‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13 [889r] (1786/1978)
The record is made up of 1 volume (983 folios). It was created in 19 Jan 1871-27 Dec 1872. It was written in English, French, Persian and Russian. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
50 horses, and three mules. Murrees lost three men killed and 25 wounded. As
they were returning with their spoil an army (lushkar) of the Brahooees came to
meet them at Shuken. As the Murrees were outnumbered by the Brahooees,
they at first thought of leaving the property, hut the Brahooees said they
did not want to fight, hut demanded a share of the property, which
the Murrees divided with them, the Brahooees receiving something less than half,
and the Murrees keeping the remainder. It was afterwards reported that Ameer
Shere Ali Khan either wrote or sent a Vakeel to His Highness the Khan of
Khelat, demanding that full restoration should he made to Shere Dil for the
loss he had sustained at the hands of Brahooees, as he was at the time looked to
as responsible for the safety of Bolan kafilas, and had committed no fault, and
also that all the property of the plundered Candahar kafilas should he restored by
the Khcvv^fi Khelat. On this the Khan sent for Kenchi Wuzerani and gave
him a kfinp,,^ and sent him with 200 sowars to the Minguls to get hack the
property; he has not heard with what result. With regard to the property
plundered by the Brahocees from the first
kafila
A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers.
it is rumoured that one-third of
the value is to he made up by the Commissioner in Sind, one-third by His
Highness the Khan, and one-third by the Brahooee
Sirdars
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
. With regard to the
one-third for which the Brahooee
Sirdars
Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division.
are responsible, it is said that Moolla
Mahomed has imposed a fine of
Rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
2 on each house in his
toman
10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value.
to make
it up and has sent to get the money collected. Moolla Mahomed and Noordin are
still at Khelat. There is a report current in the hills that Ameer Shere Ali has
sent 5,000 men and four guns to Candahar, some say to enforce the restitution
of the property plundered from the kafilas, others to collect the Ameer’s
revenues in his territories of Sihi and Kajrick. A force of about 1,300 Murrees
and Boogtees have gone against the Luni Pathans to avenge the death of Kukkul,
the Bijerani Mokuddum.
Dated 1st July 1872.
Endorsed by Officiating Deputy Commissioner, Debra Grbazee Khan.
Copy sent to the Commissioner in Sind for information.
Report of Ghuzzun Khan, Murree, Tomandar, to Captain Sandeman, Deputy Commissioner of
Debra Gbazee Kban.
I have received your perwannah by the Bungul Lishari (Gurchani),
in which you state the Sirkar and the Sind authorities are angry with Shere
Dil Muzzerani Murree, on account of plundering the
kafila
A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers.
in the Bolan.
The circumstances attending that affair are as follows :—-The Khan Sahib
Wullee Khelat has no hold over, or rule in his country. Some time since,
when the Sahibs of Sind and the Punjab met at Jacohahad, we all were
greatly pleased in the expectation that the affairs of the country would he
satisfactorily settled, but no result of the kind took place, for which we are
sorrowful. Although Shere Dil is in truth a Murree, still from the time of his
grandfathers, his wanderings and livelihood and that of his followers have been
connected with the Brahooees, and the responsibilities of kafilas traversing the
Bolan Pass had been entrusted to them. The Minguls (Brahooees) without
any just reason or provocation attacked the Muzzeranis and killed Shere Dil’s
son with 12 of his men, and plundered all their property. On this Shere Dil
joined the other Murrees, where he collected a force (lushkur) and attacked the
'
kafila
A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers.
, hut a great part of the property w r as carried off by the Brahooees, Shere
Dil netting the credit of having taken all. It will he evident to you that there
being no ruler (Wullee) in the country, I am powerless in an affair of this kind.
If there was only a responsible ruler in the country matters would he brought
riHit in a short time (ele laJiza men). I do not deserve, therefore, the censure you
7
About this item
- Content
Government of India Foreign Department letters marked ‘Secret’, ‘General’, or ‘Political’ and sent to His Grace the Duke of Argyll, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for India, with enclosures. The papers are reporting on the state of affairs in a number of regions including: the Khanate of Khiva, the Khanate of Khelat [Kalat], Afghanistan, Persia [Iran], Yemen, Nejd [Najd], Oman, Zanzibar, and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. .
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in Oman and Zanzibar [Sultanate of Muscat and Oman] covers: the violation of the rights of British subjects at Sohar [Suhar] by Ibrahim bin Ghes [Ibrāhīm bin Qais Āl Bū Sa‘īd, Governor of Sohar]; ‘the application of Seyd Toorkee [Sayyid Turkī bin Sa‘īd Āl Bū Sa‘īd] for payment of the Zanzibar subsidy’; ‘the alleged importation of slaves on the Arabian Coast under the French flag’ from Zanzibar; the hostilities by sea between Syed Ibrahim bin Ghes and the Sooltan [Sulṭān] of Muscat; the re-lease of the Customs Revenue of Zanzibar by Syud Burgash bin Saeed bin Sooltan [Sayyid Barghash bin Sa‘īd bin Sulṭān]; and ‘An account of the Tenets of the IBADHI Sect of ‘Oman’, translated from an Arabic manuscript work by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Muscat.
The correspondence related to the state of affairs in the Khanate of Khelat covers: a raid committed from Khelat territory into Persian territory by a Persian subject; the demarcation of the Perso-Khelat boundary; the disputes between the Khan of Khelat and his nobles; the Marri [also spelled in the volume as Murree] and Bogtee [Bugti] tribes’ activities; trade routes and trading activities; proposed measures for preserving the peace of the Sind [Sindh] frontier; and petitions raised by a number of Sirdars Leader of a tribe or a polity; also refers to a military rank or title given to a commander of an army or division. from Khelat.
