Abstract: The first edition of
Who's Who in Persia (Volume I) Khorasan, Sistan & the Kainat, compiled by General Staff, India, comprises a biographical dictionary of individuals connected with those regions in 1923.It also includes two genealogical trees outlining the pedigree of the Chiefs of Tun and Tabas, and the Rukn-ud-Dauleh family, showing their relationship to the Shahs of Persia.Published by the Government Central Press, Delhi.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 36; 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: The volume consists of corrections and additions to the biographical dictionary of individuals given in
Who's Who in Persia (Volume I) Khorasan, Sistan & the Kainat,compiled by the General Staff, India, from 1923.Published by the Government of India Press, Simla, 1924.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, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 3-13; these numbers are printed, and are not circled.
Abstract: The volume is
Report on Sistan and the Country Between it and Mashad[Mashhad], by Lieutenant H D Napier, Staff Lieutenant, Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Department in India. It was printed at the Government Central Printing Office, Simla, 1894. It consists of two parts, political and military.The report is largely based on a journey from Mashad to Sistan and back undertaken between 1 November 1892 and 18 March 1893 by the author; his munshi and a native of Mashad, Haji Jawad [Haji Javād]; a sub-surveyor of the Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Sher Ali Khan [Shīr ʿAlī Khan]; a 'gholam' [young servant] from the Governor of Khorasan (unnamed); and a Turkoman [Turkmen] 'postal sowar' [mounted orderly or guard] (unnamed). It provides information and statistics (often tabulated) on the history, geography, economy, population, resources, roads, and meteorology of the region. The information in the military section reflects concerns with supplies, transport, and development possibilities.Throughout the volume there are numerous photographs, plans, and sketches. These are of fortifications, landscape features, sites of historical or cultural interest, and notable people. In a pocket at the rear of the volume is a map that illustrates the report.Near the beginning of the report there is a preface (folio 4) written by Lieutenant-Colonel George Hand More-Molyneux, Assistant Quarter Master General, Intelligence Branch, on 7 May 1894, and guidance for the 'Custody and Disposal of Secret Books, Reports, &c., Issued by the Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Department in India' (folio 3).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 57; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: An additional printed pagination sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-53.
Abstract: Map showing the possible lines of advance on the towns of Kain [Qā’en] and Sīstān in Persia [Iran], as surveyed by A Ashgar Ali of the Survey of India, and signed by Major Percy Molesworth Sykes, British Consul at Kerman. The map indicates: routes; terrain; mountain passes and gorges; the town of Kain. A note on the map states: ‘Exd. C.J.A. April 1900’.Physical description: Dimensions: 426 x 508 mm.Materials: Printed on paper.
Abstract: Papers relating to anti-British and pro-Communist activities in East Persia [Iran]. The file consists of reports from British administrators in the region, on the activities of individuals suspected of being involved in anti-British activities, or disseminating anti-British materials:Reports concerning a number individuals reported to be agitating amongst the population in East Persia, including Sewa Singh (mentioned in the file title, who should not be confused with Sewa Singh Thikriwala) who was finally expelled from the country by the Persian authorities.Reports regarding the Soviet Consulate in Sistan, its activities and associates, and reports that the Consulate was being used as a communications channel between Russia and India, via the railway running south through Duzdap [Zahedan].Speculation and reports on the connections of individuals in East Persia with the Ghadr (or Ghadar) Party, based in San Francisco, USA.A review of the mail contract running between Nok Kundi and Mirjawa [Mīrjāveh], in response to reports of the contractor’s connections with the Ghadr Party.Arrangements for the detention, seizure of passports, and expulsion from Persia of suspected agitators.The file’s principal correspondents are: the British Consul at Sistan and Kain [Kā’īn] (Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly); the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 157; 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 exists between ff 2-156 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Confidential political diaries submitted on a fortnightly basis throughout 1931, on a monthly basis from May 1932, returning to a fortnightly basis in September 1939, by the British Consul General at Khorassan [Khorāsān] (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; Lieutenant-Colonel Everard Huddleston Gastrell; Giles Frederick Squire). The diaries describe affairs in the Khorassan region, and are arranged under a series of headings that expand and evolve over time:Activities of the Persian [Iranian] Government and Persian authorities, including the programme of modernisation carried out at