Visit of Aga Samad Shah and it’s Social Impact

A chapter from my book "Gojal Hunza Diverse and Tribal Domains"

            The top-secret notes of Foreign and Political Department of British Indian Government under Generals Dunsterville vide Establishment- B. Nos. 277-284, 1918, at page 34 and 35, on “the Turkestan Mission” described that

“the military intelligence Missions of Turkistan by Generals Dunsterville and Malleson, the Kashgar Mission began to be formed in early 1918. The secretary of the Foreign and Political Department, Denys Bray proceeded with the task of setting up a top-secret group with the help of the General Staff of India. According to General staff instructions, major F.M. Bailey and Captain W.M. Marshall, officers in the political service in Mesopotamia, were sent hastily to Delhi for "Complex" missions. The Secretary of state for India, E. Montague, as well as the intelligence Chiefs in London,  felt that they urgently needed reliable information on what was happening in Turkestan in order to implement their far-reaching strategic plans.”

        According to report vide Establishment - B, January 1919, No’s 285-294, p.42, National Archives of India that “on Feb. 26, 1918, the organizational division of the Foreign and Political Department prepared a preliminary list of members of the said 'Mission". Under Bailey's command were placed the ''Specialists on Russian matters" such as Captain P.T. Etherton, Captain L.V.S. Blacker, major W.H. Brigham and George Macartney who have concerned themselves with Russia as professional agents and had visited the country on many occasions. They were accompanied by a special group of agents who knew the situation in Turkestan well, like Captain Abdul Samad Shah and Captain Teague-Jones. They were summoned on Feb. 27 by General staff in India to receive instructions and discuss the ensuring operation. It was, decided to send two missions to carry out subversive activities in Turkestan, one via Kashgar and another via Meshed. Hamilton Grant wrote that he had discussed the question with the Chief of the General staff and they had agreed that the Kashgar mission would be political for the time being. Its main task was to establish contacts in Turkestan with the anti-Bolshevik elements who were ready to co-operate with the British. The Kashgar mission was directly placed under the Foreign and Political Department of the British Indian Government. The Mission included Major Bailey, Captain Etherton, Captain Blacker, and some Indian officers. Grant suggested that while traveling, the Kashgar Mission would, be under Bailey's authority and upon its arrival, the consul-General in Kashgar Sir George Macartney would take the charge. All the preliminary expenses to buy arms and equipment were recorded under the heading "Special Mission in Kashgar". In 1918 alone a considerable sum of one lakh rupees was allocated for this purpose. Before setting out for Central Asia, Bailey carefully studied the situation in Soviet Turkestan. While in Kashgar, he was provided with all the papers including the secret intelligence reports regarding the political situation in Turkestan and Central Asia.”

P.T. Etherton British Council General at Kashgar 1918 to 1924

Daniel C. Waugh described in his book “Etherton at Kashgar was rhetoric and reality in the history of the “Great Games”, published by Bactrian Press Seattle, in 2007, at the page -3 that ‘Etherton distinguished himself as  The British officer, as a traveler in often remote parts of the globe and as a prolific author of books on travel and geopolitics of East Asia’. He also admired services of P.T. Etherton who was British Consul General at Kashgar between, 1918 to 1924, He further narrated at page-4, that ‘after distinguishing himself in World War I, Etherton returned to India, where he was a logical choice to be part of the Government of India’s intelligence- gathering mission to Kashgar and Tashkent in the summer of 1918’. Regarding his appointment as a regular consular, his immediate predecessor George Macartney made the following assessment:

“Without actually being brilliant, Etherton is a scholarly man and energetic. His judgment is sound and mature, and in any society, he is capable of exercising a powerful influence. Always self-possessed, he seems to be just one of those men to remain calm in danger and to be outwardly unruffled when irritated by intrigue, answering an opponent with arguments rather than threats. When he was with me in Kashgar, he made, I believe, an excellent impression on the Chinese and the Russians….” Page. 6. “Etherton at Kashgar.”

        The British Government through their Council General was trying to stop the Russian advancement including activities of the Bolshevik officers in the Pamir region, in this connection, they considered getting help from the Aga Khan III. Etherton was in close connection with the British Government specially reauthorization of the budgetary problems in the month of June 1920 vide BL IOLR L/10/836, fols. 466-470. He further reported in the month of February 1921 vide BL IOLR L/P&S/10/976, p.6, that Hunza courier riders were unhappy that they were not being paid on time even though the demands on their services had grown substantially with the greater use of consular mail after the closing of the Russian border in 1017 and the supplementing of the consular staff in 1918.

          Etherton exchanged communications with his superiors in India, in which they proposed that in view of the increasing Bolshevik activities in Ferghana, Semirechia, Chinese Turkistan, and Pamirs in early summer, therefore the Intelligence Organization in the area is required to be strengthened by placing a King’s Commissioned Indian Officer at your disposal for six months period. “Etherton responded to the proposal with great enthusiasm for help, indicating that it would be good and beneficial if they could also a couple of well-trained agents capable of operating undercover on the Russian side of the border. The particular agent of India had in mind was one Captain Samad Shah, none other than a cousin of Aga Khan, who had worked in British intelligence and obviously was a very knowledgeable analyst.” In his book “In the Heart of Asia”, page. 273, Etherton claimed that “Captain Samad Shah was sent on my representations to the Government of India concerning certain matters in Russian and Chinese territory, even though it seems that the initiative has come from the British Indian Government. There were several agenda involved in choosing Captain Samad Shah, as an effort was made to have him bring along a message from the Aga Khan to his Ismaili followers in the Pamirs. The quotation is from the Government of India telegram to Kashgarno.177-S, February 8, 1921, fol. 444.File no BL IOLR L/P&S/10/741, fol. 126-129v, October 2, 1919, and File no BL IOLR L/P&S/10/836,fol. 440-444.”

Col. Etherton declared that Aga Samad Shah performed perfectly well for the interest of the British Government as he was deputed on the recommendation of British Council General of Kashgar. In March 1919, Atherton sent a telegram to the Foreign Office and Political Department the government of India regarding the Russian advancement and establishment of Garrison at Tashkurghan. In reply to his telegram he was asked to make necessary arrangements to stop Bolshevik movement and their propaganda in the region in March 1921. As it was considered that the network and more generally the surveillance was still in the planning stage as late as February 1920. The government of India wrote to Atherton and to its Political Agent Gilgit indicating the latest intelligence report was that the Pamir might become infiltration of Bolshevik Agents and propaganda thereon. The Government of India asked both of its officials for advice on how to stop this vide telegram no. BL IOLR, L/P&S/10/741 Dated 5-2-1920. Atherton responded that they could stop if the British would man the efforts, which were currently in the hand of Bolshevik Garrison’s in Ferghana in the following manner.

     “In Ferghana and on Russian Pamirs I might exploit elements friendly to us and arrange for that important area being more effectively controlled and guarded, but I would ask to be informed of the policy of Government of India in this matter before elaborating any scheme” (loc. Cit., fol. 25, Etherton telegram no. 62 to Foreign and Political Department, Government of India, February 9, 1920, received February 21). See also his long message to the Resident in Kashmir, outlining measures already in place to try to keep track of movements across the borders and prevent spreading of anti-British propaganda (loc. Cit., fols. 30v-31, Etherton no. 17 to Resident, Srinagar, Kashmir, January 8, 1920). The full organizations of the Ismailis may have come even later, as Etherton reported in his Kashgar Monthly Diary for November 1921 (BLIOLR L/P&S/10/976, P.1) that Samad Shah, who had contacts with all the Ismaili Pirs in the region,  “in conjunction with me is organizing an intelligence scheme to cover the Russian Pamirs and all the territory where Maulais are found.” See also his note of progress in this endeavor in the January 1922 monthly diary (p. 2): “Heard from Captain Samad [sic] Shah to-day. He has been visiting the followers of the Aga Khan throughout Sarikol and appears to be doing a lot of good to our cause. He is getting together a fine band of workers and between the two us I think we shall be able to check the Bolshevik schemes through the Russian Pamirs.”   (Page: 17 of Etherton at Kashgar: Rhetoric and Reality in the history of the “Great Games”)    

                       

Captain Aga Abdul Samad Shah

       

 Colonel P. T. Etherton the British Council General of Kashgar at page 273 of his book In the Heart of Asia, Published in 1926 by Houghton Mifflin Company Boston and New York, described that, “in November 1921 Aga Samad Shah an officer of Indian army and cousin of the Aga Khan arrived in Kashgar on a special mission as a result of my representation to the government of India concerning certain matters in Russian and Chinese territory. Samad Shah stayed a month with at the Consulate and was a great favorite with the Chinese he spoke English to perfection, had a wide knowledge of literature and of the world in general and his cordial cooperation in dealing with the sinister influence of Bolshevism was of much value to me.”

