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1. 'File 1/A/48 A Complaint against the Food Controller by Messrs. Hirjimal Dhamanmal.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns complaints made by Hirjimal Dhamanmal, and other Bahrain merchants, about the Food Controller, Bahrain (Captain Arthur Charles Byard; later Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier), who was responsible for implementing food control policies (e.g. rationing and import controls) in Bahrain during the wartime conditions created by the Second World War (1939-45).The principal correspondents are the Food Controller, Bahrain; the Political Agent, Bahrain; Hirjimal Dhamanmal & Company, Bahrain; Goverdhandas Dharamdas & Company, Bahrain; Haridas Janimal & Company, Bahrein [Bahrain]; other Bahrain merchants; the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain (deGrenier); and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave).The papers include a complaint over the Food Controller's role in the import, at the Food Controller's own request, by Hirjimal Dhamanmal and seven other Bahrain merchants of 2000 bags of sugar from Karachi, which remained unsold, and which the merchants claimed would cause them a 'ruinous loss' if sold at a reduced rate; and various complaints about the working of the food control system in Bahrain, including the issuing of export permits, corruption amongst officials, and allegations of discrimination in favour of some merchants. The commodities discussed include (Rangooni) rice, Mangalore coffee, fruit and vegetables, and sugar.The Persian language content of the file consists of a petition (with English translation), dated 27 May 1944, on folio 119.The covering dates of the main run of correspondence (folios 2-113) are 3 October 1940 - 26 January 1943. The date range gives the covering dates of all the correspondence, including enclosures dated 1939-40 (folios 79-82) and the petition at the end of the file (folios 119-120).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 121; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
2. 'File 1/A/48 I Control of Prices of standard foodstuffs in Bahrain.'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file concerns the control of prices of foodstuffs and other commodities in Bahrain, the suppression of hoarding, and the regulation of imports and exports by the Food Controller, Bahrain, against the background of wartime conditions caused by the outbreak of the Second World War (1939-45).The principal correspondents are the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Residency Agent, Sharjah; the Government of India; the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave); the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain (Claud Cranbrook Lewis deGrenier); and the Food Controller, Bahrain (Captain Arthur Charles Byard; later deGrenier).The papers include: initial discussion of measures to protect the poor in Bahrain from profiteering by merchants in the bazaars, and the introduction of fixed price lists for commodities (folios 2-12); the need for the British to consider Indian traders in Bahrain (folios 7-9); the issue of hoarding of stocks (folio 11); initial estimates of stocks of essential foodstuffs in Bahrain and the Trucial Coast; measures in the event of war (folios 14-16); regular Customs Department statistics of commodities available for sale in Bahrain, and estimated period of sufficiency; statistics of consumption of foodstuffs; notices issued by the Government of Bahrain and the Political Agent, Bahrain concerning prices and hoarding; regulation made under the Persian Gulf States (Emergency) Order in Council, 1939, which gave the Political Resident powers to control the supply and pricing of commodities (folios 40-41, 106); definition of luxury goods (folio 43); the effect of the measures on Saudi Arabia (folios 46-47); representations from merchants in Bahrain; the appointment of a new Food Controller, Bahrain (folios 141-142); accusations of profiteering (folios 151-156, folio 159); the effect on Bahrain if Japan were to enter the war (folio 176); special arrangements for the supply of provisions to the Royal Navy (folios 205, 235-240); and the suggestion by the Political Agent that British India Steam Navigation Company (BISN) steamers be used to bring food supplies to Bahrain (folios 207-208).The Arabic language content of the file consists of approximately fifteen folios, mostly official notices in Arabic and English issued by the Government of Bahrain and the Political Agent, Bahrain.The date range gives the covering dates of the correspondence; the latest addition to the file is an entry in the notes dated 26 March 1942.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 283; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 2-282; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
3. ‘File 29/3i Food Supplies – Food Control and Rationing & GENERAL’
- Description:
- Abstract: This is a correspondence file about food rationing and price controls in Bahrain during the Second World War (1939-1945). The supply and distribution of staple foods such as rice, wheat, barley, flour, sugar, tea and coffee to the population of Bahrain are discussed and to a lesser extent, other essential commodities for domestic consumption, such as cotton piece goods for clothing. The bulk of the correspondence is between the Political Agent, Bahrain and Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain. They regularly exchange information about Bahrain Government measures to ensure the fair distribution of rationed goods, prevent starvation and other deprivations among the population and curb profiteering and smuggling. The topics they discuss include import quotas, cost estimates, stock levels, sale and distribution under rationing arrangements and retail price controls. Also mentioned are the hardships experienced in the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, owing to the same war-time shortages and restrictions on trade and shipping in the Persian Gulf imposed by the Government of India.The file includes records of the meetings of the Bahrain Government’s Food Control Committee and also the Political Agent’s Commercial Advisory Committee and Merchants’ Advisory Committee. There are comprehensive notes by the Bahrain Government’s Adviser and Food Controller respectively, about rationing and price control in Bahrain, including sample ration cards (folios 18-29, 106-108). Similarly, there are comprehensive notes by the Political Agent, Bahrain about a visit from the Representative of the Middle East Supply Committee (folios 109-118), a meeting with the Representative of the United Kingdom Commercial Corporation, Baghdad (folios 126-129) and the supply and distribution of cereals at Bahrain and on the Trucial Coast (folios 153-154). The latter notes were compiled in response to a report from the Assistant Director, Food Supplies at the Middle East Supply Centre in Cairo (folios 141-143, 166-168). The several Arabic documents in the file include a few Bahrain Government public notices about food rations, issued by the Food Controller (folios 35, 44, 79), a petition from Persian nakhudas (ships’ captains) to the Political Agent, Bahrain complaining that Bahrain Customs officials denied them access to food supplies while at moorings in Bahrain Port (folio 10) and the correspondence of the Political Agent, Bahrain with the Ruler of Qatar and two commercial agents in Bombay appointed to resolve difficulties in shipping cargo to Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms (folios 248-250, 254, 266, 267).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 290; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-289; these numbers are written in both pencil and blue crayon, are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
4. 'File 11/12 IV Muscat Intelligence Summaries'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains political diary entries by the Political Agent in Muscat reporting to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf. The entries cover a wide range of subjects including the movements of British Officials, the ruling family, tribal affairs, commodity and food prices, as well as shipping and local affairs.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 57; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.