Balochistan, the British and the Great Game: The Struggle for the Bolan Pass, Gateway to India

304 Pages·2016·10.682 MB·English

by  T. A. Heathcote

T. A. HEATHCOTE
Balochistant, he British
and the GreatG ame
TheS trugglefo r the Bolan Pass,
Gatewayt o India
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HURST & COMPANY, LONDON
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Potentatess uch as the Khan ofK helat or the Ameer ofK abul are mere dummies or coun
First published in the United Kingdom in 2015 by ters, which would be ofn o importancet o us, were it not for the costlys takes we put on
C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.,
the7:1i,n the greatg amef or empire we are now playing with Russia
41 Great Russell Street, London, WClB 3PL
Private letter from Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, 2°dB aron Lytton ofKnebworth,
© T. A. Heathcote, 2015
Viceroy and Governor-General of India, to Major Robert Sandeman, Deputy Com
All rights reserved.
missioner of Dera Ghazi Khan, head of the British Mission co Kalar, Balochistan,
Printed in India
29 September 1876.
Distributed in the United States, Canada and Latin America by
Lytton Papers 518/1 (Letters dispatched 1876), India Office Collections,
Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016,
British Library
United States of America.
The right ofT. A. Heathcote to be identified as the author of
this publication is asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents ~ct, 1988.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication data record for this book is available
from the British Library.
978-1-84904-479-0 hardback
This book is printed using paper from registered sustainable
and managed sources.
www.hurstpublishers.com
Potentatess uch as the Khan ofK helat or the Ameer ofK abul are mere dummies or coun
First published in the United Kingdom in 2015 by ters, which would be ofn o importancet o us, were it not for the costlys takes we put on
C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.,
the7:1i,n the greatg amef or empire we are now playing with Russia
41 Great Russell Street, London, WClB 3PL
Private letter from Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, 2°dB aron Lytton ofKnebworth,
© T. A. Heathcote, 2015
Viceroy and Governor-General of India, to Major Robert Sandeman, Deputy Com
All rights reserved.
missioner of Dera Ghazi Khan, head of the British Mission co Kalar, Balochistan,
Printed in India
29 September 1876.
Distributed in the United States, Canada and Latin America by
Lytton Papers 518/1 (Letters dispatched 1876), India Office Collections,
Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016,
British Library
United States of America.
The right ofT. A. Heathcote to be identified as the author of
this publication is asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents ~ct, 1988.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication data record for this book is available
from the British Library.
978-1-84904-479-0 hardback
This book is printed using paper from registered sustainable
and managed sources.
www.hurstpublishers.com
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1. Balochistan Background: The Country, the People and the
Princes 1
2. The Opening o(the Great Game: British India, Russia,I ran
and Afghanistan, 1798-1838 21
3. The British Army in Kalat, 1839 41
4. The Threat from the Baloch Hills, 1839-40 57
5. Insurgencyi n Kalat, 1840-41 75
6. The First North-West Frontier, 1842-46 89
7. The Paladins of the Upper Sind Border, 1847-54 109
8. The Great Game Renewed: India, Iran and Balochistan,1 854-58 125
9. Civil Wars, 1858-72 147
10. The Kafilasa nd the Collapse ofBritish Control, 1872-76 177
11. ~etta and the Settlement ofKalat, 1876-78 205
12. The Completion ofBritish Control, 1877-1893 229
AppendicesA -D: The Four British TreatiesW ith Kalat, 1839-76 251
List of International Treaties 261
Notes 263
SelectB ibliography 277
Index 281
vii
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xiii
1. Balochistan Background: The Country, the People and the
Princes 1
2. The Opening o(the Great Game: British India, Russia,I ran
and Afghanistan, 1798-1838 21
3. The British Army in Kalat, 1839 41
4. The Threat from the Baloch Hills, 1839-40 57
5. Insurgencyi n Kalat, 1840-41 75
6. The First North-West Frontier, 1842-46 89
7. The Paladins of the Upper Sind Border, 1847-54 109
8. The Great Game Renewed: India, Iran and Balochistan,1 854-58 125
9. Civil Wars, 1858-72 147
10. The Kafilasa nd the Collapse ofBritish Control, 1872-76 177
11. ~etta and the Settlement ofKalat, 1876-78 205
12. The Completion ofBritish Control, 1877-1893 229
AppendicesA -D: The Four British TreatiesW ith Kalat, 1839-76 251
List of International Treaties 261
Notes 263
SelectB ibliography 277
Index 281
vii
PREFACE
At the time of this writing, Balochistan, which means 'the country of the
Baloch people: is the name both of the westernmost and largest of the four
provinces of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and, when coupled with Sistan,
of the easternmost and poorest of the thirty provinces of the Islamic Republic
of Iran. This book is mostly concerned with the history of what is now Paki
stani Balochistan, a region forming 43 per cent of that state's land mass and
containing most ofits mineral resources but only 5 per cent of its population.
Covering an area of about 134,000 square miles (c omparable with the 138,000
of present-day Germany), it is bounded in the south by the Arabian Sea, in the ·
west by Iran, in the north by the, Islamic·R epublic of Afghanistan, and in the
east by the mountains and deserts that separate it from the rest of Pakistan.
The Balochistan coastline comprises 75 per cent of Pakistan's entire sea-board
and stretches along the Arabian Sea for almost 500 miles, from Cape Monze
(Ras Muari) near Karachi in the east, to the Iranian border near the mouth of
the Dasht River in th~ west. Though mostly shallow, this coast has since
December 2006 seen the the ancient harbour of Gwadur become, with the aid
of the Chinese People's Republic, a deep-water seaport suitable for bulk cargo
carriers and, potentially, major warships. The primary strategic highway in
Balochistan continues to be that through the Bolan Pass, the historic route
between the lower Indus valley and southern Afghanistan. Though from its
extremes of climate and terrain Balochistan is oflittle intrinsic value, its loca
tion across a traditional invasion route between Central Asia and the Indian
subcontinent has long made it of strategic interest to more powerful neigh
bouring countries.
That the title 'the gateway to India' is now generally applied not to the
Bolan but its northern counterpart, the Khyber, says much for the success of
ix
PREFACE
At the time of this writing, Balochistan, which means 'the country of the
Baloch people: is the name both of the westernmost and largest of the four
provinces of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and, when coupled with Sistan,
of the easternmost and poorest of the thirty provinces of the Islamic Republic
of Iran. This book is mostly concerned with the history of what is now Paki
stani Balochistan, a region forming 43 per cent of that state's land mass and
containing most ofits mineral resources but only 5 per cent of its population.
Covering an area of about 134,000 square miles (c omparable with the 138,000
of present-day Germany), it is bounded in the south by the Arabian Sea, in the ·
west by Iran, in the north by the, Islamic·R epublic of Afghanistan, and in the
east by the mountains and deserts that separate it from the rest of Pakistan.
The Balochistan coastline comprises 75 per cent of Pakistan's entire sea-board
and stretches along the Arabian Sea for almost 500 miles, from Cape Monze
(Ras Muari) near Karachi in the east, to the Iranian border near the mouth of
the Dasht River in th~ west. Though mostly shallow, this coast has since
December 2006 seen the the ancient harbour of Gwadur become, with the aid
of the Chinese People's Republic, a deep-water seaport suitable for bulk cargo
carriers and, potentially, major warships. The primary strategic highway in
Balochistan continues to be that through the Bolan Pass, the historic route
between the lower Indus valley and southern Afghanistan. Though from its
extremes of climate and terrain Balochistan is oflittle intrinsic value, its loca
tion across a traditional invasion route between Central Asia and the Indian
subcontinent has long made it of strategic interest to more powerful neigh
bouring countries.
That the title 'the gateway to India' is now generally applied not to the
Bolan but its northern counterpart, the Khyber, says much for the success of
ix
PREFACE PREFACE
British frontier policy in the south and its failure in the north. Once Balo atlases prefer to show pronunciation, especially where an unvoiced vowel is
chistan came under British control, the Bolan was guarded by a strong garri modified by the proximity of the "h" sound (for example Herat for Harat).
son above the pass, at ~etta, and the neighbouring Baloch tribes were Diacritic marks have been omitted as being a distraction to the non-specialist
controlled through British subsidies to their chiefs. In the Khyber, on ·the reader, a superfluity to the specialist and an expense to the publisher.
ocher hand, ~e British garrison (t he largest in the Empire) was below the pass,
at Peshawar. The Pashtun (otherwise termed Pakhtun or Pachan) inhabitants
of the surrounding mountain tracts were left to govern themselves, resulting
in problems that still continue more than sixty years after the end of the
British Raj.
This book is a study of how and why the British achieved control ofBalo
chistan, particularly through their relations with the khanate of Kalar, the
largest state of the country. It reveals the impact on Balochistan not only of
'the Great Game: the competition between rival European empires for domi
nation in Central Asia, but also of the local turf wars between rival British
frontier officers, each with their own political aims and personal ambitions. It
includes accounts of conventional fighting in the built-up areas of Kalar city
as well as of cavalry actions against the tribes who preyed on the frontier•set
tlements and robbed the passing caravans. Some passages resemble accounts
of activities in the American West at the same period. Others, with tales of
tyrannical princes, treacherous ministers, ambitious warlords and disguised
travellers, resemble adventures from the ArabianN ights.
