Coll 28/67 ‘Persia. Annual Reports, 1932–’ [‎56r] (111/644)

India.
42. In March the Governor of Madras issued orders that the Criminal
Tribes Act should not be applied in future to the vagrant tribes known generally
as “ Iranis.” In this way one of the few remaining grievances of the Persian
Government which have any solid foundation was removed.
43. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Persian consulate-general in
Delhi made representations from time to time about the slowness of the
Municipality of Bombay in paying the compensation which had been awarded to
certain Persian subjects who had suffered in the riots of 1931.
44. The attitude of local authorities in Persia to Indian residents gave rise
to numerous complaints and much anxiety during the year. The worst offenders
were the authorities in East Persia and Khuzistan.
45. The most common form of complaint concerned the application of the
Foreigners’ Residence Law of June 1931. This law gives the police complete
discretion as to the period of validity of the residence permits which they grant,
and in many parts, and especially in Khorassan, the police used this discretion as
a means of harassing British Indian subjects. They would call upon them to
apply for re-registration three or four times in a year, the registration fees,
which are quite heavy for persons in humble circumstances, being levied on each
occasion, and fines being levied on those who failed to appear in person at the
proper date, even though they might live at a great distance from the
headquarters of the province.
46. Apart from the question of residence permits, the Customs authorities
at Zahedan gave much trouble to Indian traders, high-handed action involving
breaches of the safeguards being taken on more than one occasion. The
authorities in Khuzistan, on the other hand, seem to have specialised in the
creation of difficulties for Indian doctors, of whom there are a number in the
province, and for Indian employees on the railway. The difficulties in Khuzistan
were largely due to a venal chief of police, whose conduct was the subject of an
enquiry by military officers in the summer.
47. The Iran-i-Bostan, an illustrated newspaper of pronounced Nationalist
views, was started in January. The editor, Saif-i-Azad, was formerly the
organiser of a Tehran society formed to promote close relations with Parsees in
India. The editor started off by paying special attention to India, but later
transferred his allegiance to the Nazi movement in Germany, even adopting a
swastika as part of his title-page.
(B) Iraq.
General.
48. Few of the questions at issue between Persia and Iraq came any nearer
to solution during 1933, and many incidents calculated to embitter feeling on
both sides took place. Yet it cannot be said that Perso-Iraqi relations were at
any time really strained.
49. From time to time guesses were made as to the date which the Shah
would choose for the visit which King Feisal had invited him to pay to Bagdad,
but it was not until the autumn that the Shah asked King Ghazi whether the
spring of 1934 would be convenient and received a reply welcoming the
suggestion.
50. The death of King Feisal was followed by suitable expressions of regret
by the Persian Government, Majlis and press, but it is doubtful whether much
genuine public interest was aroused. Probably the Shah, whose greatest fear is
that he himself may die before his work is finished, was more deeply affected
than any of his subjects.
51. In September the Persian Minister at Bagdad, Mirza Seyyid Bagher
Khan Kazemi, became Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Bagdad Times.
52. On the 7th January the British Bagdad Times published a paragraph
to the effect that it was Teymourtache who had taught the Shah to play poker,