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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [‎131r] (261/432)

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The record is made up of 1 file (214 folios). It was created in 20 Jan 1941-31 Dec 1942. 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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I
-7-
on Rs 800/- per mensem^ and Indian employees of the Bahrain
Petroleum Company think that they should be paid on a similar
scale« ^ A copy of the representation has been forwarded to
the Resident 9 but the Political Agent’s comments will only
follow when he has been able to master the feelings of im
patience and disgust which spontaneously rise in him whenever
he studies the revealing document.
(iii) Reference para 64 (ii) of Intelligence Summary No.8
of 1942 in which^were reported the reactions of American employ
ees to the restrictions placed on their freedom to Seave Bah
rain at will. The position has now been accepted by all and
sundry. The Companies have been careful not to ask for per
mits to leave Bahrain for employees whom they cannot replace ?
and several Americans are now being held until information is
received that their reliefs have arrived at 9 or are on their
way to 9 Bahrain,
(iv) Over Fs 2000 was raised for War Charities by a perform
ance of '-'Mr. Pym passes by’ ? staged at Awaii on the 14th and
16th May.
94. Abdul Karim M ahmud .
During the period under renort were enacted further
scenes in a drama on which the final curtain has not yet des
cended.
In the middle of February an Iraqi named Abdul Karim
Mahmud landed at Dubai. The fact was reported to the British
Embassy at Baghdad who intimated 9 a month later 9 that the man
was wanted by the Basra police for complicity in a bomb conspir
acy. For several weeks 9 while Abdul Karim was kept under close
but unobtrusive surveillance at Dubai 9 the authorities concern-
ed discussed ways and means of arresting the wanted man and
taking him to Basrah. Several plans were proposed, only to
be rejected as impracticable or impolitic. The difficulties
were ^many. There was no legal sanction for formal extradition^
and informal extradition woulc constitute a breach of the sac
red^ laws of Arab hospitality (for Abdul Karim was the guest of
Shaikh Said bin Maktum 9 Ruler of Dubai). Means of transnort-
ing Abdul Karim from Dubai to Basrah were also not readily
available. ^ Eventually it became imperative to take some
kind of positive action as Abdul Karim was becoming restive
and had expressed his intention of leaving Dubai in the near
future for Qatar and Saudi Arabia. When action was at last
decided upon it was taken swiftly and effectively. On the 19th
May the Commander of a small naval vessel called on the Politi
cal Agent, and every aspect of the situation was discussed. At
daybreak on May 21st the vessel arrived off Sharjah, and the
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. Agent went aboard. He arranged for the ship's
launch to^lie off a deserted part of the beach betweem Shar
jah and Hira. On receipt of a prearranged message Shaikh
Rashid (son of the Ruler of Dubai) told Abdul Karim that the
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. Agent wanted to see him urgently, and he was sent
off in a taxi with a driver who had been told exactly where
to take his passenger. Immediately after the taxi had left,
Abdul Karim's belongings were rapidly bundled together and sent
after him in a second taxi. Abdul Karim found the 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.
Agent waiting for him on the beach. Their meeting was dramatic
in the extreme, and^Abdul Karim, when told that he was being
sent back to Iraq, immediately demanded to see his host, the
Shaikh of Dubai. This request was refused by the 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.
Agent, who wisely added that the Shaikh had nothing to do with
the affair. Abdul Karim was abusive, but not violent’ indeed,
violence would have been of no avail since the 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. Agent
was accompanied by two men armed with cudgels and a third
armed with a rifle. Abdul Karim's final threat to the Residen
cy Agent was forceful. "After four months" he said "I shall
come to this place when your masters are no longer in existence,
and I shall then han^you by the neck with hooks".
/ Abdul

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Content

The file contains fortnightly intelligence summaries produced by the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. at Bahrain for the years 1941-42. The reports, marked as secret, were sent to the Government of India, the 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. , and numerous diplomatic, political, and military offices in the Middle East. Most of the reports cover a two week period, though due to holidays, tours, and work pressures some cover an entire month.

The reports are divided into short sections that relate to a particular subject, often closely connected to the Second World War. Contained within the file is intelligence on the following:

Folios 57-61 are correspondence relating to the alleged sinking of an Iranian dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. by a British man-of-war in March 1941.

Folios 85-88 is a list of prominent individuals in Bahrain, compiled 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. at Bahrain, Reginald Alban, and submitted to the Political 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. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. at Bushire.

Folio 122 is the statement of thirteen Qatari sailors who were aboard a dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. sunk by a Japanese submarine on 12 April 1942.

Folio 176 is a telegram from the Government of India in New Delhi requesting that intelligence summaries differentiate between truly confidential content and that which can be distributed more widely.

Folio 190 is a letter, dated 15 October 1942, from Charles Geoffrey Prior, 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. , to Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, 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, regarding the risk of including information about the revival of the slave trade in the Gulf in his diaries due to their wide readership.

Included in the file is correspondence between 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. and the Naval Officer in Charge at Basrah regarding prominent people of the region and events of the war.

On the inside of the front cover is the distribution list for the summaries.

Extent and format
1 file (214 folios)
Arrangement

The file is arranged chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 216; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [‎131r] (261/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/314, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025549536.0x00003e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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