      According to reports a British explorer on secret service visited Chinese Turkistan in 1918-19 and lost somewhere in the Khotan and Yarkand regions. The British Council and the staff of Consulate at Kashgar conducted search operation through their-own means but no trace of his whereabouts was found. Sir George McCartney was serving as Consul General in Kashghar during the period. Sir George McCartney was of mixed Scottish-Chinese parentage. Based in Kashgar on the famous Silk Road, he was the game changer in the 19th and early 20th-century power-struggle between Britain, China, and Russia over control of Central Asia in what came to be known as The Great Game. He met the scheming Russian Consul Nicolai Petoskey who was to prove a cunning adversary in the political contest for control in this unsettled region. The wife of McCartney, Catherine, has provided warm images of their domestic life and some of the hazardous journeys they made with their family when traveling to and from the United Kingdom. However, her courage was praised when was seriously warned and threatened by revolutionaries.

The diplomats of the region recognized George McCartney for his renowned tact and diplomacy associated with strong determination maintained the British position with so little external support. His risky encounter leading a mission to the Bolshevik radicals and revolutionaries in Tashkent made for a dramatic ending to his extraordinary career in such a dangerous region having great a concern to the Chinese government.

 Sir George Macartney, KCIE British Counsil  General Kashgar

Sir George Macartney, KCIE¹ was born on 19 January 1867 and died on 19 May 1945. He was the British consul-general in Kashgar at the end of the 19th century. Percy T. Etherton succeeded him. Macartney arrived in Xinjiang in 1890 as an interpreter for the Younghusband expedition. He remained there until 1918. Macartney first proposed the Macartney-MacDonald Line as the boundary between China and India in Aksai Chin. Macartney was born at Nanjing and was half-Chinese while his godfather was Chinese politician Li Hongzhang.² His father, Halliday Macartney, was a member of the same family as George Macartney, the 18th-century British ambassador to China, and his mother was a near relative of Lar Wang, one of the leaders of the Taiping rebellion.³Macartney married Catherine Borland in 1898.⁴ In Kashgar his wife, Catherine, Lady Macartney assisted the archaeologists who found the library at Dunhuang.⁵   Macartney had a son called Eric.⁶

      One of the most important duties of the British Political Resident at Kashgar was to send periodic news reports or fortnightly diaries, channeled through The government of India, to London. The contents of these reports and diaries range from the Resident's daily dealings with the locals to political uprisings in the region. In the countries surrounding India's frontiers, there was little secret intelligence of a direct military kind to be acquired. What the British the government needed to know was mainly political activities, Russian movement in the region, local events, which tribes are plotting to overthrow some rulers and what would be the effect on the tribes living on the borders.

          The Political Resident at Kashgar George McCartney was fully bilingual, managed to establish an amicable rapport with Chinese Taotai (a provincial administrator or Chief) as well as with the Russian Consul at Kashgar. He was well informed of political shifts and likely repercussions within or beyond the borders. In general, it could be said that, like every British Political Agent of that period, Macartney ran local information or intelligence service, which Russians might have called a spy network, but it tended to be very informal. After retirement Macartney, every two or three years a colleague of the Political Agent at Kashmir would arrive at Kashgar from Srinagar in Gilgit, to assume the post of Consul General, or return to Srinagar from Kashgar after leaving this post. During the outbreak of the Chinese Revolution of 1911, Xinjiang experienced unrest as the change of government took place. It was again affected due to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The Government of British India observed with the keen interest in the internal disorder of the Central Asian republics.

        

  British Residents at Kashgar 1891: Younghusband), (Centre right) and

  Macartney (first left.   [Mss Eur F197/674(1)] © The British Library Board.

       The British government was secretly pressing hard to find out the missing agent but despite of their great efforts, they failed to recover the missing British agent. Details of the person and reason of his visit to Eastern Turkistan could not be found in spite of my endeavors and research. However, Colonel Etherton has indicated in his book regarding his recommendation to the Indian British Government to depute Captain Samad Shah from the British Intelligence for the investigations. In this connection, many correspondences have been exchanged between George Macartney and Let Col. Etherton, the British Consul Generals of Kashgar, which have been referred Colonel Etherton in his book. According to my research based on the correspondence, Captain Aga Samad Shah was deputed for the investigations of the missing agent on the recommendations of Etherton the British consul general of Kashgar.  The Indian British Government decided to assigned the important task of inquiry to Capt. Aga Samad Shah.

