'Adminisistration [Administration] Reports 1931-1935' [‎36v] (72/416)

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Th P desire for Municipal progress lias not confined itself to Kuwait for during
the war itlsinteresting l nSteW the people of Qatof m Bm Sand’s temtory,
also petitioned for progress in the same direction.
All this proves the contention, oft put forward by the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. , that the Arab
can be got'to do most things by means of example, and careful propaganda but
as soon as yon attempt to drive him, you come up against suspicion, hostility
and a brick wall.
In the writer’s view it is only a question of time for instance, when the wild
townspeople of Dabai on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. will catch the fever for local reform
and cleanliness, and then will automatically follow the desire for better communica
tion with the outer world, and the present hostility to landing grounds for aero-
planes, etc., will disappear, whilst a wireless station will be t e st modem
irmnva +.1 rm hp, asked for.
The year 1931 saw an almost unbelievable change in the cleanliness of the
town of Kuwait, and last but not least the introduction of an Electric Light plant
foreshadowed in my report for 1930 has become now an accomplished fact. On
8th December of 1931 the Ruler granted the necessary concession to a firm of Jews
in Baghdad, and it is confidently hoped that the coming summer of 1932 will see it
installed together with suitable Ice Plant sufficient to meet the needs of the people.
The concession runs for 35 years.
Among some of the improvements carried out during 1931, the following may
be cited as examples :—
(i) The completion of the new wide road with easy gradient from the Ruler’s
Town Palace on the sea up into the main bazaar. Previously this
portion was so narrow that 3 cars could not pass. Now 3 cars can
move abreast, and the former excessively steep gradient has been
turned into a comparatively gentle slope.
(ii) . The water front for about 600 yards in the vicinity of the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , has
been doubled in width, and dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. owners have been given a line
beyond which they may not transgress, when drawing up their boats
on the beach.
(Hi). Many blind street corners in the Town have been rounded off where
before they were right angular, and motor cars now negotiate them
with ease and safety.
The energetic Mudir al Belladiyeh (Municipal Secretary) Sulaiman al Absani
is today regularly to be seen touring the city in his car, and inspecting the various
Municipal gangs at work on improvements.
This is a pleasant change from the old sleepy order of things.
(c) Education .—There are a number of schools of a sort in Kuwait. The Arabs
conduct at least 52. The Persians have 11, and the Jews and Christians one each,
making a total of 65.
Of the Arab schools 27 are for boys and 25 for girls. The schools are not
under local Government control.
Most of the boys’ schools and the Girls’ schools teach nothing but the reading
of the Qoran and speaking generally no higher form of education is available in
the town which in the writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. s opinion is rather a blessing than otherwise, it being
open to question whether progress in this direction does not breed discontent and
unhappiness.
There are three notable exceptions to the above, viz .'.—
(a) The American Mission School.
(b) The Mubarakiyeh School.
(d) The Ahmadiyeh School.
The first (u) gives by far.the best education in Kuwait, particularly as regards
English, but it only accommodates 20 boys, It is under the direction of the Rev.
J. DeJong.
The second (b) was established as far back as 1912. A sum of Rs. 85,000
was collected by public subscription, of which Rs. 40,000 was used to provide the