the orders of the Shah during the 1930s, activities of the Persian military and police.Events at Sistan, Kain [Ka’īn], and Birjand, and in the district of Sarhad.Activities of the municipal government in Khorassan, including public works and urban development programmes.Foreign interests and affairs in the region, including British, Russian, Afghan and Turkish affairs, and the movements of foreign visitors.Soviet propaganda, and British and Persian counter-propaganda measures.Agricultural production, food supplies and food shortages.Trade, commerce and smuggling.Security, including reports of robberies, and raids on transport routes.Weather reports.Diseases and epidemics.Reports of locust observations and movements.The diaries include some reports reflecting topical events: military activity on the Persia-Turkmenistan border, and reports of Russian refugees crossing into Persia from Turkmenistan; the start of the Second World War, with a focus on the activities of German subjects in Khorassan, speculation over Russian involvement in the War, and the impact upon public opinion in Iran of German radio propaganda, describing Germany’s military successes in Europe throughout 1940.Minute papers are enclosed with reports dated up till late 1935, which frequently contain handwritten or typed notes made by India Office staff, commenting on the contents of the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 650; 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 is a direct chronological continuation of Coll 28/10 ‘Persia. Diaries; Meshed Consular Jany 1931 – May 1940. Khorassan Political 1934 – May 1940. Khorassan Fortnightly Reports’ (IOR/L/PS/12/3406), and contains political diary reports, submitted fortnightly (and then monthly from late 1945) by the British Consul-General for Khorassan [Khorāsān] in Meshed [Mashhad] (Giles Frederick Squire; Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Ponsonby Watts; Reginald Michael Hadow; Clarmont Percival Skrine). The subject matter covered by the diaries changes during the course of the Second World War and immediate post-war period. Between June 1940 and August 1941, the diaries focus on the War, and cover:public opinion in Meshed on developments in EuropeBritish and German radio broadcasts in PersianGerman and British cinema programmes in MeshedGerman interests in Khorassan, including the activities of German individuals, and German commercial interests, including the ordering of raw materials, such as wool and skins, bound for Germanythe Russian invasion of Khorassan and occupation of Meshed in August 1941the abdication of Reza Shah PahlaviFrom late 1941 onwards:the security situation in Khorassanrailway construction and communicationsfood supplies and shortages, with particular emphasis on wheat suppliestransport of supplies, including the activities of the East Persian Auxiliary Transport Service (EPATS) and the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation (UKCC)Russian government and military activitiesGerman and Russian propagandalocal affairs, including Persian (Iranian) government affairs at Khorassan, Birjand, Zabul, Zahedanthe movements in Khorassan of Polish child refugeesThe file also includes four six-monthly reports on the political situation in Khorasan, produced by the Consul-General at Khorasan, spanning the years 1945 and 1946. Minute papers are enclosed in front of most reports, with typewritten notes made by India Office staff commenting on the contents of the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 648; 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: Printed copies of monthly confidential commercial reports for the region of Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn] in eastern Persia [Iran], submitted by the British Consul at Sistan and Kain (Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly). The reports include:details of the demand for, and statistical data of the imports and exports of a variety of goods, including sugar, tea, carpets, textiles, nuts, motor vehicles and motor sparesfreight rates and seasonal road conditionsexchange ratesthe general state of trade across the regionthe activities of Indian traders in the regionsmuggling activity on the Persian-Baluchistan [Balochistān] borderstatistical tables covering trade into and out of Persia via Zahedan, trade on the Nushki to Duzdap [Zahedan] railway, and comparative trade figures for goods imported into Persia via Zahedan from the British Empire and other countriesthe impact upon trade in the region of the closure of the Nushki to Duzdap railway, and the imposition of the Persian Trade Monopoly LawMinute papers are enclosed with each report, which frequently contain handwritten notes made by India Office staff, occasionally making reference to numbered paragraphs from the report.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 95; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers; nor does it include the four leading and ending flyleaves.