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'File 8/62 IV PRINCIPAL SHAIKHS & TRIBES OF OMAN.' [‎133r] (269/282)

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The record is made up of 1 file (137 folios). It was created in 6 Dec 1950-25 Dec 1951. 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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- 2 -
5 . It is possible, therefore, in the light of all recent
evidence to define an approximate western limit to the Imam’s
territory and to define it v/ith fair degree of orecision by ignoring
the dual allegiance which ray be apparant in the ca e of certain tribes
This still leaves a fr nge of "independent'' tribes between the I main
and the Rub ’al hali (Tke Sultan has never been able to define
the limits of his own territory in any precise te ms and the line
of 1937 "beyond w’ich the Sultan has no claims" is valueless for
the purposes of argument \
It is doubtful, however, whether we should le able to ta: e
the further step of claiming the Sultan's d^ jure suzerainty over
all thejtribes when they are under his own or the Imam's jurisdiction,
on the ground that they were all at a distant period under the
Sultan and that the Sultan has never renounced his right to their
allegiance although, if we do not do so, we have no real rigfct to
act on their behalf, I-esort to ancient h:' story immediately adi its
the possibili// validity of a’udi claims to im ortant areas,
including B' rairni, and it is of little use to ref ex' to the temporary
character of ahabi occupation when we are forced to admit much
longer periods during which the jultan has had no effective
jurisdiction at all, (it is of course arguable that -ahabi inc rsions
into the Oman did not at any time alter the legal status of the
territory, but this weakens our ground for claiming that Buraimi
is the x -cperty if bu Dhabi, unless the Sultan himself is ready to
eecog ise bu Dhabi’s succession to that place since the /ahabi
retreat in ' 1869 ''.
6. The reluctance of the Imam and of some of his more
fanatical followers to admit any form of modernisation is no rore
than a partial safeguard. liere there is seen to be a handso e
x rofit to be gained the tendency of important tribal, leaders
e.g. Sulaiman bin Hauyar) to ignore such consiue at ons and to
defect from the Imam will increase. Thus, if we and ti.e Suit.a .
refuse officially to recognise the independence of these shaiklis, and
at the same time are unable to advance any plausible case for the
Sultan* s sovereignty over them we r ay find it very difficult to
refute the Su’udi thesis that these outlaying districts are under
the control of shaikhs "not in treaty relations v/ith l .G", t at
. }, .G. therefore have no standing there, and that the Su’udi
Government is entitled to come to a deject agreement with ihose
shaikhs regarding the frontier ( 14 th Oct, 1949)
7. This Sa’udi claim, however, deliberately ignoring the Blue
and Violet lines, represents an attempt to ap x ly the conditions
of the past to the questions of the present cay; to assume, in
fact, that H. ,G. has neither the will nor the right to develop
new relations with non-coastal chiefs and that, in consequence,
a free field is open to 3a’ud' expansion, wherever it can be shov.Ti
that neither '.],G. nor one of their clients has actual authority.
This theory blandly ignores the possibility that arrangementsat
least as advantageous to the shaikhs as any Ibn 'aud would make
1 ight be made by E.L.G. and that II. . G. is fully entitled to make
s' ch ar angements, either as a extension to committments already
existing in the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. or as a corollary to the Treaty with
the Sultan, In fact it seei s to be agruable even wfct out the legal
argument of the 1913 - 14 Agreements, that, when as Inb ^aud has no
standing ith

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Content

This file relates to the principal shaikhs and tribes of Oman, and also to the Imam of Oman's administration. It largely consists of copies of (and various amendments to) two reports. The first of these is an account by 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 Consul at Muscat entitled 'Notes on the Tribes of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman' (full versions found at folios 11-37 and folios 90-116, the latter of which includes an enclosed map). This account provides written summaries of the main tribes, plus tables with further details, including principal settlements, estimated population, and estimated number of rifles.

The second report is entitled 'A Note on the Imam's Administration in the interior of Oman' (ff 3-9 and ff 38-44). It includes details on the extent of the Imam's administration, a list of the tribes that currently support the Imam, and a list of walis appointed by the Imam.

The correspondence, most of which is between 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 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. , mainly concerns details from, and revisions to, 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 aforementioned account on the tribes of Muscat and Oman.

Extent and format
1 file (137 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 139; 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 between ff 95-138, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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'File 8/62 IV PRINCIPAL SHAIKHS & TRIBES OF OMAN.' [‎133r] (269/282), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/6/245, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069907940.0x000046> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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