Coll 20/5 'Muscat: Sur: Misbehaviour of Beni Bu Ali tribe; Aiqa customs post; Question of Air Action' [40r] (79/531)
The record is made up of 1 file (262 folios). It was created in 26 Nov 1931-12 Apr 1938. 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
to bring pressure, it is considered that operations should he
confined to arrest of fishing craft between Bai’ah and Duhat Kabal.
Although the question of tribal responsibility has to
be considered, I am not at all anxious to extend operations north
and west of Duhat Kabal, since Shihuh villages beyond this point
cannot have been concerned, other than that they belong to the same
tribe, and I do not wish to have embittered tribesmen from Kumzah,
Khessab and Bakreh sitting on the doorstep when the naval base at
Khor Kuwai is left in the hands of Muscat! caretakers, and also
when sloops carry out their annual bombardment practices in
Elphinstone Inlet.
At present relations with these tribesmen are friendly,
and they are supplying Khor Kuwai with fish, dates and other
foodstuffs and water, and will be required to do so in the future.
7. Again, several separate operations are likely to be
necessary in order to round up sufficient fishing boats to a value
of 1,000
Rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
. The doubtful weather from November onwards,
the lightness and unseaworthiness of the craft to be towed and the
distance to Muscat, 170 to 180 miles, with no ports of refuge en
route, render the safe towage of these craft a very doubtful
proposition. Alternatively the arrest and detention of these
craft alongside a sloop for an indefinite period whilst Sheikh of
Bai’ah changes his mind seems an equally precarious proposition;
although shelter could be found in Duhat Haffah or Duhat Kabal if
craft could be towed there in time, otherwise they would have to be
released in the interests of their own safety.
8. I would therefore suggest for your consideration that
proposed future operations against Shihuh fishing craft should be
abandoned, and that as a more effective alternative that Sheikh of
Bai*ah should be informed that his fort will be bombarded on a date
to be fixed, plenty of notice being given, and that on and after
that date all Shihuh craft found between Bai’ah and Duhat Kabal,
either hauled up on the beach or afloat, will be destroyed, the
crews being taken off and landed; until such time as he hands over
About this item
- Content
The file contains letters, telegrams, minutes, notes, and draft correspondence relating to two incidents in Oman. The first, which the majority of the papers deal with, was the rebellious attitude of members of the Beni Bu Ali tribe, led by Shaikh Ali bin Abdullah al Hamudah. The papers, which concern efforts by the British to assist the Muscat authorities in bringing the tribe to order, cover the following matters:
- the proposal and consequences of a visit to Sur by the President of the Council of Ministers, Sayyid Said bin Taimur Al Bu Said [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], and 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. , Captain Reginald George Evelyn William Alban, to negotiate with Shaikh Ali in October 1931
- the effort to establish a customs post at Aiqa
- the question of the appropriate use of force
- arrangements for further visits in December 1931
- the seizure of dhows belonging to the Beni Bu Ali tribe
- the Government of India's disapproval 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. 's conduct
- letters of congratulations and thanks following the peaceful resolution of the crisis
- the question of when to restore Shaikh Ali's privileges.
The second incident covered by the file is the murder of a British Indian man by a member of the Shihuh tribe in June 1936. The correspondence discusses the action that should be taken.
The principal correspondents are 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. , 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 Muscat, Government of India (Foreign and Political Department), Foreign Office, Admiralty, Air Ministry, Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, 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. , Sultan Said bin Taimur, and Shaikh Ali of the Beni Bu Ali.
The file contains several reports, as follows:
- Report on the visit to Sur of 26 October 1931, by Captain Alban, 31 October 1931 (folios 223-26)
- Report on the 'Situation at Sur and Aiqa', with notes on the Bani Bu Ali tribe, by the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Division, 20 December 1931 (folios 137-51)
- Report on the crisis as a whole by Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Vincent Biscoe, 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. , 19 March 1932 (folios 97-108)
- Report on 'Operations at Sur, 4th-9th March 1932' by the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Division, 19 March 1932 (folios 85-87)
- Report on the situation at Sur a year after the crisis by Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, 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. , 4 March 1933 (folios 74-76).
A sketch map of the area around Sur can be found on folio 193.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (262 folios)
- Arrangement
The file is arranged in chronological order from the back to the front.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 265; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Coll 20/5 'Muscat: Sur: Misbehaviour of Beni Bu Ali tribe; Aiqa customs post; Question of Air Action' [40r] (79/531), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2957, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100045791024.0x000052> [accessed 29 March 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2957
- Title
- Coll 20/5 'Muscat: Sur: Misbehaviour of Beni Bu Ali tribe; Aiqa customs post; Question of Air Action'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:15v, 17r:108v, 111r:226v, 230r:265v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence