Abstract: The file opens with a memorandum by Edwin Samuel Montagu (Secretary of State for India) dated 4 November 1920 regarding the current situation of Assyrian and Armenian refugees in Mesopotamia, paying particular attention to the difficulties that they have faced in seeking repatriation. This memorandum seeks to provide an update to a previous memorandum of the same title which was issued by Montagu on 5 July 1920 (IOR/L/PS/18/B345). The memorandum is followed by an appendix in the form of a letter from the India Office to the Foreign Office on 2 November 1920 and its enclosure, 'note on the Christian communities in and around Mesopotamia'. The letter details the French and British spheres of influence in Mesopotamia and explains how the refugee crisis should be handled. The note details the different types of Christian groups in the area, and explains the initial reasons for the emigration of these communities from Urmia. The final folio is a copy of Montagu's initial memorandum dated 5 July 1920.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 151, and terminates at f 153, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file consists of a memorandum written by Edwin Samuel Montagu, the Secretary of State for India, describing the situation of Assyrian and Armenian refugees in Mesopotamia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 117, and terminates at f 117, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: This file contains correspondence regarding disturbances that occurred in Bahrain following a government proclamation concerning inheritance law. The correspondence is primarily between Captain Charles Geoffrey Prior, Political Agent in Bahrain and Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The file contains a letter sent from Prior to Biscoe in February 1932 that contains a detailed narrative of the events that occurred following the proclamation and Prior's role in ending them (ff 4-18).Also enclosed is a copy of the relevant Government of Bahrain proclamation 'No. 34 of 1350' (f 19).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 25; 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 2-24; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.
Abstract: This file consists of a note in which the struggle for Kurdish independence within Iraq is detailed, taking into account the occurrences of the year 1919. The document covers the following:Kurdish concerns regarding being under the control of the ArmeniansKurdish appeals to the British government for support in the formation of their own statethe hostilities which exist between the Kurdish and Turkish peoplesreligious tensions between Muslims and Christians in the areathe mixed feelings that those living in Mesopotamia have towards the British and their involvement in the areaacts of violence towards British officials in Mesopotamia.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 71, and terminates at f 73, 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The memorandum outlines the development of policy proposals for ensuring the security of British subjects in Persia from 1905-1912. This includes the consideration of the following: the dispatch of a force from India to occupy parts of Southern Persia, an increase in the strength of consular guards, the establishment of a gendarmerie in Southern Persia under Swedish officers, and the payment of subsidies to local tribes to provide security. It also outlines various incidents and outbreaks of unrest that have occurred in Persia over the same period; particular attention is given to Shiraz, and the question of whether or not to evacuate the British consulate there. It is signed by John Edward Ferard, Political Department, India Office.The appendix (folio 14) contains a note addressed to the Government of Persia by Sir George Head Barclay concerning the establishment of a local Persian force in Southern Persia under the command of British officers from the Indian Army.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 6, and terminates at f 14, 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 file contains correspondence regarding relations between the Sultan of Muscat and followers of the Aga Khan (Sultan Muhammed Shah) in Muscat territory. In the letters, the Aga Khan requests the intervention of the India Office in settling the differences between the two parties. The letters are sent between the Aga Khan and various officials including individuals from the India Office, the Political Agents in Muscat and Bushire, the Political Resident in Bushire [Persian Gulf], and the Government of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 23; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
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.
Abstract: Correspondence and reports from British officials in Persia [Iran]: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Tehran, Reginald Hervey Hoare; the Military Attaché at Tehran, P C R Dodd; HM’s Consul for Khuzistan [Khūzestān], Arnold Edwards Watkinson. The correspondence concerns civil unrest amongst tribes in the Persian province of Luristan [Lorestān], and includes: reports of the Persian Government’s despatch of troops to quell the unrest; the kidnap, ransom and release by Luristan tribesmen of an American railway engineer; the tribal leader Yadullah Khan’s acceptance of terms offered by the Persian authorities.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 front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 27; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: Correspondence and papers relating to incidents in which foreigners in Persia [Iran], specifically British subjects, were subjected to attacks or break-ins, and in some cases badly injured. The file’s principal correspondents are: HM’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Tehran; the Foreign Office; Government of India. Incidents covered in the file are as follows:In 1933, an attack by three individuals described by British officials as ‘natives’, upon an employee of the Imperial and International Communications Company Limited at Henjam [Jazīreh-ye Hengām] (ff 133-147)In 1934, an attack and theft upon a car carrying the British Vice-Consul at Meshed [Mashhad], Collett William Hart, his wife and child, and two Persian servants, while travelling through Khorasan. Subsequent correspondence chiefly deals with attempts to extract compensation to cover medical costs from the Persian Government, for injuries sustained to Mrs Hart (ff 27-132)In 1935, insecurity on the Meshed to Zahidan [Zahedan] road (ff 19-26)In 1937, a break-in by an Iranian soldier into the Zahidan Vice-Consulate. Papers include an account of the break-in, with a plan of the Vice-Consulate and the intruder’s route through its rooms, prepared by J Campbell, HM’s Vice-Consul at Zahidan (ff 3-18).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 main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 148; 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 2-147; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.