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'Future Policy on the Trucial Coast. Correspondence between the Secretary of State for India, the Government of India, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (1929)' [‎100v] (2/10)

The record is made up of 1 file (5 folios). It was created in 23 Oct 1929. 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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* P. 4575/27, not printed; but see P.G. 13, page 89, pams. 14 and 15.
9
3. History will, I think, show few societies which have not passed through the
stage of the assumption of power by murder. That it is inhuman everyone will
admit, but there are many things going on on the Arab coast that are much more
inhuman, and the murder of a Shaikh is only a symptom of a primitive state of affairs
from which development must be gradual and which cannot be altered by the mere
suppression of that symptom. Though there may be possibly some sympathy for the
first Shaikh, it is difficult to feel any for his successors in the blood-stained line.
They know exactly the contract they are taking on.
As a matter of policy the results of interference in successions are very clearly set
forth in para. 3 of Despatch No. 13 of 1927, from the Government of India to" the
Secretary of State for India. 0
If a policy of interference with the will of the people and of bolstering up weak
Shaikhs is to be adopted, the only corollary is practical annexation. Arabia is by no
means exempt from the changed conditions of thought throughout the world, and the
only hope of improvement seems to lie in the development along the Arab coast of
better appreciation of the sanctity of human life and the advantages of social stability.
So long as these violent changes do not affect the lives and security of British
subjects, I fail to see the necessity of viewing them too strictly from the point of view
of an alien school of thought.
4. As regards the wider question of our general policy on the Arabian side, I feel
that with the short period of my tenure here and the small opportunity I have had,
owing to difficulties of transport, of studying on the spot the problems existing there,
any views 1 express can only be of value as the result of the application of a perfectly
fresh outlook on conditions entirely novel to an experience of administration under
conditions in many ways similar, gained on the Indo-Afghan frontier.
Such experience as I have obtained of our dealings with the Trucial Chiefs leads
me to think that possibly both interference and non-interference are cairied in some
matters to a greater degree than is consistent with our interests, and that there is a
complete absence of real political touch. The political duties on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates.
are performed 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, himself on Arab, and as such liable to
Arab intrigues and partisanship. He lives at Shargah, some 8 miles from Dabai,
where the mail steamer calls once a fortnight. Telegraphic communication can
only be made through Henjam by special sailing arrangements in case of great
urgency. The Resident can only pay occasional visits and can only have a very
partial knowledge of what is really going on. In view of the importance of this
portion of the coast, with possibilities of Wahabi aggression and the prospect of
opening up an air service, it seems a matter for argument whether the time has
not now come to post at Dabai a full-time 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 to instal there
telegraphic or wireless communication. The Shaikhs are in general well disposed,
and as life is mainly maritime there is always present in the Navy an efficacious and
prompt weapon to deal with any recalcitrance.
A capable officer provided with a small but seaworthy launch in which he could
visit the outlying Shaikhdoms seems to be the only means by which we can maintain
real political touch with the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and efficiently arrange and maintain a
satisfactory air service on the Arab littoral.
The case is similar as regards Qatar, and it seems to be a matter for consideration
whether closer and more definite arrangements should not be made with this Shaikhdom
under the political advice of 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.
Until some change is made on the lines above 1 can see little prospect of any
satisfactory or safe arrangement for aerial flight on the A rab littoral.
Possibly, now that he has apparently dealt satisfactorily with his recalcitrant Najd
tribes, Bin Sand may be able to take a more liberal view of flights over the Hasa coast,
but in any case the distance between Kuwait and Bahrain is not great. Further
down, however, there would appear to be an ever recurring risk of trouble unless the
position is made more definite and consolidated.
5. Both as regards the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and the larger Shaikhdoms, there would
appear to be a considerable element of doubt as to how far the policy which is
formally and publicly enunciated is being actually carried out and whether it is not
now advisable to review that policy with regard to actual conditions and needs.

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The file contains a note written by John Gilbert Laithwaite of 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. introducing enclosed correspondence between the Secretary of State for India, the Government of India, and 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. concerning the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. policy of His Majesty's Government.

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1 file (5 folios)
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This file consists of a single memorandum.

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Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 100, and terminates at f 104, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, 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. Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.

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'Future Policy on the Trucial Coast. Correspondence between the Secretary of State for India, the Government of India, and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (1929)' [‎100v] (2/10), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/18/B419, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100029571311.0x000003> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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