The Evolution of Political Relations Between Qajar Iran and British India

Abstract

This article explores the evolution of political relations between Qajar Iran and British India, analyzing these interactions within the broader framework of colonial structures and the global capitalist system of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Utilizing a historical-analytical approach and drawing on archival documents, diplomatic correspondences, travelogues, and authoritative historical studies, the article argues that Britain’s policies toward Iran were primarily formulated and implemented through institutions based in British India. Consulates, political agents, and the Viceroy of India played a central role in managing relations with Iran, often acting independently from London. Employing the theoretical lenses of imperialism and Wallerstein’s world-system theory, the study demonstrates that Iran–India relations were shaped not by mutual interests but by colonial domination and structural power asymmetry. The behavior of the Qajar state is interpreted as a blend of selective accommodation and limited resistance, largely influenced by the regime’s structural weaknesses in politics, military, and economy. The findings reveal that Iran’s entanglement with British India had profound effects on its national security, territorial integrity, economy, and the rise of anti-colonial discourse. The article also highlights the necessity of future studies on Iran’s interactions with other British colonial entities such as Aden, Muscat, and the Persian Gulf, emphasizing the strategic role of colonies in shaping global imperial policies.