Research Note on Archival Sources Concerning Research on Balochistan.
Author: Prof. Dr. Javed Haider Syed, Department of History, University of Gujrat
LIBRARIES AND COLLECTIONS IN BALOCHISTAN
In addition to the collections at Balochistan Archives, there are some valuable library collections in Quetta and smaller libraries elsewhere in Balochistan. Noteworthy among these are the Staff College Library, Balochistan University Main Library, Balochistan Study Centre Library. The Pashto Academy Library, the Balochi Academy Library, the Brahui Academy Library, and the Sandeman Municipal Library contain valuable research materials.
The Sandeman Library, Quetta, used to bea very important Public Library. In South Asia there were 16 Special Libraries and 59 Public Libraries. However, in the areas constituting Pakistan, not a single Special Library existed. In 1947,thecountry inherited only 3 Public Libraries i.e., The Punjab Public Library Lahore, Central Library Karachi, and the Sandeman Library, Quetta. The later started functioning in 1885. Unfortunately this precious collection was destroyed in 1935 earthquake and could not be revived before 1947. It was located on the Main Jinnah Road Quetta in a grand building until 1979. But with the passage of time, after heavy losses the Library was closed down and merged into the Municipal Library. Few leftover books were dumped into a separate room and locked. This precious library contained old magazines dating back to 1907. It was also rich in source material on Balochistan, including the Gazetteers. It had a complete set of Gazetteers of India from 1880 to 1926. Another specialty of this collection was H.N. Mitra’sIndian Annual Register from 1922 onwards, The Indian Quarterly Register from 1924 to 1940, The Indian Year Books, The Indian Literary Year Books, The Linguistic Survey of India by Grierson, The Baluchistan Administrative Reports, 1885-1953, Administration Report on the Railways in India, Railway Board, Military Reports on Southern Baluchistan, The Indian National Congress Reports since 1886-1898, Presidential Speeches, The Indian Constitutional Reforms. This collection had also some of the manuscripts on its record i.e., Book notes by Rai Bahadur Haitu Ram in twelve volumes 1877-1934, and also a hand-written report in Urdu on Settlement of Barkhan Tehsil was available.
The Christian Graveyard (Gora Qabristan) Quetta: Another unconventional historical place is the Christian Graveyard of Quetta. It carries an enormous information about some very important British Army Officers and soldier’s graves who laid their lives during different campaigns starting from 1830’s especially during the first British tress passing of the area on their way toward Afghanistan in connection with the First Anglo-Afghan War(1838-42). The graveyard is itself a history of the British Empire builder’s sacrifices for their nation throughout their Raj. Another positive note about it is the intact record of the burials lying with the adjacent Church. Some of the old graves have been damaged due to passage of time and other reasons but still the record is there in the Church and few important graves are still intact. I have myself visited the place and studied the graves stones carefully. I went to the Church, joined the Sunday Service and saw the record of the graves. The Priest and the staff were very cooperative.
LIBRARIES AND COLLECTIONS OUTSIDE BALOCHISTAN
The Sindh Archives, Karachi:The Sindh Archives are housed in a three storied huge building with a covered area of 37267 sq.ft., located at Clifton, Karachi (a most unsuitable site nearing the beach, damaging the old records due to excessive dampness). It was established in 1975 under Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Government of Sindh. But recently I had a chance to visit it in 2007, now it is operative and holds certain essential records especially of Commissioner Sindh. Its records date back to early 19th century. The records can be divided into 2 categories:
Alphabetical Catalogue of the Contents of the Pre-Mutiny Records of the Commissioner in Sind 1831-1857, was published from Karachi in 1931. The catalogue contains references about Kalat and Balochistan Affairs.
The second volume of the catalogue is concerned to the records of the Post-Mutiny period i.e., 1858-1935. There is substantive material on Persian and Central Asian Affairs i.e., 1st Afghan War and other topics:
- Herat Affairs 1887,
- Sind Irregular Horse,
- Kelat Affairs,
- British Expedition to Candhar 1839-1842.
