee [Somiani, also spelled Someena and Somanee in this volume] in Beloochistan [Balochistan] via Kelat [Kalat] to the city of Candahar [Kandahar] as described by a horse merchant of Affghanistan [Afghanistan] to Captain W C Harris, Field Engineer with the Sinde Reserve Force, 5 April 1839 (ff 601-613), including a list of places en route and remarks on each oneRates and payment of allowances for members of the Poona [Pune] Auxiliary Horse sent and attached to the Resident in Sinde to escort suppliesUrgent request by Captain William Joseph Eastwick, Officiating Political Agent, Upper Sinde, for the assignment of two assistants by the Bombay GovernmentIntelligence, with orders, replies and observations, from Lahore, Peshawur [Peshawar], Cabool [Kabul], Shikarpore [Shikarpur], the Army of the Indus, Nipal [Nepal], Ava, and general intelligence (ff 625-631).The principal correspondents are: Pottinger; and John Pollard Willoughby, Secretary to the Government, Bombay.Physical description: The papers are not in chronological order.
Abstract: The file contains a letter from HM Consul General in Khorasan, Meshed (Giles Frederick Squire) to the Secretary of the Government of India External Affairs Department. The letter discusses and includes a report from HM Vice Consul, Zabul concerning his meeting with the Sarder [Sardir] Muhammad Amin Khan Nauroi of Seistan [Sistan]. The report covers the Sarder’s offer to lead a rebellion in Seistan, Afghanistan against the Iranian Government, a request for clarification on his position should he, his family and followers move to Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the Vice Consul’s response to said offer. The report includes an appendix detailing the background and structure of the Nauroi Sarabandi Sarders, and the Nauroi tribe.The file also contains related correspondence including a letter from William Rupert Hay, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, to the Vice Consul expressing concern over his response and reservations over the Sarder’s motivations. A specific concern is raised regarding a perceived distinction the Vice Consul made in his response, between the Government of India and HM Government, and a letter in reply from HM Consul General addresses and refutes this concern.A subsequent letter from HM Consul General to the Secretary to the Government of India External Affairs Department, Simla, suggests that the Sarder and his followers plan to leave Iran for India soon.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 11; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This part of the volume consists of copies of enclosures to a despatch from the Government of Bombay Secret Department to the Secret Committee, Number 35 of 1842, dated 1 April 1842. The enclosures are numbered 3-84 and are dated 10 December 1841 to 31 March 1842. They mainly consist of correspondence, and also include some minutes by the Governor of Bombay and resolutions of the Government of Bombay. The enclosures mostly concern military affairs in Scinde [Sindh, also spelled Sinde in this item] and Beloochistan [Balochistan], including:Troop movements, such as the advance of troops from Sonmeeanee [Sonmiani] to Candahar [Kandahar]The construction of travellers' bungalows at Kurrachee [Karachi], Gharra [Gharo, also spelled Gorrah in this item], and Tatta [Thatta]The remission of eight lacs of rupees required by the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan to meet the needs of the troops in Lower ScindeThe transport of a train of mountain artillery for service in ScindeMedical officers serving in, or proceeding to, Scinde.The principal correspondents are as follows: the Political Agent in Scinde and Beloochistan; the Secretary to the Government of Bombay; the Secretary to the Government of India; the Military Board, Bombay; the Accountant General of Bombay; the Superintendent of the Indian Navy; and the Quarter Master General of the Army.This item also includes copies of news letters from the Secretary to the Government of India, consisting of précises of intelligence on the state of affairs in various places, including: Candahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan; Upper and Lower Scinde; Quetta; Baroda [Vadodara] and elsewhere in India; Burmah [Burma]; Nepal; and China.Physical description: The copies of enclosures are numbered 3-84. There is a note on folio 438 stating: 'The Abstract of Contents could not be prepared for want of time'.
Abstract: Two sets of correspondence relating to refugees and migrants on the border between Persia [Iran] and British Baluchistan:Correspondence dated 1934 exchanged between various British Government officials in Baluchistan and Sind [Sindh] concerning two members of the Baranzai tribe from Baluchistan, who wish to visit Karachi (ff 7-12)Correspondence dated 1937 and 1938 exchanged between the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, William Rupert Hay, and HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Horace James Seymour, concerning a complaint made by the Iranian Government regarding followers of the late ruler of Western Baluchistan [Sistan and Baluchistan], Sardar Mir Dost Mohammad Khan Baloch, reported to be active on the British side of the Baluchistan frontier, and attempting to induce Iranian Baluchis to migrate across the frontier (ff 2-6).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 13; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence concerning tribal unrest on the frontier between Persia [Iran] and British India, more specifically the region of Persia referred to as Persian Baluchistan [Sistan and Baluchistan Province] and Baluchistan Province in modern-day Pakistan, and efforts to control cross-border movements. Subjects covered include:A protest from the Persian Government in early 1934, in response to reports of armed British guards and secret agents crossing into Persian territory at Mashkid. The incident reflected the wider concerns of the Persian Government, of British interference on the Persian side of the border, in fomenting unrest amongst Baluchi tribesmenAn unauthorised visit to Gwadur [Gwadar] by the Persian Passport and Visa Officer at Quetta in May 1934, reportedly to investigate the reasons why Persian Baluchis were quitting Persia. Subsequent correspondence relates to representations made to the Persian Government by the British Government about the visit, including reference to correspondence with the Sultan of Muscat, then sovereign of GwadurArrangements for and reports on a conference at Duzdap [Zahedan] in February 1935, held between the Government of India and Persian Government officials, to discuss Persian grievances about the tribal unrest on the border between the two countries. Printed copies of résumés of the conference sessions are included in the file (ff 302-309, ff 322-324).Continued negotiations between the Governments of India and Persia over control of the frontier, including the drafting of a bilateral agreementFrom 1937, British concerns over an influx of Persian refugees into Mekran [Makran] and Karachi.In 1938, attempts to extradite a Persian ‘rebel’ named Juma khan Ismailzai, along with his followers, from British Baluchistan.The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Foreign Office; the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department, William Rupert Hay; representatives of the Persian Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Mirza Mohamed Ali Khan Feroughi and Muzaffar A’lam.The file contains several items of correspondence exchanged between the British and Persian Governments that are written in French.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 516; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Correspondence and other papers relating to social unrest and violence in the border region between Persia [Iran] and western Baluchistan (located in present-day Pakistan), chiefly arising from the resistance offered by the Baluchi tribes to Persia’s occupation of western Baluchistan in 1928. The file chiefly comprises extracts of intelligence summaries and various diaries (consular, political, confidential) from a number of British officials in the region: the British Consul at Khorasan, Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; the Baluchistan Agency; the British Legation at Tehran. The file covers: intelligence reports on the activities of individuals and tribes in the border region, including Sardar Juma Khan, leader of the Ismailzai tribe; reports of robberies, raids and border infractions; correspondence exchanged between British officials in Persia and the Government of India, dated 1939 and 1940, in response to the beginning of the Second World War, and a perceived ‘weakness of the military situation’ reported by the Political Agent at Chagai, making the region prone to attack from hostile forces through Persia and Afghanistan.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 152; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.