Captain Samad Shah (known as Agha Sahib) first cousin to Aga Khan-III was a son of Machulo Shah younger brother of Aga Khan-II.  He was serving with the British Indian Government as Captain in the intelligence department.  Aga Samad Shah came to His Highness the Aga Khan-III and told him that British Intelligence department him asked to visit China with special task including to investigate a case of a missing agent of British Government. After discussions, His Highness the Aga Khan suggested and asked to complete the task assigned to him during his visit to China. His Highness directed him that “on your return from China visit the Jamat of the region on my behalf”. Aga Samad Shah proceeded to his official mission to visit China from Bombay and reached Srinagar and from Srinagar to Gilgit. He proceeded to Hunza and after two overnight stays at Baltit he started his journey toward Gojal and reached Gulmit, from Gulmit to Passu and then Khyber. Till that time he was considered as a British Officer. According to the elder people including my grant father (as he was serving as lievey and was on duty with Aga Samad Shah) that a British mail was handed over to him in the local house of Muhammad Kabir in the village of Khyber. In Khyber, he introduced himself as a brother of Imam of the Time His Highness the Aga Khan-III. This news spread over to the regions and the Jamat of the surrounding areas reached Khyber. Jamat of the neighboring localities spent the night in Khyber according to the local customs and rituals. In the next morning, Aga Samad Shah displayed a photograph of His Highness the Aga Khan in the house of Muhammad Kabir and asked the Jamat to see and perceive their Imam. During the audience, many people of the Jamat were looking at Aga Samad Shah and he asked the Jamat to look at the picture of your Imam. Detail of the first audience is very long and lengthy, however, Aga Samad Shah further took his journey toward China but in a religious manner with the Murids. Mir of Hunza Muhammad Nazim Khan came to know the real account and he deputed his representatives to well come to Aga Sahib and directed to carry out the full arrangement in honor of the Aga Sahib.

                       

   Mir Sir Muhammad Nazim Khan KCIE, KCSI; Ruler of the State of Hunza. 

Photo credited by John Biddulph / Municipal Library Gilgit.

According to the Ismailia Pirs Aga Sahib, Aga Sahib was received in Tashkurghan and after two days stay he preceded toward Yarkand. On his way to Yarkand, he stopped for a night stay in a small village in a government rest house along the Zarfashan River without pre-plan. He was resting in a room of the rest house. In the late night, some lady was crying and knocking at the door of the room in which, Aga Sahib was sleeping. When Aga Sahib opened the door a lady was weeping and bellowing and made complaints against her husband. On enquiry, the lady told that her husband is serving as a security guard in the rest house and has murdered an Englishman during his stay in this rest house and buried his dead body in the compound of the same rest house. It was narrated by G.M. Baig and was confirmed the Ismailia Pirs of Posgam and Tashkurghan that when Aga Sahib was resting in the Government rest house the security guard and his wife were fighting each other and the husband severely beat his wife. Consequently, she did not found any way out and decided to lodge a complaint to the guest (Aga sahib) who was sleeping in the room of the rest house. After detailed inquiries, the compound was dug out and the dead body of the English Agent was recovered. Under such surprisingly circumstances Captain Samad Shah (Aga sahib) resolved the complicated case of the missing English agent. Aga Sahib then continued to Yarkand and the matter was reported to the British Indian Government through Etherton the British Consul General of Kashghar.

       During his stay in Kashgar and Yarkand Aga Sahib visited the Jamat and the message of Imam was conveyed to them. Daniel C. Waugh has also explained the matter at Page. 17 of his book “Etherton at Kashgar: Rhetoric and Reality in the History of the Great Game stating that many people of Posgam and Yarkand have described the mythical account regarding the travel of Aga Sahib from Kashghar to Yarkand it might be because of their absolute faith. However, at Tashkurghan when Aga Sahib asked the Jamat to recite a particular Ayat from the Holy Quran, an Ismaili Pir Khan Haji (Khan Khawaja) of Waucha recited the verses of the Holy Quran. Aga Sahib was speaking Persian language and almost all the Tajik people were able to understand and speak; hence it was easy for them to communicate. The other account was very interesting when he was approaching Posgam an Ismaili Pir Syed Hassan Shah started to approach on his knees while reciting verses of a poem (Rhymes) (Qasida) in honor of Imam of the time. When the Ismailia peer approached Aga Samad Shah, he picked him up and exchanged few words with Pir Syed Hassan Shah.

