Ext 5001/41 'PERSIA – INTERNAL (Miscellaneous despatches).' [‎29r] (57/248)

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Declaration of War on Jafan.
52. On the 28th February, Persia set the seal on Japan’s fate by declaring
war on her.
Indian Affairs.
^ 53. By the end of March the Indo-Iranian Cultural Society succeeded in
overcoming the inertia of and other obstacles presented by the Persian Ministi les
of Education and Agriculture and selected (1) four Persian graduates tor the
Government of India’s scholarships for the three-year course at the Lyallpur
Agricultural College in the Punjab, (2) two for the two years Forest Rangers
course at the Imperial Forestry College at Dehra Dun, and (3) five for the Delhi
Polytechnic courses in textile and ordinary engineering. The offer of six scholar
ships at the Aitchison College, Lahore, had to be rejected a,s it was found that
no Persian youth had sufficient knowledge of English to join the college betore
reaching the age of 16 or 17 and the college course is planned to take boys from
8 to 17. The difficult problem of getting, the young men to Zahidan was
unexpectedly solved by the welcome offer of accommodation in an Indian army
motor convoy which happened to be crossing Persia from Iraq at the beginning
f ril
54 In March the Society was “ At Home ” and lectures on “ The Philology
of Persian, Sanskrit and Russian Works ” and “ The Effect of Persian Literature
in India ’ ’ were given by Pandit Rahul Sankrityayana (Professor of Sanskrit at
the Moscow University) and M. Bahar (the Persian Poet-Laureate) respectively.
At this gathering some excellent films produced by “ Information Films of India
were shown and much appreciated.
55. The English classes at Meshed, Kerman and Yezd had teeth mg-troubles
caused partly by the Indian teachers’ lack of knowledge of colloquial Persian and
partly by incompatibility of temperament, but also by the exceptionally cold
winter which kept students away from these classes. An Indian teacher is now
on his way to Ahwaz. , r TT ^ ,
56. The Indian Trade Commissioner elect (Major M. Hassan) was detained
in India by ill-health but is expected in May.
57. The Indian Troops’ Welfare Association continued to entertain the
Indian troops of the small garrison in Tehran. The coming spring and summer
will enable the association to co-operate with the Army Welfare Services in the
organisation of excursions to beauty spots in the mountains near Tehran.
British Propaganda Activities.
58. No new activities have been commenced during the three months under
review. Our publications continue to circulate with varying degrees of
popularity; the Daily News sales have declined slightly—probably because of
the decrease in the numbers of British and American troops in Persia; the
Children's Newspaper is as popular as ever; the Women's Magazine is not doing
as well as we should like; while Ta/sir, the highbrow weekly, is being distributed
as in the past to Persian notabilities and newspapers.
59. With the possible cessation of the German war, British propaganda
activities are being directed firstly towards emphasising the Japanese war and
secondly towards stressing the importance of British trade.
60. On the 21st March a large party was held at Victory House to mark
the closing down of the “ Voice of Britain ” on the Tehran Radio.
British Council.
61. The number of pupils taught by the British Council went up during the
quarter from 4,000 to 4,500, the increases being registered in all three Anglo-
Persian institutes operating in Persia (Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz). The usual
cultural activities continued during the period under review, the high lights
being the first performances in Persia of plays by Shaw (“ Candida’ ) and
Priestley ( iC The Long Mirror ”). The concerts of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra
(which are sponsored by the Council) continued to be packed to capacity.
62. A notable visitor was the actress, Miss Marie Ney, who gave a successful
presentation of Shakespeare’s Women before a large and distinguished audience
and was honoured by a command performance before the Persian Court.
Tribal Affairs.
63. During the first quarter of 1945 the tribes have, on the whole, remained
quiet and have given no trouble. The Persian Government, while doing nothing
[66—57! -