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'File 8/16 Bahrain Intelligence Reports' [‎151r] (301/432)

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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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Bahrain Jur^d to Es 65. By July 7th the price had dool.n nocl
to Rs 60«and, at the &ivi of the period undox* ropor't^ the price
was fairly steady at Rs 59-60.
The price of sovereigns appears to fluctuate with
the ebb and flow of Allied military fortunes; when the Allies
suffer reverses, the price of sovereigns rises; when fortune
smiles on the Allied arms, the sovereign at once declines in
value.
(b) Rupee notes to the value of several lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of
rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. have been exported from Bahrain to Kuwait in recent
weeks. Brokers from Kuwait arrive with rupee drafts on Bah
rain, which are met by payment in rupee notes. These notes
are then taken by dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. to Kuwait, where they are tendered in
payment of further rupee drafts on Bahrain. The profit on
this transaction is believed to be about 1.5%. It is under
stood in Bahrain that the Kuwait Bank obtains most of its
requirements of rupee notes from these brokers. The Bahrain
Bank imports currency notes from India by air, and by this
means avoids the heavy insurance charges levied on notes
carried by British India Steam Navigation Company steamer^ The
Kuwait Bank, however, cannot import notes direct by air, and
it is cheaper for them to buy in the local market notes which
have come from Bahrain than to obtain their requirements by
sea from India.
Kuwaiti brokers are also operating in another manner.
They arrive here with rupee drafts on Bahrain, which are duly
cashed. With the proceeds are purchased drafts on Qatif,
which are used for the purchase of Saudi Riyals at a premium
of Rs 50-60 per thousand Riyals. These Saudi Riyals are then
sent by dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. to Kuwait where they are sold to Iraqi merchants
at a premium of 2 annas per Saudi Riyal, or Rsl25 per thousand
Saudi Riyals. With the proceeds of the sale of these Saudi
Riyals fresh rupee drafts on Bahrain are obtained, and the
circle of profit begins again. In so far as the Saudi Riyals
finding their way to Kuwait are used by Iraqi merchants for
the purchase from Bedouin of camels, sheep, goats, skins etc.,
this commerce is legitimate and useful. It is not unlikely,
however, that many of the Riyals which reach Iraqi hands via
Bahrain and Kuwait are used for the purchase of gold* in res
pect of which there appears to be an inexhaustible supply in
Saudi Arabia and an insatiable demand in Iraq.
134. The Shaikh of Fujairah .
Reference para 120 of Intelligence Summary No.12 of
1942 in which it was reported that Shaikh Mohammad bin Hamad
al Sharqi, Shaikh of Fujairah, had arrived at Bahrain on June
27th.
After a short stay in Bahrain as the guest of H.H.
Shaikh Salman, the Shaikh of Fujairah left for the mainland
eh route to Riyadh where he proposes to see Ibn Saud.
135. Bahrain and Qatar .
Reference para 91 of Intelligence Summary No.10 of
1942 in which some account was given of H.H. the Shaikh of
Bahrain’s attitude towards Qatar.
During his recent visit to Dohah 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.
raised tentatively with the Shaikh of Qatar the question of
relations with Bahrain. Though 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. made an
oblique approach to the subject, the Shaikh’s reaction was
violent in the extreme. He behaved as would a cask of gun
powder to which the flame of a match is brought gradually
closer; however gentle and insensible the approach of the
match, the moment contact is made an explosion occurs. Thus
the Shaikh of Qatar exploded. He could not understand, he
said, why the Shaikhs of Bahrain were carrying on so virulent
/ and

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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' [‎151r] (301/432), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/314, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025549536.0x000066> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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