IOR/R/15/2/131

The volume contains printed copies of Government of India confidential correspondence, relating to the Bahrain reforms. The majority of the letters contained in volume are printed copies of correspondence originally sent to the Government of India either by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Trevor or Acting Resident Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart Knox), or the Political Agent at Bahrain (Major Clive Daly). Much of the correspondence featured in the volume can be found in the original (or as office copies) in a number of files in the two Bahrain Agency subsubseries ‘File 9 Bahrain Reforms’ (IOR/R/15/2/127-138) and ‘File 8 Miscellaneous’ (IOR/R/15/2/121-126), and the Bushire Residency subsubseries ‘File 19 Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/1/314-77).

The printed correspondence contained in the volume covers a range of subjects:

• Events leading up to the programme of reforms carried out in Bahrain: allegations of the oppression of Bahraini subjects by members of the Āl Khalīfah family, violence, the deteriorating economic situation;
• The reforms proposed and implemented by British officials: replacement of Shaikh ‘Īsá by Shaikh Ḥamad as defacto ruler, economic reforms, judicial reforms, pearl diving industry reforms, customs house reforms;
• Specific incidents of violence involving Sunnis and Shias, or Najdis and Persians.

Some of the papers in the volume are accompanied by duplicate copies:

• Folios 61-64 are duplicates of folios 57-60;
• Folios 68-69 are duplicates of folios 66-67;
• Folios 81-84 are duplicates of folios 77-80.