'File 4/20 II Kuwait Situation: Constitution and Council'

Content

This file contains correspondence between British officials regarding political developments in Kuwait. Specifically it relates to the suppression of an oppositionist reform movement (the majlis movement) that had successfully pressured the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, to establish an elected administrative council in the country The correspondence in the file covers the period immediately after this council was dissolved onwards and discusses the various repressive measures subsequently taken, including the imprisonment and exile of several of its members.

The correspondence is primarily between the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait and the Political Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. in Bushire, but the file also contains a limited amount of correspondence with Shaikh Ahmad (in Arabic accompanied by English translations).

In addition to correspondence, the file contains the following:

• a copy of the Organic Law of Trans-Jordan (folios 31-49).
• a draft constitution of Kuwait (folios 52-59).
• an article regarding the constitution of Kuwait published in al-Alam al-Arabi in 1939 (folio 61).
• a list of Kuwaiti youths that were alleged by the Political Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in Kuwait to be 'anti-Shaikh and anti-British' (folios 122-123).
• a petition (in Arabic original and translated into English) that was sent to 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. from the wives of a number of political prisoners in Kuwait (folios 147-148).

Extent and format

1 file (198 folios)

Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 200; 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. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/5/206

Former external reference(s)

File 4/20 II

History of this record

Date(s)

22 Dec 1938-18 Apr 1949 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Political reform

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Cite this record in your research

'File 4/20 II Kuwait Situation: Constitution and Council', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/5/206, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000831.0x0000c9> [accessed 17 July 2024]

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