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Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [36r] (71/320)
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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
The Shah was interested in a bronze statute found near Malamir, stated to
be a 4,000-year-old figure of Shahpur. He ordered it to be sent to Tehran, as he
thinks the metal may contain gold.
The Shah examined the plans of the new streets proposed for Ahwaz and
several other towns, and approved them. Although unpopular at the beginning
of the visit, the Governor-General seems to have outlasted the Shah’s visit.
As a final act before leaving Ahwaz, His Imperial Majesty summoned all the
officials and impressed upon them the importance of their duties. He urged them
to carry them out faithfully and zealously.
I am sending copy of this despatch to His Majesty’s vice-consul at Khor-
ramshalir (No. 443).
v
Enclosure 2.
Letter from Consul Watkinson, to Mr. Seymour, No. 13, dated 31st March
1937.
I have the honour to report that the long-expected visit of His Majesty the
Shah has at last taken place, after rumours had been current that all the prepa
rations as described in my diary for February were in vain, as he would not leave
the capital. From the 'western democratic standpoint, much appears to have
been done in advance to render the visit unpalatable, and little during its progress
to make it agreeable to the inhabitants of Shiraz.
2. The amount said to have been spent by the Governor-General and the
municipal authorities on successive schemes of decoration has already been reported.
A sum equal to five times that amount is generally believed to have been collected
from the people and has not been accounted for, in addition to which many notables
and merchants were forced to buy photographs of the Imperial Family at an exces
sive price, and tales are told of those who demurred being beaten. Every mason
and carpenter in the town who did not hide was ordered to give his services free.
Finally, only four of the original twenty-seven arches were left, erected nominally
by the municipality, the ladies of Shiraz, the Sherket-i-Panbeh and the Sherket-i-
Sedarat. The remainder were demolished on instructions from Tehran that
Muharrem could not be observed with flags and rejoicing. The two cotton mills,
which had spent very considerable sums on erecting arches by order of the Governor-
General, were instructed to remove them.
3. Two days before the arrival of His Majesty the road to Bushire was closed
to all traffic. The mail also ceased to arrive from the north. At the same time
the town was occupied by an armed police force from Tehran, and traffic was for
the most part diverted from the main roads through the town over which the
Imperial procession was to pass. Donkeys and their drivers in particular seemed
to be unpopular. In addition to armed patrols, plain-clothes policemen mingled
with the crowds of curious onlookers at the final preparations, and they must have
heard much murmuring. Two members of the Church Missionary Society from
Isfahan, who had obtained permission from the Rais-i-Amnieh to go to Bushire
on the 24th March, were stopped on the road between Borazjan and Bushire and
told that they must wait for three days at Ahmedi, a small and unpleasant village,
till the Shah had passed. On payment of some inducement, they were permitted
to continue their journey. This savours of the old days of rahdari.
4. It is pleasing to be able to record that the Rais-i-Amnieh was himself
held up on the following day by an over-zealous policeman and was forced to
return for a few words with the chief of police.
5. All stray dogs were shot without warning by the police during the few
weeks preceding His Majesty’s arrival, and a number belonging to private indivi
duals were done away with.
6. It was reported on the 26th March that His Majesty was very displeased
with his reception in complete silence at Bushire, and that instructions were sent
to Kazerun and to Shiraz that it would be well to improve on this. On the way
up from Bushire His Majesty visited the excavations at Shahpur, where he was
received by M. Goddard, of the Ministry of Education. He then returned to
Kazerun, where he spent the night along with most of the provincial officials.
MC184EAD
About this item
- 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 View the complete information for this record
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Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’ [36r] (71/320), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3443, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100044336375.0x000048> [accessed 13 June 2026]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3443
- Title
- Coll 28/39(2) ‘Persia. Printed Correspondence, 1937–’
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:7r, 8r:11r, 12v:14v, 16r:16v, 20r, 23r:32r, 34r:41v, 42v:48r, 50v:55r, 56r:61r, 63r:65r, 68r:69r, 71v, 75v:77v, 79r:81v, 82v:85v, 89r, 91r:91v, 92v:93r, 94v:96v, 97v:101r, 102v:108v, 115r:118r, 124r, 125r:130v, 132r:134r, 136r:139r, 141r:141v, 145r:146v, 149r:151r, 152r:153v, 154v:159v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence