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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎130r] (259/424)

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The record is made up of 1 file (208 folios). It was created in 18 Jan 1945-29 Nov 1948. 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. .

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D .O. No.2014-S
CONFIDENTIAL
PKRSIAN GULF RESIDENCY An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
BAHRAIN,
the 25th Nsvember, 194
Dear Appleby,
I acknowledge with many thanks y®ur note giving details
of the recommendations which y©u propose t© make to your headquarter
regarding the postal services to be provided in the Gulf States.
I concur generally in y@ur recommendations and have only the
following comments to make.
2. With regard to your remarks regarding wireless licences
at page 5 the position is that the granting of licences for amateur
wireless transmitting sets is contingent on the joint approval 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. and the Shaikh after the local Service authorit
ies e.g. the R.A.F. have been consulted. The Middle East Communic
ations Beard are then asked if they have any objection. If they
have none the Government cf India are asked to allot a call sign.
I presume that when the G.P.O. have taken over they will deal with
the allotment of call signs. The procedure described m this
paragraph may be held t® apply to all the Gulf States except Muscat
though it has up t© date only been followed in Bahrain and Sharjah
as n® application for a licence has been made in any other State.
3 . With reference t© the remarks regarding telegraphs at
Kuwait ©n page 6 the collection and delivery ©f telegraps despatched
and received over the Kuwait-Basra land line is I believe performed
by the post office and not by Cable and Wireless.
4 . With reference t© your remarks about Gwadur at pages 6
and 7 I should be grateful if you could let me have a further note
after you have visited the place. I would suggest that the present
©verland postal service should be abolisned and that mails
should be despatched by B.I. steamers which k call regularly in
each direction once in-six weeks. This should result in a consider
able saving and the service should I think be sufficient fer the
needs of the place in view ©f the fact that telegraphic facilities
are available.
With reference to your remarks about staffing ©n page
7 the Pakistan Government will have to be consulted abcut the
further employment of the present staff and may. have their l iv\r
views ©n the subject. I will endeavour to obtain a personal clerk
for the Festal Superintendent but am very doubtful if I shall be abl
to find a satisfactory shorthand typist. I should be grateful for
early information regarding the date fr©m which tne clerk will be
required.
6. I should like te take this opportunity ©f expressing
my appreciation of the thoroughness with which y©u have examined
®ur postal system here and @f all the trouble you have taken in
working out the arrangements for its transfer t@ His Majesty's
Government.
Sd/~ W.R. Hay.
Appleby, Esquire,
BAHRAIN
•LB'

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Content

The file concerns postal services at Muscat and Gwadar. The arrangements for postal services in the territories of Muscat and Oman were complicated from 1947 by the independence of India, and the transfer of responsibility for postal services from the Government of India to the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and by the question of whether newly-independent Pakistan should be asked to provide post and telegraph services at Gwadur [Gwadar].

The papers include: staffing matters at Muscat, 1945; British Government plans for the future administration of postal services in the Gulf, 1947 (including minutes of a meeting at the 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. , 11 July 1947, folios 41-42); the attitude of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd] to the proposed continuation of existing postal arrangements at Gwadar by the Government of Pakistan; correspondence concerning the temporary use of stamps overprinted 'Pakistan' at Muscat, Dubai, and Gwadar, following agreement with India to withdraw unsurcharged Indian stamps from areas served by the Pakistan Posts and Telegraphs Department, and the introduction of new British stamps to replace existing Indian stamps, 1947; recommendations of the British Post Office representative (W Appleby) concerning the takeover of postal services in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on 1 April 1948 (folios 120-130); details of Post Office staff at Gwadar, 1947; and the Foreign Office's initial decision to ask the Government of Pakistan to take over responsibility for postal services at Gwadar (folio 154), and ensuing difficulties following 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. 's recommendation that responsibility for services at Gwadar be handed over instead to Cable and Wireless Limited, 1947-48.

The file includes correspondence from 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. , Muscat; 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. ; the British Agent, Gwadar; the Commonwealth Relations Office; and the Government of Pakistan.

Extent and format
1 file (208 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial numbers in red and blue crayon (red for incoming, blue for outgoing correspondence) refer to entries in the notes on folios 195-209.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 210; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-98; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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'File 12/10 Post Office - Muscat & Gwadur' [‎130r] (259/424), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/413, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100060323898.0x00003c> [accessed 23 April 2024]

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