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Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎3r] (5/320)

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The record is made up of 1 file (158 folios). It was created in 11 Oct 1937-25 Nov 1942. It was written in English and French. 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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3
2. The Shah and the prince left Tehran on September 29th and travelled
via Zinjan, Bustanabad, Ardebil and Ahar, arriving in Tabriz on October
4th. They remained here until the morning of the 7th, when they left by
train for Marand and Julfa. Thence they are travelling southwards through
Western Azerbaijan. When they reach Mianduab from Sauj Bulak they will
have almost completely circled the lake, but at that point they will turn
southwards towards Kermanshah. The party includes Hussein Samii,
Shakuh-ul-Mulk, Ser Lashkar Nagidi, Dr. Alam and Moadab-i-Nafici.
3. Officials here have represented the tour as having a double purpose.
It is a routine visit ol inspection by the Shah, and at the same time an oppor
tunity to make the prince acquainted with the northerly parts ol the country.
The Shah’s last visit took place two years ago, when he passed through Azer
baijan on his way to Turkey. This is the prince’s first visit.
4. As I have reported in my diaries, there had been, quite early in
the year, preliminary alarms of this visit, but the authorities did not appear
until very nearly the end of September, to know the exact date of the Shah’s
arrival. Enough, however, was known early in the month to cause them to
begin preparations in earnest. A great effort was made to render the city
more attractive superficially by painting woodwork and whitewashing walls
along the main khiabans and by erecting long stretches of new walls to mask
the unsightly debris of abandoned buildings. The roads were repaired by
the emergency method of spreading great quantities of sand and small gravel
over them. Soldiers and school-children were drilled intensively, merchants
were ordered to purchase new suits, the various branches of the administra
tion were overhauled and the people generally were, in so far as the authori
ties could influence them, coached to appear in a three-day performance.
The tinsel was supplied during the last week in the form of twenty-one arches
over the main arteries, erected by communities and merchants, voluntarily
in most cases, but at a hint from the police in others. The principal show
piece was the new town-clock which the municipal engineer, with the help
of a Hungarian electrician, got into temporary working order just in txme for
His Majesty’s arrival.
5. The deputies from Azerbaijan arrived back in their districts ahead
of the Shah.
6. On the morning of Sunday, October 4th, the soldiers, police and school-
children were in position at 8 a.m., about three and a half hours before the
royal car appeared. The children had provided themselves with bouquets
of flowers, but they had been carefully instructed to drop them near their
own feet, and on no account to throw them in the direction of the Shah.
Although the bazaars had been closed, the pavements were rather thinly
lined, while no spectators were allowed on the roofs or at the upper windows,
the police having visited all houses along the royal route to lock the
doors of front upper rooms and remove the keys. The people were ill-
rewarded lor their long wait. The Shah’s car had come and ^ gone so
quickly that few people saw more than a red hat-band on the right side
and a vague figure on the left. There was a little perfunctory hand-clapping
at some points, at others a chilly silence. Nowhere was there any joyful
outburst, and the crowd which dispersed was sullen and unsatisfied. It
was obvious that this result was in part due to the Shah’s apparent indiffer
ence. Since practically any crowd, anywhere, likes a show it seems probable
that if the royal car had been open, instead of closed, and driven at ten instead
of about twentyfive miles an hour, there would have been a more cheerful
greeting for father and son. There was no halt to examine and admire the
triumphal arches. The Shah might have been the general of an army of
occupation, passing through the nearly silent lines of people. I am told that
when he visited Tabriz as Prime Minister the people cheered and demonstrated
whole-heartedly; even two years ago there was warmth m the welcome given
to him as compared with last Sunday’s. One must conclude that there is
a marked, and growing, lack of sympathy between Riza Shah and the people
of this district.
7. The crowd contained a number of unveiled women, but it is estimated
that there were no more than a few hundreds of unveiled Moslem women

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Content

Printed correspondence from the Government of India’s Foreign and Political Department (later referred to as the External Affairs Department), collated into yearly collections under the heading ‘Iran Series’. The original correspondence was sent by British representatives in Iran (chiefly the British Legation in Tehran) to the Foreign Office. The correspondence concerns: the announcement of laws, decrees, regulations, and budgets by the Government of Iran, the texts of which were frequently published in the newspaper Le Journal de Tehran ; reports from British consular officials covering a range of subjects, including commercial activities, foreign relations and the commercial activities of foreign individuals and companies in Iran, provincial affairs, and the activities of the Shah; in 1939 and 1940, reports concerning the impact of the Second World War on Iran, with a large number of reports from the Press Attaché to the British Legation in Tehran, reporting the dissemination of propaganda and public opinion in Iran.

At the end of the file is a single item of original correspondence, sent by the Secretary to the Government of India. Dated 24 August 1942, it announces the discontinuation of the printing of the Persia [Iran] series for the duration of the war (f 159).

A large number of items in the file are in French. These include the texts of Iranian Government laws, regulations and announcements that were published in Le Journal de Tehran .

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (158 folios)
Arrangement

The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 160; 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.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [‎3r] (5/320), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3443, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044336375.0x000006> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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