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 13-95; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: Correspondence and reports submitted by British officials in Persia [Iran], along with newspaper cuttings collected from the British and Persian press, relating to the Shah of Persia, Reza Shah Pahlavi. Subjects covered include:The Shah’s tours and visits around Persia, including to the towns and cities of Sistan [Zabol], Bushire, Shiraz, Meshed [Mashhad], Kermanshah, Tabriz, Ahwaz [Ahvāz].Reports of economic and political conditions in Persia.The first Minister of the Persia Court, Teymourtache [Abdolhossein Teymūrtāsh], including his dismissal by the Shah in 1933, and his subsequent trial, imprisonment and death.Speculation over the health of the Shah.Treatment of the Bakhtiari tribes by the Shah and his Government.The Shah’s programme of modernisation in Persia, including the enforcement of European hats for men and unveiling of women, military reforms, and schemes for urban development.A rebellion and massacre at the Goharshad shrine in Meshed in July 1935, provoked by a backlash against the Shah’s modernising tendencies. Papers include a secret report written by the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan, Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly (ff 218-222).Principal correspondents in the file include: the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen; Nevile Montagu Butler); the Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran (Victor Alexander Louis Mallet); the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan (Daly).Newspaper cuttings from the Persian press are written in French.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 510; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present in parallel between ff 222-510 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: Papers concerning the issue of licenses and visas for Persian and Indian lorry drivers operating between Duzdap [Zahedan] in the East Persian province of Sistan, and Nok Kundi in British Baluchistan [in present-day Pakistan]. The licenses were issued by the Governments of Persia [Iran] and India.The correspondence includes: reports of social unrest in the border region between Persia and British Baluchistan from 1934 to 1936; the Persian military’s commandeering of lorries driven by Indians for the purposes of transporting Persian troops and provisions; reports of the ‘ill-treatment’ of some Indian drivers by the Persian military; compensation claims made by the British Government against the Persian Government, on behalf of Indian drivers who were injured or killed while driving through dangerous areas; discussion between the British and Persian Governments about the Anglo-Persian Treaty of 1857, and the entitlement of British subjects in Persia to ‘most-favoured nation treatment’.The file’s principal correspondents include: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare, Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugesson; the British Consul at Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn], Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; the Foreign Department of the Government of India; the Governor General and Chief Commissioner in Baluchistan.The file contains several items of correspondence and newspaper cuttings in French, and a single item in Persian.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 213; 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: Printed copies of monthly reports submitted by the British Consul at Sistan and Kain [Ka’īn] (Clarmont Percival Skrine; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly).The reports provide information on: the region’s trade; locust observations and movements (occasionally appearing as an appendix to the main report); affairs of the Persian Government and Persian military ; the movements of British consular officials; local affairs at the region’s towns, including Sistan, Birjand, Sarhad (in Persian Baluchistan) and Duzdap [Zahedan]; roads and railways; Afghan affairs; the activities of Soviet Russian Government representatives in the region, including the dissemination of Soviet propaganda; and the movements of foreigners, in particular Europeans and Russians.Minute papers are enclosed with each report, which frequently contain handwritten notes made by India Office staff, making reference to numbered paragraphs from the report.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 209; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers; nor does it include the four leading and ending flyleaves.An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 35-209; these numbers are also written in pencil and circled, but are crossed through.
Abstract: This volume contains copies of the weekly diary of the British Military Attaché in Meshed [Mashhad]; the weekly consular diary of Britain's Consul in Khorasan; and the weekly consular diary of the Consul for Sistan and Kain.The reports of the Military Attaché in Meshed are divided into the following sections: Communications, Telegraphs, Navigation, Ethnography, Administration, Geography, History, Military and Resources. The Consular diaries are less formulaic and more varied in content, but all contain a political summary.On folio 344, the volume contains a copy of an illustration that depicts the bombardment of the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad by Russian forces that took place in 1912. A translation of the Farsi poem that appears around the illustration is contained on folio 343.The volume includes a divider which gives the year that the subject file was opened and the subject heading. This divider is placed at the front of the volume.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 448; 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.