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Coll 28/9 ‘Persia; Internal affairs; Shah’s tours in Persia: general situation reports’ [‎63r] (136/1038)

The record is made up of 1 volume (514 folios). It was created in 17 Feb 1931-27 Apr 1938. 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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9
NoldJ
118
^Pierian
e ^ e ir rui
^tle rejjojj.
ost powerfilu
many small i
h cfc
' while it io
1 ^ads run;
sts that |r 1
fith the ofe
)ment, btks
s instead of i
numbered, I
the proposdr
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capital ii,
are maiijli
they inhalitl
past andli
it parts ill
nent used If
iradaghi k
iar Askiri
'he Shah’s I
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i country#
It is eoDi
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er, sharp;-
ire Persia® : -
ds the
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Russia is»
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• positipj;
is refers 1 ;
m eist
issia.
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,rates p’;
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c m
citizens, a mulla^ATReLfeh^thnillinAto comneP’ school - childrei1 and respectful
stepped forward and halted the Rovaf nartv J i < -' u|,u ' rista nce to his advantage,
which had been used so profitably on Aln/alr'I ' u l '®P etltl ? n of (l "' sentiments
passage when he undertook to pray fol the A 13 ! 1 *! He had 1 ' eacl 'ed the
Shah’s subjects, when the Shah burstdL wiflf petUal ^ and lo y a % of the
“ Show me one subject who isn’t loyal f n d [ ' iV' m 6 '"'n lm P aUeI1 ce, shouted :
his hands gestured in keep ne Wh bfA ? a11 P" 11 hlm ^ pieces! ” and
terrified, fled. As the Shah waAed on neT^ 8 ' Th f abashed and
demanded: “ Who was that old fool ? ” c ' d hoovered himself somewhat, he
Phis serves rIso to illustT'afp hnw foi* 13^,, ■ r i
of the feeble Muzaffar-ud-Din The Shah has ft laS i < i} langed sin ?. e the days
disdain for the mullahs as a class and for th^ir d a dlStaste and
he appears to dislike them above nil fnr ita i r e11 0 ^'^°! lianis h nonsense, and
as that was in Azerbaijan tmtil 1 fZ 'Z fomer l P°* ltlcal influence. Strong
He has reduced their numbers and prescnbtdYhff j le t has gr ® at }y weakened it.
been here any exhibition of sei vilfv jnA a f dutles ' Whlle there has not
of some mullahs in the south in the matter of nHn W t PaP w le P 0 ,'' t on the P ar t
broad fact remains that the mulkh“e been f 8 and the
,t supreme and with the old enemies of progress powerless to omiose
the Shah has undertaken the social and economic regeneration of the peonle
with as a corollary, the material re-equipment of the country. P P
countrv 6 S ° Cia i! Well ‘ known and general through the
country Briefly, they are based on the acceptance of Western superioritv and
for the first time a Moslem ruling class is humbling itself in presence of its
Chi istian minorities by adopting their social manners. The men now wear
European dress; the women are not effectively unveiled, but the first and greatest
step has been taken m the discarding of the chaddar. The crop of receptions
and parties which Tehran commanded the local officials to stage earlier in
nenprafvJ 1 ? Se f there 18 no 81 g n of that sort of thing becoming
geneial yet awhile; but the younger people of both sexes are prepared to mingle
m European fashion, and again the first step towards a new social order has
been taken. More important than drilling adults in the technique of the afternoon
wffwJcV 8 a-? educatl 1 011 °{ tke young. They are being prepared for a break
with the traditions of their fathers and there is no reason to suppose that they
wi retuse the invitation to move forwards with the promise of new and better
mgs. JNew and in some cases fine school buildings are being erected at various
points throughout the northern provinces. The French curriculum has been
adopted, technical instruction is being given and all pupils are made to play
games, to march and drill and generally to take themselves seriously as future
citizens. All are being taught Persian, and there are to be schools in which
tu? 11 adults ma y I earn Persian. Matters of health are not being neglected,
the Government is establishing new hospitals, while the local Red Lion
committees have provided hospitals and clinics in many towns. X-ray and other
modern equipment has been purchased from Germany at the cost of thousands
of pounds. In theory, preparations are being made to treat all sorts of diseases
m all classes of the population. A proper leper village has just been completed
and promises the end of a long-standing scandal.
As regards the economic sphere, the range of official control and guidance
is very wide. The main divisions are agriculture, local industry and foreign
trade.
The task of land registration has been begun, and the Doomsday Book is
being written. There are difficulties necessarily in a country where few records
have been kept, but the work will doubtless go on and provide a new basis of
land ownership. It may be mentioned that in general the Government appears
to favour the claim of the small-holder as against the big landowner in such
disputes as arise over title. Taxation methods have been changed and for the
old payment of a part of the produce through the landlord has been substituted a
uniform tax of 3 per cent, of the value of agricultural produce sold. The under
lying principle is the same as may be traced through all the Shah's activities,
[865 b—5] c

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Content

Correspondence and reports submitted by British officials in Persia [Iran], along with newspaper cuttings collected from the British and Persian press, relating to the Shah of Persia, Reza Shah Pahlavi. Subjects covered include:

  • The Shah’s tours and visits around Persia, including to the towns and cities of Sistan [Zabol], Bushire, Shiraz, Meshed [Mashhad], Kermanshah, Tabriz, Ahwaz [Ahvāz].
  • Reports of economic and political conditions in Persia.
  • The first Minister of the Persia Court, Teymourtache [Abdolhossein Teymūrtāsh], including his dismissal by the Shah in 1933, and his subsequent trial, imprisonment and death.
  • Speculation over the health of the Shah.
  • Treatment of the Bakhtiari tribes by the Shah and his Government.
  • The Shah’s programme of modernisation in Persia, including the enforcement of European hats for men and unveiling of women, military reforms, and schemes for urban development.
  • A rebellion and massacre at the Goharshad shrine in Meshed in July 1935, provoked by a backlash against the Shah’s modernising tendencies. Papers include a secret report written by the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan, Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly (ff 218-222).

Principal correspondents in the file include: the British Legation at Tehran (Reginald Hervey Hoare; Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen; Nevile Montagu Butler); the Chargé d’Affaires at Tehran (Victor Alexander Louis Mallet); the British Consul-General for Khorasan and Sistan (Daly).

Newspaper cuttings from the Persian press are written in French.

Extent and format
1 volume (514 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the first folio with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 510; 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. The front and back covers, along with the two leading and two ending flyleaves have not been foliated. A previous foliation sequence, which is present in parallel between ff 222-510 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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Coll 28/9 ‘Persia; Internal affairs; Shah’s tours in Persia: general situation reports’ [‎63r] (136/1038), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3404, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056316195.0x000089> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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