IOR/L/PS/10/1107

The volume contains correspondence in the form of memoranda, telegrams, and minute papers relating to a request by the Persian [Iranian] Government for the removal of Indian Army military escorts posted to British Consulates in Persia, mainly in Tehran, Isfahan [Esfahan, also spelled Ispahan in the volume], Kermanshah, Hamadan, Shiraz, Bushire [Bushehr], Kerman, Ahwaz [Ahvaz], Bandar Abbas [also spelled Bunder and Bander in the volume], Sistan, and Meshed [Mashhad]. Among the reasons given for the request are an improvement of order in Tehran and the perceived resentment of the new Shah and the Persian army against the presence of foreign soldiers in the capital.

The main issues covered in the volume are:

• The strength and composition of the escorts at various consulates
• A proposal to replace the Indian escorts with a suitable number of Persian ghulams [also spelled gholams in the volume] to serve at the British Consulates
• The rates of pay for the Persian ghulams, the conditions of their service, and the approximate annual cost of their clothing
• The terms of employment of ex-Indian Army soldiers for service as Legation military escorts at Tehran, and as Consular escorts at Bushire, Kerman and Bandar Abbas, covering pay, gratuity, travelling allowance, clothing, and horses
• Reports on robbery incidents in the Bushire area as a result of conflicts between the neighbouring tribes
• The retention of the Indian Infantry guard at the Vice-Consulate at Duzdap [Zahedan]
• The appointment of eight tufangchis (riflemen) as gatekeepers at the Political Residency buildings in Bushire
• The recruitment of six ex-Indian Army Muslim soldiers for the Ahwaz Consulate
• The cost and period of wear of the uniforms of the Persian ghulams and gatekeepers
• The question of whether the payment of the expenditure involved should be paid entirely from Indian revenues or whether it should be shared between Indian and Imperial revenues.

The main correspondents in the volume are as follows: the British Legation in Tehran; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Viceroy, Foreign and Political Department; the Secretary of State for India; the Army Headquarter, India; the Recruiting Officer, Rawalpindi; the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; and the Under-Secretary of State for India, India Office.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.