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'File 9/4 Bahrain Reforms. Introduction of Reforms in Bahrain' [‎3r] (22/224)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (98 folios). It was created in 30 Dec 1921-27 Jul 1924. 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. .

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3
5
me that it made no difference to him, that he was an old man and only wanted
peace All he desired was that Hamad should inform him of anything important
that he had done, m order that " I should not look foolish when people talk to me."
his tnil> represented his outlook at that time, before he had been influenced by
lamily intrigues, and he was always most amenable and easy to deal with.
Shaikh Abdulla for a short time accepted the situation. I advised him ear
nestly to endeavour to make himself popular, and to dispel tJie ill-feeling every
where apparent towards him, in order that later he might occupy with credit the
position of Assistant to Shaikh Hamad. He swore to do this, but later events have
proved that the situation is not to his liking, and that he still entertains hopes of
ousting Hamad from the succession.
An insidious campaign was started by Abdulla's mother, who is a masterful
person, and has the greatest influence on Shaikh Easa. This lady holds as regular
court, and imprisons and punishes at will, with total disregard of the most
elementary laws of even Arab justice. Gradually Shaikh Easa has been put against
Shaikh Hamad until at this stage his enmity to him, and partiality to Shaikh
Abdulla is patent to all.
Persons ^ho are oppressed, or have ordinary disputes, are encouraged by
Abdulla's party to apply to Hamad for redress. Behind the scenes the case is
misrepresented to Shaikh Easa, who is induced to thwart Shaikh Hamad in his
endeavours to dispose of the case expeditiously and justly. In some cases in which
he has endeavoured to decide, the matter has been suddently taken out of his hands •
by Shaikh Easa himself. The news is then spread that Shaikh Hamad was in
capable of settling the affair properly.
In municipal affairs in which the concurrence or assistane of Shaikh Easa is
required, the matter is invariably misrepresented to him, as either derogatory to
his dignity, or harmful to his revenues, and if Shaikh Hamad endeavours to dispel
the false idea he is accused to Shaikh Easa, by Abdulla's mother, of treachery to
him.
Shaikh Hamad is extremely popular with all communities, and in addition to
being heir-apparent (he was officially recognized as such by the Government of
India in 1901 at Shaikh Easa's request) is in every way the most suitable person to
manage affairs. He is reasonable, and although not much experienced, is always
willing to take advice and to consult notables among his subjects. Our attention
may with advantage be devoted to his eldest son, Solman, who will presumably one
day be Ruler, and who is a young man of considerable promise and anxious to
learn.
Shaikh Hamad is no match for his brother Abdulla in political intrigue, and
unless supported by the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. would in a very short time, be put in a false posi
tion and discredited. Abdulla has surrounded himself by evil advisers, political
offenders from Iraq, Egypt, etc., and spends freely in propaganda and intrigue of
every description. He is unprincipled, and consequently unpopular with all classes,
and the attitude of himself and his followers is best summed up in the statement
of one of the witnesses in the case of Jasim-al-Chirawi, his alter ego, who is stated
to have said : " I will not cease until I have defeated'Shaikh Hamad and the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , and have got affairs again entirely into Abdulla's hands. I will not let
Shaikh Hamad achieve anything he wants, until he will himself resign, and to
obtain this I will get the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. into such repute that no one will care what thev
order."
I beg to quote from the Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , page 943—•
" It was felt also that some of the features of the internal administration of
Bahrain were not altogether creditable to the protecting British
power 1 —— — #
Oppression of subjects too, was rife, carried on not only by the
Shaikh and by men of the A1 Khalifeh family, but also, etc."
CIS^FD.

About this item

Content

The volume contains printed copies of Government of India confidential correspondence, relating to the Bahrain reforms. The majority of the letters contained in volume are printed copies of correspondence originally sent to the Government of India either by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Trevor or Acting Resident Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Knox), or the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. at Bahrain (Major Clive Daly). Much of the correspondence featured in the volume can be found in the original (or as office copies) in a number of files in the two Bahrain Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. subsubseries ‘File 9 Bahrain Reforms’ (IOR/R/15/2/127-138) and ‘File 8 Miscellaneous’ (IOR/R/15/2/121-126), and the Bushire Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. subsubseries ‘File 19 Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/1/314-77).

The printed correspondence contained in the volume covers a range of subjects:

  • Events leading up to the programme of reforms carried out in Bahrain: allegations of the oppression of Bahraini subjects by members of the Āl Khalīfah family, violence, the deteriorating economic situation;
  • The reforms proposed and implemented by British officials: replacement of Shaikh ‘Īsá by Shaikh Ḥamad as defacto ruler, economic reforms, judicial reforms, pearl diving industry reforms, customs house reforms;
  • Specific incidents of violence involving Sunnis and Shias, or Najdis and Persians.

Some of the papers in the volume are accompanied by duplicate copies:

  • Folios 61-64 are duplicates of folios 57-60;
  • Folios 68-69 are duplicates of folios 66-67;
  • Folios 81-84 are duplicates of folios 77-80.
Extent and format
1 volume (98 folios)
Arrangement

The volume's contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, starting with the earliest items at the front and finishing with the latest items at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the front cover to the inside back cover, using uncircled pencil numbers in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . Most of the items in the volume are printed items that have their own internal pagination systems, using printed numbers in the top-right corners of recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages and the top-left corners of verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. pages, or centred at the top of both verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. and recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. pages. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 9/4 Bahrain Reforms. Introduction of Reforms in Bahrain' [‎3r] (22/224), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/131, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023403812.0x000017> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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