Sindh was the staging ground for the British efforts to onwards involvement in Afghanistan, Balochistan, and Central Asia andthe region was main anchor of their Forward Policy since the advent of 19th century. Once occupied in 1839, Karachi became the principal British colonial town in the days to come, being opened to the western world. Basically the town was a Baloch city, part of the Kalat Khanate through the 18th century. The British advent emerged a disguise and it became a centre of trade, press, educational and cultural center. Very significant institutions were developed during the 19th century especially and the town flourished through academic distinctions. Presently there are very important library collections functioning both in public and private sectors having a lot of material on Balochistan. Starting from SayidHashmi Reference Library, Malir River Bridge, Karachi, having no match to any collection of relevant material on Balochistan in both books and journal under a single roof. There are so many other important libraries in Karachi, worth-mentioning, the Karachi University Library, Liaqat Memorial Library, Department of Libraries, Government of Pakistan, Urdu Science College Library, Pakistan Coast Guard Library, Pakistan Naval Academy Library, British Council Library and Pakistan State Bank Library.
The Punjab Archives Lahore:The Punjab Archives are housed in the Anarkali’s Tomb built in 1615 A.D. at Lahore. The records date back to the Mughal period. The press list of documents (1804-1869) is also available which holds very essential records of the official correspondence. Its microfilm copy is also available at NDC Islamabad. These records are of Delhi and Ludhiana Residency and Agencies transferred to Lahore after the War of Independence, 1857. The NWFP was part of the Punjab till 1901 and all the records relating to the area were also kept at Lahore. Even Sindh, before annexation (1843) also constituted a part of the Punjab Archives. Besides, the Punjab Archives have the privilege of preserving all papers relating to the occupation of Tribal Areas in Balochistan. Other records relating to political relation of the Jammu and Kashmir State, Afghanistan, Iran, Middle Eastern principalities and Central Asian states are also preserved here. The most important are;
The main bulk of the Punjab Archives consist of two categories of records, in Persian and English. The English records date back to 1804. They have been kept department-wise, year-wise, and head-wise in bundles, such as:
a. Political Department 1849-1945, b. Revenue & Finance Department 1849-1946.The Provincial Archives of the Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan are separately mentioned. At provincial Headquarters these repositories are housed but at the same time the District Record Offices contain very important archival material on the affairs of the area. For example, I have visited Dera Ghazi Khan District Record Office and found it very useful for research purposes. It was a base of the Forward Policy pursued by Sir Robert Sandeman who started his activities from this District as early as 1866, as a District Officer. Within a decade of his appointment the young officer was able to extend the British influence in Balochistan and opened the Residency at Quetta, becoming the first Agent to the Governor General (AGG), till his death in 1892, and became the empire builder by Sandemanizing the whole of the area and peaceful conqueror of Balochistan. The District Office DG Khan is the record of his ways and methods to do job. The District Records Offices form a rich and largely untapped source for the history of the area. These District Records have a propensity to fall into 3 main groups: Revenue, Judicial and General.
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Revenue Group: Primarily consist of regular and comprehensive records of the changing ownership and occupation of village lands, plus details of the crops cultivated there and the land revenue derived from each area. In the Punjab these records are mostly in the from of Bandobastas (Settlement Records) including village field maps, registers of landholders, notes on the origin of the villages and family trees of the principal land holders. There are also supplementary Jamabandis, records of changes in village land-ownership deposited in the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Record Rooms by the relevant Tehsildars. Such records are usually written in Urdu, or in the case of later 19th century records, in a personalized form of Urdu. These materials constitute a unique and valuable source for the economic and social history of each district, dating back in some cases to the 1850’s.
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Judicial Records: Although are less important than economic history, but still of major interest for social developments, are the DC’s Judicial Records, comprising the papers of criminal, civil and revenue cases dealt with in the courts of DC’s or their subordinate District Magistrates.
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General Files, These are general and Miscellaneous files. Basically, they reflect the broad scope of DC’s administration of the districts. The records show principally land revenue policy, surveys and settlements, irrigation, public works, judicial administration, district boards, registration of publications, education, and matters pertaining to police, law and order. Some districts still hold confidential pre-partition notes on prominent persons in the districts dating back to the 19th century.
A typical old district (of the Punjab and Sindh) may hold over 5000 bastas or dastisof revenue and judicial records each of which may contain half a dozen or more files or registers. Very few scholars have ventured to explore the district records and use them for research analyses and discussions.