Balochistan, the British and the Great Game : the struggle for the Bolan Pass, gateway to India / T.A. Heathcote.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heathcote, T. A.

Contributor:

Class of 1932 Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Balochistān (Pakistan)--History.

Balochistān (Pakistan).

Physical Description:

xiii, 292 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Hurst, 2015.

Summary:

The Great Game for Central Asia led to British involvement in Balochistan, a sparsely-populated area in Pakistan, mostly desert and mountain, and containing the Bolan Pass, the southern counterpart of the more famous Khyber. It occupies a position of great strategic importance between Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Arabian Sea. Heathcote's book is a history of the Khanate of Kalat and of British operations against the Baloch hill tribes who raided frontier settlements and the Bolan caravans. Its themes include rivalry between British officials in Sind and the Punjab, high profile disputes between British politicians over frontier policy and organisation, and the British occupation of Quetta, guardian city of the Bolan, in the run-up to the Second Afghan War. Among the many strong characters in this story is Sir Robert Sandeman, hitherto hailed as 'the peaceful conqueror of Balochistan', now revealed as a ruthless careerist, whose personal ambitions led to the fragmentation of the country under British domination. The closing chapter summarises subsequent events up to modern times, in which the Baloch have maintained a long-running struggle for greater autonomy within Pakistan.

Contents:

1 Balochistan Background: The Country, the People and the Princes 1

2 The Opening of the Great Game: British India, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, 1798-1838 21

3 The British Army in Kalat, 1839 41

4 The Threat from the Baloch Hills, 1839-40 57

5 Insurgency in 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, 1854-58 125

9 Civil Wars, 1858-72 147

10 The Kafilas and the Collapse of British Control, 1872-76 177

11 Quetta and the Settlement of Kalat, 1876-78 205

12 The Completion of British Control, 1877-1893 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1932 Fund.

ISBN:

1849044791

9781849044790

OCLC:

917360525

Publisher Number:

99966620276