The correspondence contains copies of Cabul [Kabul] diaries reporting on the state of affairs in Afghanistan. The diaries include news on the deputation of an envoy from the Khan of Khiva to the Amir of Afghanistan, Sher Ali Khan [Shīr ‘Alī Khān, also spelled in the volume as Shere]; the spread of cholera; military operations; the appointment and dismissal of local governors; the Budukshan [Badakhshan, also spelled in the volume as Badakshan] affair; the boundary between Afghanistan and Bokhara [Bukhara]; relations between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire; and correspondence between the Governor General of Russian Toorkistan [Turkestan] and the Amir in relation to border affairs.
The correspondence contains news reports of affairs at Aden covering: the spread of cholera at Aden and Hodeida [Al Hudaydah]; the attack on Hodeida by the Arab tribe of Asseerees [‘Asīr]; accounts of the trade routes leading to Aden and the principal tribes in the neighbourhood with which the Government of India have treaty relations; the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Aden, Major-General Charles William Tremenheere, visiting Lahej territory; the advance of Turkish troops in Yemen; reports of incidents on board British ships; military action towards the Munsooree [Al-Manṣūrī, also al-Manāṣīr] and the Soobaihee [al-Ṣabīha, also spelled in the volume as Soobahees] tribes of Yemen; an agreement signed between the Soobaihee chiefs of Yemen and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Aden related to roads safety; a detailed ‘report of the Arab tribes and the vicinity of Aden’ prepared by Captain William Francis Prideaux, Assistant to the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Aden; and an agreement signed between the tribe of the Foodthlees [al-Faḍlī] of Yemen and the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. at Aden.
Other topics covered in the volume are:
- The military operations of Russia in Central Asia
- ‘The subject of the sovereignty of Kohuk [Kuhak, also spelled in the volume as Kuak]’ with detailed description of the Perso-Baloch frontier
- The employment by the Ottoman Government of an English diver, James Thomas, in seeking for pearls on the Arab Coast of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
- ‘Complaint made by the Persian Government of instructions having been issued to Her Majesty’s representative at Gwadur [Gwadar] to recognise Charbar [Chah-Bahar, a town on the Makran coast of Persian Baluchistan] as belonging to Muscat’
- ‘A piratical attack on the British India Steam Navigation Company’s steam ship Cashmere at Busreh [Basra, also spelled in the volume as Busrah]’
- The claim of Hajee Moosa Meymennee [Ḥājī Mūsa Mīmanī, also spelled in the volume as Meymenee], a British Indian subject, to compensation for ‘the wheat supplied by him to the people of Bushire [Bushehr] under a compulsory order of the Persian Government’
- ‘The infraction of the interdict on the export of grain and provisions from Persian ports’
- An account by Dr David Livingstone, Her Majesty’s Consul in Inner Africa, of his explorations in Central Africa
- ‘The trade between India and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the proposal for a new Commercial Treaty with Persia’
- The dispute between Turkey and Bahrein [Bahrain] concerning the murder of a Turkish messenger, and other Bahrein Affairs
- The Turkish expedition to Nejd
- News of the arrival and departure of ships at Kateef [Qatif], Ojair [Al-Uqayr], Ras Tanoorah [Ras Tanura] and other ports
- The request of Messrs Gray, Paul and Company for permission to place steam barges at Bushire for the purpose of landing and shipping cargo
- Relations between the Russian authorities and the Turkoman tribes
- ‘Captain St. John’s explorations in Persia, and containing information on certain points of Persian geography’
- The arbitral opinion given by Major General on special mission Frederick John Goldsmid, in the matter of the Seistan [Sistan] arbitration
- News of appointments of British Agents and other officials in various locations in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Afghanistan.
Among the main correspondents in the volume are: Charles Umpherston Aitchison, the Secretary to the Government of India, Foreign Department; D C Macnabb, Officiating Commissioner and Superintendent, Peshawur [Peshawur] Division; C Alison, Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister at Teheran [Tehran]; Ronald Thomson, Her Majesty’s Chargé d’Affaires at Teheran; Colonel C Herbert, Her Majesty’s Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Baghdad; H LePoer Wynne, Under Secretary to the Government of India; Captain G J Stevens, Commandant, Aden Troop; Colonel Lewis Pelly, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Dr John Kirk, Acting Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Her Majesty’s Consul at Zanzibar; Major Edward Charles Ross, Her Majesty’s Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and Consul at Muscat; Captain C Grant, Assistant Resident in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; and Captain C H Harrison, Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Khelat.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (983 folios)
- Arrangement
The Letters and Enclosures are filed in chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume. The volume includes an index on folios 4-91. Entries in the index refer to entries in the volume, in accordance with the pagination system on folios 92-982. Many of the correspondences consist of the Despatch, an Abstract of Contents, and the Enclosures to the Despatch, each numbered in accordance with the number given in the Abstract of Contents. The Enclosures to each Despatch are in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1 and terminates at the inside back cover with 985; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.
Pagination: the volume also contains an intermittent pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, French, Persian and Russian in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- 855v, 889r:889v, 941r:942v
- Author
- Marri, Ghazan Khan Temandar xx Tomundar Ghuzzun Khan
- Usage terms
- Public Domain
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- 855v, 889r:889v, 941r:942v
- Author
- Unknown translator
- Usage terms
- Public Domain
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- 888v:889r
- Author
- Shehan Khan
- Usage terms
- Public Domain
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/5/271
- Title
- ‘Letters from India (Secret Dept)’, Vol. 13
- Pages
- 888v:889r
- Author
- Unknown translator
- Usage terms
- Public Domain