IOR/L/PS/12/3846

The papers in this file relate to the grievances of the Baharnah (the native population of Bahrain). The papers include: The petition of the Baharnah to the Ruler of Bahrain Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa requesting the adoption of a Qanun (code of laws) in the courts, proportional representation in the Majalis al Tujjarah and Baladiyyah at Manama and Muharraq, and restoration of their rights on the Board of Education, 30 December 1934-21 April 1936; the reservations of the Secretary of State for India the 2nd Marquess of Zetland about providing constitutional advice to the Gulf principalities, 20-27 September 1935; the instructions from the Government of India on reforming the courts of Bahrain, proportional representation, education, and pasturage of the Ruler’s camels, 6 November 1935-22 February 1936; the growth of popular movements in Kuwait, Debai [Dubai], and Bahrain, 18 July-16 November 1938; the agitation against the Shi’a Shar’ Court, Bahraini courts, and the educational system in Bahrain, a strike on the premises of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), and a demonstration in the bazaar at Manama, 31 October-24 November 1938; a request by Shaikh Hamad for the recruitment of two Egyptian or Sudanese magistrates to compile a civil and criminal ‘Bahrain Code’ from all previously issued a’lans and to provide practical advice to current magistrates inside and outside the courts of Bahrain, 24 November 1938-5 August 1939; the report of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf Lieutenant Colonel T C W Fowle to the Secretary to the Government of India in the External Affairs Department Sir Herbert Aubrey Francis Metcalfe on future policy towards popular agitation in Bahrain, 14 April-23 May 1939; and the Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Sa’id bin Maktoum Al Maktoum’s forcible dissolution of the Majlis in Dubai, 5-15 June 1939.

The correspondence in this file is primarily between the British Political Agent in Bahrain; Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire [Bushehr]; Deputy Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign and Political Department; Foreign Secretary to the Government of India; Secretary of State for India; India Office; Secretary of the Government of India in the External Affairs Department; Foreign Office; HM Ambassador to Egypt; and the Ruler of Bahrain.