Abstract: Enclosure nos. 3-33 to a despatch from the Secret Department, Government of Bombay [Mumbai]. The enclosures consist of copies of correspondence relating to events in Herat, and its status after the withdrawal of Persian occupation at the end of the Anglo-Persian War of 1856-57. Subjects covered include:An unsuccessful rebellion in HeratA Russian envoy arriving at Candahar [Kandahar, Afghanistan] with the intention of continuing to HeratThe importance of improving Herat’s defences if it is to remain independentA Persian [Iranian] attack on Merv, successfully defended by the Takkeh Toorkomans [Teke Turkmen]Competing claims over Seistan [Sistan] by the rulers of Candahar, Herat and Persia [Iran]The dissolution and final report (included on ff 471-480) of the British Commission to Herat.The primary correspondent is the Chief Commissioner, Herat. Other correspondents include: Dost Mahomed, Ameer of Cabul [Dūst Muḥammad Khān Bārakzāy, Amīr of Afghanistan]; Nawab Foujdar Khan [Nawwāb Fūjdār Khān], British Vakeel [agent] at Cabul [Kabul]; HM Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Persia; and the Government of India.Physical description: 1 item (110 folios)
Abstract: This file is formed of two parts, both comprising a set of papers collected by George Nathaniel Curzon during his term as Viceroy of India. The larger set of papers (Mss Eur F111/359/1) contains copies of reports and correspondence relating to Britain’s interests in Persia and the Persian Gulf, including papers relating to Seistan [Sistan]. The second set of papers is a printed summary of the history of British policy in Persia from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, consisting of extracts from Foreign Office correspondence and extracts from House of Commons speeches given by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs respectively.Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of two physical files. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of file one (ff 1-475) and terminates at the inside back cover of file two (ff 476-531); 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 memorandum concerns the state of diplomatic relations between Britain and Persia; it is the view of a number of British officials that the time is ripe to secure a privileged position for Britain at the expense of Russia. To this end it therefore discusses the pros and cons of ceding Herat, Seistan [Sīstān], or other Afghan territory to Persia.A narrative (from 14 January 1879 to 1 January 1880) of these diplomatic exchanges is outlined through extracts from correspondence (largely telegrams), and through recollections of conversations, between British and Persian officials. This then develops into more detailed proposals on the terms by which the British might be willing to cede, and the Persians willing to accept, Herat. Parts of the narrative are in French; presumably the original conversation/correspondence was in this language.The memorandum is signed by Owen Tudor Burne of the India Office.This narrative is continued in IOR/L/PS/18/C29/2.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 79, and terminates at f 92, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original pagination sequence.
Abstract: Letter and Enclosures to HM Secretary of State for India, dated 31 October 1871, concerning the settlement of the opposing claims of Persia and Afghanistan to Seistan [Sistan]. The papers lead up to the establishment of a commission of arbitration of the Seistan boundary, under the adjudication of Major-General Frederick John Goldsmid.The papers cover: précis of correspondence concerning the Perso-Khelat [Kalāt] boundary settlement; background to the dispute between the two countries over the Seistan boundary; correspondence from Goldsmid, setting out a framework for the arbitration, and reporting the progress of negotiations; correspondence from Charles Alison, HBM's Minister at Teheran [Tehran], reporting the attitude of the Persian Government; a reported increase of Persian forces in Seistan, June-July 1871; instructions for the commencement of survey work in the area; British action to induce the ruler of Afghanistan to abstain from hostilities; and a letter from the Viceroy to the Amir of Cabul [Kabul] concerning the Seistan arbitration, 31 October 1871.The Enclosures are dated 25 March - 31 October 1871.Physical description: There is an Abstract of Contents on folios 428-432, numbered 1-46.
Abstract: The file contains reports and correspondence relating to Persia [Iran], including reports on trade and trade routes in Persia.It includes:A copy of the ‘Report Received from Mr H.W. Maclean, the Special Commissioner Appointed by the Commercial Intelligence Committee of the Board of Trade, on the Conditions and Prospects of British Trade in Persia.’A copy of a letter from Arthur Henry Hardinge, HM Minister at Tehran, to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Marquess of Lansdowne (Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice), enclosing an annual report prepared by Evelyn Grant Duff, Secretary of Legation, Tehran, on events in Persia during the year 1904Copies of the reports ‘Reconnaissance from Kondi on the Seistan Trade Route via Mashkhel-Hamun and Panjgur…’ and ‘Reconnaissance and Estimate for a Railway from Nushki to the Helmand and thence to the Persian frontier at Bund-i-Seistan’Copies of printed despatches from the Agent to the Governor-General in Baluchistan to the Secretary to the Government of India Foreign Department, forwarding copies of the weekly Diary of the Political Assistant, Chagai (for the weeks ending 16 February, 8 March, 24 March, 31 March, and 24 October 1901, and 31 March and 8 April 1902), and a copy of the report ‘Trade Returns of the Quetta-Seistan Trade Route, for the year 1900-1901.’ by Captain Frank Cooke Webb-Ware, Political Assistant, ChagaiPrinted copies of the Diary of Captain Robert Arthur Edward Benn, HM Vice-Consul for Seistan and Kain (for the period ending 31 March, 11 April, 30 April, 15 May, 17 June, and 15 September 1901).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 126; 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 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: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, printed correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the closure of the Soviet consulate at Seistan [Sīstān va Balūchestān].The discussion in the volume relates to the impact of the closure on Soviet support for communists in India, the departure of the Soviet Consul and Vice-Consul, the closure of the Soviet hospital and the continuing presence of the Soviet trade agent.Included in the volume is a copy of an extract from the diary of HM Consul, Sistan and Kain for November 1930 and a copy of an intelligence summary by the Military Attaché, Tehran, Percy Charles Russell Dodd. The file also contains correspondence between HM Consul, Sistan and Kain, and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 577, and terminates at f 587, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
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 24 January 1873, forwarding papers on the subject of raids by Seistan [Sistan] robbers into Afghanistan, and asking for an early settlement of the Seistan boundary question.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description (used for referencing) commences at f 144, and terminates at f 154a, 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 three foliation anomalies: f 144a, f 145a, and f 154a.