After six months Aga Sahib was to return back and during his journey back he stayed almost in every village and communicated the message of the imam of the time with the murids. When he concluded his journey he remarked that from the humans, Syed Hassan Shah the Ismaili Pir of Yarkand and from the animals a yak of Khalifa Muhammad Adab Khan recognized me. The account of the yolk of Adab Khan was very surprised when the yolk was presented to Aga Sahib for the purpose of crossing the Batura Glacier the yolk knelt down before Aga Sahib with tears in his eyes. Aga Sahib the touched the face of the Yolk and then yolk rose. Everyone accompanying Aga Sahib witnessed this scenario. Khalifa Adab Khan presented the same yak to Aga Sahib as a small token to memorize his visit. Khalifa Adab Khan was accompanied with Aga Samad Shah to Karim Abad along with Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan, where Aga Sahib has gifted his Ring and Handkerchief to Khalifa Adab Khan, which are still in possession of the family. According to Mukhi Muhammad Ashraf Khan, Mir Muhammad Nazim Khan later informed to present the yak to him, however, arrangements were accordingly made after selling it out to Suratoo the royal carpenter at the cost of Rs. 60/-.

Visit of the Aga Sahib to the region brought blessings and reforms in the lives and rituals on account of deaths and marriages. He advised the Jamat to abstain from unnecessary expenditure during deaths and marriages, and avoid overspendings. Aga Sahib advised starting education for females. To implement his directives, he sent books and notebooks for the female members, who had started their education in Baltit and other big villages of Hunza. The beginning of female education started in 1922 but unfortunately, it could not be continued because of the Miri System. Reference of the report: British offensive against Soviet power in Central Asia.

Chini Bagh – the British Consulate at Kashgar

      Chini Bagh was initially a local house, which was occupied by the British mission, which was later demolished to make proper space for construction of the new mission. The building of the mission was built with two feet thick sun backed brick walls. It was built largely one storey building keeping in view of the frequent earthquakes in the Tarim Basin. A wooden verandah was added after Macartney returned to Kashgar with his wife. The name of Chini Bagh, “Chinese Garden” was given to it, which means apparently in Uyghur language. In the book of Lady Macartney, there is an image of the entrance to Chini Bagh, which is reproduced below.

The old Building if Chini Bagh Kashgar China.

The house was very famous because of its gardens and its comforts provided relief to all well-known travelers through Chinese Central Asia; such as von Le Coq, Stein, and Fleming including Percy Sykes, Etherton, Claremont Skrine, Eric Shipton, and Captain Agha Samad Shah. The gardens would have rested in between the gate and the house can be seen in the photo above.

In 1890 Sir Francis Younghusband who was to lead Britain’s campaign to extend its influence to Tibet in 1904 and led an expedition to Kashgar and the Pamirs.  George Macartney was the son of a Scottish knight and a Chinese mother. He married Catherine Borland in 1898, and she wrote “An English Lady in Chinese Turkestan”. When Younghusband returned to India in 1891, Macartney was told to remain as a representative of British interests in the area to look after the interest of traders who would travel over the passes from British India and make their base in Yarkand and Kashgar. During 1891 to 1908 the position of Macartney was of the British Agent; because of the Russian pressure on Peking, which prevented formal recognition as of a consulate. However finally in 1908, the Kashgar mission became as a consulate. The British officers including Captain Aga Samad Shah enjoyed their stay in Chini Bagh.

The consulate can be found by walking down on a passageway between the two larger hotel buildings. It is in a badly dilapidated condition and has the remnants of a dusty garden around. It is sympathetically whitewashed with red edgings.

    

Old Building of Chini Bagh Kashgar 2012.

The building is now owned by the local Cultural Relics Bureau, who has also developed the monstrous hotel buildings on many sides in a conflict to what might be a traditional interpretation of their main task of heritage preservation but profits from the hotel might even greater then preservation of the cultural heritage. After Indian-Pakistani partition the consulate became a joint Indo-Pak Consulate but in 1953 it has been taken over by the Chinese Government and declared it an entertainment center for Kashgar resident diplomatic community, which were not there except only Soviet. Chini Bagh is very famous among the Uyghurs and everyone knows the addresses in Kashgar.

*References provided in the book