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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [26r] (51/86)
The record is made up of 1 volume (43 folios). It was created in 1937. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
29
which was spent on the school during the year, Rs 5,000/- was contributed by public subscription.
The school was managed by a committee of Shia notables, and a young Iraqi from Baghdad was
appointed as the headmaster. His family had originally lived in Katif, and after being in Bahrain
for some time he was discharged, as his active sympathy with the Shia subjects of His Majesty
King Ibn Saoud made him a possible cause of political complaint. Owing to the lack of suitably
educated men among the Shias in Bahrain, most of the senior masters at the school were subjects
of Iraq. From its beginning the progress of the school was hampered by the dissentions among
the members of the committee.
Opening of a In the same year a school for girls was opened in Muharraq in response
Girls' School. to a demand for female education by some of the more progressive and
enlightened Arabs of that town. The clerical and conservative Arabs in
Bahrain disapproved very strongly of this innovation. They said that it would increase immorality
because, if the girls could read and write, they would correspond surreptitiously with men outside
their own house. The school was publicly denounced in the Friday mosque, but in spite of this
it has been a flourishing institution since it started. The school owed its existence mainly to Shaikh
Abdullah bin Isa and Shaikh Mohomed Ali Zainal, the much-respected Hedjazi pearl merchant
and educationalist, whose arguments convinced the general public that the school would be
beneficial.
Appointment of a The following year, 1348 (1929-30), was a year of disturbance, changes.
School Inspector. and reforms. After a long period of expensive and unproductive school
administration, the public began to demand a better return for the large
sums of money which were paid every year by the Government to the treasurer of the education
committee. The sudden dismissal by the education committee of a headmaster of the Manamah
school who had quarrelled with the Muharraq headmaster caused a crisis. The Manamah
headmaster was a popular man, and his supporters, who thought that he had been badly treated,
openly criticised the conduct of the committee, especially that of the treasurer, and the unsuitable
authority which was held by the Muharraq headmaster. Shaikh Abdullah bin Isa came to the
conclusion that if the schools were to be properly managed it was essential that their finance and
administration should be under the direct supervision of the Government, and that a qualified
inspector of schools should be appointed. Mr. Faik Adham, a Syrian recommended by the President
of the Beyrout University, who held a degree from that university and also a degree from the
Islamieh College, was appointed as inspector of schools. His wife, a qualified teacher, was made
the headmistress of a new school for girls which was opened in Manamah.
Strike of Students The headmaster of the Muharraq school and many of the members of
and Masters. the education committee bitterly resented the appointment of a school
inspector and what they regarded as the interference of the Government
in school affairs. For many years they had mismanaged educational matters with impunity and
no question had been asked about the accounts. When the treasurer was asked to explain certain
financial transactions he promptly sent in his resignation, which was accepted. This was the signal
for trouble. Without any warning the headmaster of the Muharraq school declared a strike of
teachers and students. This action was intended to affect all the schools, but actually only the
Manamah and Muharraq boys' schools took part in the strike. For several days the boys marched
about the towns in procession in a typical Egyptian manner, making noisy demonstrations and
delivering speeches against the Government, which they afterwards admitted had been taught to
them by the masters. There was a certain amount of disorder, and damage was done to the Muharraq
school. Shaikh Abdullah immediately took strong action; he sent for the two headmasters, who
refused to appear, but wrote a long letter, making ridiculous demands. They were promptly
dismissed and sent back to Syria, where they organised a venomous press campaign against the
Bahrain Government, which was taken up by several newspapers in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt.
The schools were closed for ten days by order of the Government and then re-opened. At first the
attendance was small, but soon the normal number of students returned and the schools settled
down to their ordinary routine, which continued undisturbed until the end of the term. This
demonstration was undoubtedly encouraged by some of the members of the committee whose
authority from that time was deliberately curtailed by the Government.
About this item
- Content
This volume is an administration report covering the years 1926 to 1937 (though in some subjects the report goes further back than 1926) and deals mainly with the activities of the Bahrain Government. It includes text, photographic images, graphs and tables. The report was based on annual reports of the financial and government departments which are made every year. A contents page can be found on folio 3, followed by a General Review by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, dated December 1937 (folio 4).