Abstract: Six-monthly reports (referred to as appreciations) submitted by HM Consul at Zahidan [Zahedan] on the political situation in the province of Mekran (also spelt Mukran [Makran]), eastern Persia [Iran], and covering the period May 1944 to June 1947. Each report is organised under subheadings which vary from report to report but broadly cover: local administration; trade; smuggling; political affairs; security; communications; British interests; Russian (or Soviet) activities; army; and western reforms. The file also contains an appreciation on the political situation at Seistan [Sīstān] for the period July to December 1946, submitted by HM Vice-Consul at Zabul, which was presumably added to the file in error (ff 24-25).The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the front of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 34, 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: The file concerns the sale of land belonging to the Seistan and Kain (Zabul) Consulate, and reports on the flood in Seistan, causing damages to the Vice-Consulate at Zabul.The file contains:proposed sale of land situated outside the compound of Seistan Consulate, on which a building was erected in 1931, by Mohamed Ali & Brothersinsolvency of Mohamed Ali & Brothers, not paying rent for the buildingnegotiations between Mohamed Ali & Brothers, interested in buying the building or receiving a sum on the sale, and the Government of India, interested in selling the building to otherssketch representing the land leased in 1906 to Mohamed Ali & Brothers (f 80)negotiations to sell the land to the Afghan Government, in 1937proposal to offer the property to the Iranian Government, in exchange for freehold rights over the land occupied by the Zahedan Vice-Consulate, in 1938reports of the 1939-40 floods of the rivers Naurab, Hermand and Shela, surrounding Zabul, with sketch (f 48). The floods affected ground and building of the Zabul Consulate. Damages to bridges, roads and telegraph poles in Seistan are also reportedreport on the river Helmand's changing delta; sketch representing
Oscillations of Helmand1760-1940 (f 25)sketch representing
Mouth of the Nuriab(f 14).The file is composed of correspondence between the British Consulate at Seistan and Kain, the British Legation at Tehran, the Foreign Office, the British Consulate at Khorasan, the India Office, the Government of India, and Mohamed Ali & Brothers.There is a letter in French, from the Afghan Legation at Tehran.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 221; 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 file concerns appointments at the Consulates in Seistan and Zabul.The file covers:appointment of G Fawsitt Taylor as Medical Officer and Vice Consul to Seistan, in 1931appointment of T F Shepherd as member of the staffappointment of J J Beausang as Medical Officer and Vice Consul to Seistan, in 1932 (acting)creation of the post of Vice Consul at Zabul [Afghanistan]appointment of L A C Fry as Vice Consul at Zabul, in 1937appointment of W V D Willoughby as Vice Consul at Zabul, in 1937appointment of L H V French as Vice Consul at Zabul, in 1942appointment of R A Clinton Thomas as Vice Consul at Zabul, in 1942creation of the post of Assistant to the Vice Consul at ZabulPersonal aspects of Life as Vice-Consul, Zabul, report by L H V French, 1942 (ff 18-21).The file is composed solely of internal correspondence between the Foreign Office, the India Office, the Government of India, the Passport Office, the Consulate in Seistan, the British Minister at Tehran, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the High Commissioner for India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 92; 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 contains printed selections from official papers of the Foreign Department of the Government of India (telegrams, official letters, and extracts from official diaries), and maps, concerning the settlement of the disputed frontier between Afghanistan and Persia in Seistan (also spelled Sistan in the volume) [Sīstān] during the period 1901-10. The papers are mainly in the form of dispatches from the Government of India, Foreign Department, addressed to the Secretary of State for India. Each despatch includes a list of documents ('enclosures') cited. The later papers are accompanied by minute sheets of the Secret Department, Government of India.The papers cover: the work of the Arbitration Mission under Colonel (Arthur) Henry McMahon (British Commissioner, Seistan Arbitration Commission), 1903-05, including events up to the departure of the Arbitration Mission, proceedings of the Mission, demarcation of the boundary from Koh-i-Malik Siah to Siah Koh, the Seistan water dispute, and McMahon's report (folios 22-30) on the final settlement and demarcation of the boundary between Persia and Afghanistan, followed by a complete list (folios 31-34) of the boundary pillars on the Perso-Afghan boundary; and reports on the distribution of water in Helmand, 1909-10.The main correspondents are: McMahon; His Britannic Majesty's Minister, Tehran; the Secretary of State for India; His Britannic Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran; His Britannic Majesty's Consul for Seistan and Kain [Kūh-e Kā’īn]; and the Amir of Afghanistan.Each part includes a divider which gives the subject and part numbers, year the subject file was opened, subject heading, and list of correspondence references contained in that part by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.The map in the back of the volume, on folio 254, relates to the work of the Sistan Arbitration Commission of 1872 under General Sir Frederick John Goldsmid. The last dated addition to the volume is a note on folio 4 stating that a copy of a paper had been sent to the Foreign Office on 12 January 1911.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 256; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.