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'File 9/4 Bahrain Reforms. Introduction of Reforms in Bahrain' [‎42r] (100/224)

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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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APPENDIX I TO REPORT ON BAHRAIN REFORMS.
Memorandum No. -C., doted 13th May 1923, from 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. , Bahrain,
to the Hon hie 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. , Bushire.
In continuation of my No. 55-C., although the Najdis had ostensibly made
peace with the Persians, fresh disturbances on a larger scale broke out on the
morning of the 10th. Abdulla Qosaibi and Mohamed Sherif arrived in the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. with the following story, over which they both agreed : A boy in the
service of Qdsaibi was said to have stolen a broken watch from his house ; another
servant reported to Qosaibi that he had seen it exposed for sale in the shop of
a Persian, and had demanded that it should be handed back. The Persian replied
that he had bought it from the boy for Re. 1, having no reason to suspect that it had
been stolen, and had paid Rs. 2 for its repair. He would return it if he were paid
his out-of-pocket expenses. Abdulla Qosaibi then went himself with two Najdis
to the shop, and demanded the return of the watch without payment. A contro
versy ensued, and Qosaibi compelled the shopkeeper to go with him to Mohamed
Sherif. It is said that he was roughly handled by Qosaibi's men. Mohamed
Sherif endeavoured to placate the Persian and himself paid the Rs. 3 demanded.
Qosaibi left, the matter being apparently settled. Very shortly after, the two
Persians arrived at Mohamed Sherif's office bleeding profusely from dagger wounds,
which, they said, had been inflicted by two Najdis. Mahomed Sherif, fearing to
send them through the bazaar in their wounded state, sent word to Qosaibi asking
him to come and see them. On Qosaibi's arrival he pointed out that the matter
was likely to be a more serious one than they could themselves settle and requested
Qosaibi to send the Najdis to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , while he would order the Persians to do
likewise, and get the matter settled by 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. . Qosaibi suggested
that they should first make their own enquiries and during the delay the whole
bazaar flared up, and a general fight ensued bet ween Najdis and Persians. Qosaibi
and Mahomed Sherif came to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. by a round about way to avoid the fight.
Mahomed Sherif asked for the assistance of the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. Guard to quell the dis-
' turbance. ^his request I felt unable to comply with, as I thought the use of the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. detachment at a moment when the fight was actually in progress, might
well force a situation, the result of which could not be foreseen. I endeavoured to
persuade Mahomed Sherif and Qosaibi to come with me to the bazaar to use their
influence with their respective parties. Qosaibi however was uncontrollably
excited, and bitter against the Persians whom he accused of having collected
heavily armed. He admitted that the first signs of the actual disturbance he
had seen were the two wounded Persians, Meanwhile Yusuf Kanoo arrived by
Mr. Meikle of ' Mespers '. He stated that the affray had grown serious and suggest
ed the use of the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. troops in the bazaar. I declined on the grounds above
stated. Having however ascertained that there was no crowd between the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
and Messrs. ' Mespers ' office, which is well away from the bazaar, and therefore
no likelihood of a collision, I left orders for the Guard to march there but to take no
action of any sort. I caused Yusuf Kanoo to despatch several people to the
bazaar to spread the news that the troops were coming. I then proceeded to the
bazaar myself, by car. Qosaibi declined to accompany me, and fearing that it
would give a false impression if I took with me only the leader of the Persians, I went
accompanied by Yusuf Kanoo and a Qatar merchant. On arrival I found the
actual fighting had ceased, doubtless as a result of the news that troops had left the
Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. . The bazaar was full cf excited Najdis, armed with lathis and some with
swords, daggers and firearms. At first no Persians were to be seen, but later a few
who lived on the spot came out of their buildings. I proceeded to collect sticks,
etc., from the crowd and to disperse them as far as possible. When it was clear
that the situation was in hand and a collision was very improbable, I sent word to
the Guard who were at Messrs. Mespers, to march with me through the bazaar, and
then sent them back to the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. . Shortly after, Qosaibi arrived with a crowd of
Najdis. Meanwhile Mr. Mackie had appeared from Yusuf Kanoo's house. He
assisted me to cause the dead and wounded to be removed, which I ^vas anxious to
do early, lest their presence should cause a further outbreak. W e caused to be
removed iwo dead Persians and one Najdi, and two Persians and one Najdi who were
still just breathing. A number of wounded who could walk were sent to hospital.
During these proceedings Qosaibi was beside himself with rage against the Persians,
making a fresh scene as each injured Najdi was discovered. His behavioui unduly

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.

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'File 9/4 Bahrain Reforms. Introduction of Reforms in Bahrain' [‎42r] (100/224), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/131, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023403812.0x000065> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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