IOR/R/15/2/1285

The file contains correspondence concerning an incident on 14 April 1935 which resulted in the deaths of at least 75 people due to crushing and suffocation. The incident occurred at the home of the Persian merchant Mohammed Tayeb Khunji, where a crowd had gathered to receive alms. The correspondence is mostly from the Political Agency in Bahrain, Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle), and Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave).

The file contains the following:

• letters of sympathy (sent through the Political Agency) from numerous British political, diplomatic, and military offices in the region, including the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf, Secretary of State for India and the Minister in Tehran;
• letters of thanks (also sent through the Political Agency) from Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah [Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] in reply to letters of sympathy;
• correspondence discussing what official account of the incident should be given and from what source;
• correspondence and public notices relating to a public enquiry into the incident;
• correspondence concerning donations to a fund for the families of the victims, including a list (in Arabic) of all donors and the amounts donated (folios 61-71);
• several newspaper cuttings of articles about the incident from the British press (folios 56-58 and 74).

Folios 76-80 are internal office notes.