Balochistan remains an area of interest if only through its position in a
politically unstable region. Pakistani rule is currently challenged by Baloch
nationalists looking back to the days of an independant Kalar; by Baloch irre
dentists looking forward to a Greater Balochistan; by Baloch separatists com
plaining of neglect or exploitation by a state in which Punjabis and Pashtuns
are the dominant majorities; and by local Islamic extremists, the Taleban (the
plural of talib, a disciple or student of religion). At an international level, the
idea of Gwadur as a potential naval base is one chat concerns several states
with interests in the Indian Ocean. Alhough chis book is intended primarily
for readers interested in the history of British India's far western frontier, it
willa lso prove useful to analysts and commentators should future events bring
Balochistan to the attention of a wider audience.
In the transliteration of Indian words and names, I have generally used the
'Hunterian' system, indicatihg how they are written in the Persi-Arabic alpha
bet rather than how they are pronounced, and thus making it easier for anyone
with a basic knowledge of Urdu (Hindustani) or Farsi (Persian) to find chem
in dictionaries of these languages. The main exceptions are where modern
X xi
PREFACE PREFACE
British frontier policy in the south and its failure in the north. Once Balo atlases prefer to show pronunciation, especially where an unvoiced vowel is
chistan came under British control, the Bolan was guarded by a strong garri modified by the proximity of the "h" sound (for example Herat for Harat).
son above the pass, at ~etta, and the neighbouring Baloch tribes were Diacritic marks have been omitted as being a distraction to the non-specialist
controlled through British subsidies to their chiefs. In the Khyber, on ·the reader, a superfluity to the specialist and an expense to the publisher.
ocher hand, ~e British garrison (t he largest in the Empire) was below the pass,
at Peshawar. The Pashtun (otherwise termed Pakhtun or Pachan) inhabitants
of the surrounding mountain tracts were left to govern themselves, resulting
in problems that still continue more than sixty years after the end of the
British Raj.
This book is a study of how and why the British achieved control ofBalo
chistan, particularly through their relations with the khanate of Kalar, the
largest state of the country. It reveals the impact on Balochistan not only of
'the Great Game: the competition between rival European empires for domi
nation in Central Asia, but also of the local turf wars between rival British
frontier officers, each with their own political aims and personal ambitions. It
includes accounts of conventional fighting in the built-up areas of Kalar city
as well as of cavalry actions against the tribes who preyed on the frontier•set
tlements and robbed the passing caravans. Some passages resemble accounts
of activities in the American West at the same period. Others, with tales of
tyrannical princes, treacherous ministers, ambitious warlords and disguised
travellers, resemble adventures from the ArabianN ights.
Balochistan remains an area of interest if only through its position in a
politically unstable region. Pakistani rule is currently challenged by Baloch
nationalists looking back to the days of an independant Kalar; by Baloch irre
dentists looking forward to a Greater Balochistan; by Baloch separatists com
plaining of neglect or exploitation by a state in which Punjabis and Pashtuns
are the dominant majorities; and by local Islamic extremists, the Taleban (the
plural of talib, a disciple or student of religion). At an international level, the
idea of Gwadur as a potential naval base is one chat concerns several states
with interests in the Indian Ocean. Alhough chis book is intended primarily
for readers interested in the history of British India's far western frontier, it
willa lso prove useful to analysts and commentators should future events bring
Balochistan to the attention of a wider audience.
In the transliteration of Indian words and names, I have generally used the
'Hunterian' system, indicatihg how they are written in the Persi-Arabic alpha
bet rather than how they are pronounced, and thus making it easier for anyone
with a basic knowledge of Urdu (Hindustani) or Farsi (Persian) to find chem
in dictionaries of these languages. The main exceptions are where modern
X xi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I take this opportunity of expressing my gratitude to all those who, over many
years, have encouraged me in-the completion of this work. In particular, I
acknowledge the invaluable advice and inspiration given by Dr Malcolm Yapp
in his supervision of my PhD thesis at the School of Oriental and African
Studies (SOAS) in the University of London, from which much of this book
is derived. I also thank my former colleagues in the Royal Military Academy
Sandhurst Collection, especially including its first departmental secretary, my
friend Marilyn Weekes, who typed the original thesis when we worked
together in the Arts Department of the National Army Museum. I am grate
ful, too, for the continuing support of the ever-helpful staff of the Royal Mili
tary Academy Sandhurst Library, headed by Andrew Orgill and his deputy,
Jon Pearce, and the kind co-operation of the desk officials at the India Office
Collection at the British Library (still the India Office Library and Records in
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when this work was first undertaken),
the National Archives (formerly the Public Records Office), the Scottish
National Records Office, and the libraries of the University of Cambridge,
Christ Church, Oxford, and SOAS. Most of all, I am grateful to my wife,
Mary, herself a SOAS historian, for her constant affection and support, and
for her skill in proofreading this and all my other historical works.
xiii