The contents are divided into the following sections and sub-sections:
- Finance (folio 5): Revenue;
- The State Police and Public Security (folios 5v-10v): The Levy Corps, Political Disturbances, Attempt to assassinate the Shaikh, Indian Levy Corps, Crime and Prostitution, Drugs and Liquor, The State Jail, The Present Police Force, Administration and Routine, Changing Nature of Duties, Recent Innovations, Police Band, Camel Section, Shooting, Uniforms, Police Training in India, and The Naturs;
- Customs Department and Revenue (folios 10v-13v): Organisation and Establishment, Revenue (Customs Duty, Import Yard charges, Khanchieh, Porterage, Pier Fees, Landing Company, Mainland Cargo, Optional Cargo System, Transhipment Cargo), Transit Cargo, Export Dues, Boat-Building, Customs Improvements, Steamship Lines, and Future Improvements;
- Judicial (folios 13v-19v): Institution of Courts, The Bahrain Court (Criminal Cases, Civil Cases, Diving Cases, Land Cases, Fish-Trap Cases), The Bahrain Small Court, Shera [Sharia] Court (Sunni and Shia), The Mejlis Tajara [Majlis Tijārah] and Diving Court, Small Mixed Court, Laws and Codes, Police Regulations, and Judicial Legislation (Diving Regulations, Wakils Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. , Mortgages, Appeals, Statute of Limitations, Liability of Government Servants);
- Public Works (folios 19v-23v): Roads, Buildings (Suk al-Khamis [Sūq al-Khamīs] Mosque, Idari Water Channel and Mosque, Manamah School and Workshop, Barracks, Police Station, New Customs House, Shops, Palace Wall, Law Courts, Bazaar Buildings, Jufair Naval Base, and Manamah-Muharraq Road;
- Land Registration (folios 23v-24v): Survey, Reports on Land Cases, Registration of Sales and Titles, Mortgages, Government Title Deeds, Fish-Traps, and Leases and Government Forms;
- Education (folios 24v-27v): Formation of an Education Committee, Muharraq School Built, Jaffarieh [al-Ja‘farīyah] School, Opening of a Girls' School, Appointment of a School Inspector, Strike of Students and Masters, Reforms in the Schools, Disappearance of School Committees, Amalgamation of Manamah Boys' Schools, Technical Education, Bahrain Boys at Beyrout University [American University of Beirut], Education of the Ruling Family, and Future Development of Education;
- Electric Department (folios 27v-29r): Original Installation, Muharraq Extension, Share of Municipalities, Progress, State Engineer, Progress, First Profitable Year, Future Prospects, Telephone System, and Summary of Seven Years' Working;
- Agriculture (folios 29r-31v): Land Tenure, Date Cultivation, Lucerne, Cereals, Cotton, Tobacco, Fruit Trees, and Vegetables.
- Wakf [Waqf] Administration (ff. 31v-35r): Nature of Wakfs, Shaikh Khalaf, Syed Adnan's Administration, Appointment of a Council, Previous attempts to organise Wakf Department, Progress of Administration and Elections, Results, Future Development, and Sunni Wakf Administration;
- Passport Department (folio 35r);
- Municipalities (folios 35r-38r): Constitution and History (Manamah and Muharraq), Municipal Finance, Municipal Taxation, Municipal Achievement, Roads, Manamah (Conservancy, Sanitation, Water Supply, Malaria, Fire Precautions, Markets and Food Regulations, Public Health Measures, Gardens, Cemeteries), and Muharraq Municipality;
- The Pearl-Diving Industry (folios 38r-40v): General, The Diving System, The Reforms, Demonstrations by Divers, The Slump, Diving Mortgages, Divers' Debts, Transfer of Divers, The Catch, and Recent Changes;
- Social and Political Developments (folios 41r-42v): Arabs and Baharna, The Baharna, The Townsfolk, Houses, Games, Class Changes, The Ruling Family, and The Women.
Photographic images appear on eleven folios, and they are labelled as follows:
- Folio 7: 'Sooq Al Khamis Mosque' and 'A Village Dispensary';
- Folio 11: 'An Artesian Well (Showing head of water)' and 'A Natural Spring (Adari [‘Adhārī])';
- Folio 14: 'Meat Market', 'Slaughter House', and 'Metal Vegetable Market (Under Construction)';
- Folio 15: 'Modern Village in Manamah', 'A Street in Manamah', and 'Municipal Garden, Manamah';
- Folio 16: 'A Small Pearling Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. ';
- Folio 21: 'New Customs House and Round-about', 'Government Shops', and 'Women's Dispensary';
- Folio 22: 'The Palace Manamah', 'Manamah Muharraq Sea Road', and 'The Road (From the Sea)';
- Folio 25: 'Manamah Boys' School', 'School Workshops', and 'A Village School';
- Folio 30: 'A road in Manamah' and 'Street in Muharraq';
- Folio 32: 'A Policeman' and 'Police on Parade';
- Folio 33: 'Buildings Constructed by Bahrain Government at Naval Base, Jufair [al-Jufayr]', 'Clerk in Charge's House', 'Canteen', and 'Officer's Building'.
Folio 17 is a graph entitled 'A decade of Customs Progress'. A note on the title page reads 'Property of H.B.M. Embassy Bahrain' (folio 2r) and the back cover includes a label that reads: 'Printed at the Dolphin Press, Brighton, England' (folio 43v).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (43 folios)
- Arrangement
This file contains a page of contents (folio 3) which references pages of the report.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: Folios 1-43.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/750/1
- Title
- 'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:42v, back-i, back
- Author
- Belgrave, Sir Charles Dalrymple
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact copyright@bl.uk with any information you have regarding this item.