'Adminisistration [Administration] Reports 1931-1935' [‎94r] (187/416)

CHAPTER HI.
Summary of events and conditions m Ears during the year 1933
Khm, Soulat-ml Douleh.l,U>olk«t, » ,o to SSTSSSlufySsfTf
up Ins position in the hills to ih,. r .e w rne , lattel halt ot 1932 liud taken
aly these operati,rmf were of an TnconeLw? Zab f d ' In , Jall " ai 7 and Febru-
reported that Ali Khan was receiving suDnor/f^ CaSUal f n ^ ture and xt was
Qashqais and from a few Dashtistanis and Was LW ^nppted wfth^ ° f ^
ammumUon by Arab rebels along the gulf. There ^followed n iJ ms 1 . a . lld
the Ears brignX^advaLfng from Ja™um ^ Commanding
informatim?wnTrMffi re n T ith i h i is - US - ml §' 1Ierilla tactics and although reliable
ntoimatron ^as (jfficult to obtain, it was generally believed that nnW« l.n
surrendered, which he had no intention of doing, there wal little hone of t e
compaign being brought to a definite conclusion* In J^rLwever h beLn e
dFim n? n a f ‘ J ° f, nd 7 a !. in Ali t^han was reported to have suddenly
havdn- smlncWed^o^hl * Z ° ne W \ l \ 3 handf » 1 of f oUwers, the remainder
ad ] c m 9 entered to the government troops. Early in the followiim month
suffering no doubt from lack of supporters and shortage of supplies he'accepted
Z " f ;p ard0n eX T tended t0 him the m ilitary coZander and was
report that ^had f 8tb and lm ni e diately conveyed to Tehran. A
sub^tUZd and 1 ^! if ard f° ne r d i and 8Tanted a Pension has not since been
substantiated and bis ultimate fate must remain a matter for speculation.
. . s^^ission has deprived the tribespeople of a leader who was
evidently a first class fighting man and a clever strategist and has no doubt
been a useful contribution to the government policy of breaking up the
Qtie^hica^hi^ 11 / well " b , ebaved . sectioa s, lacking in leadership and^in conse
quence incapable or concerted action.
‘ al P roc ® ssion J of t } 16 returning army to Shiraz with an elaborate
display ot pneoners and captured ammunition was evidently calculated to act
as a salutary warning to any others who might be foolish enough to contemplate
defying the forces of law and order. 1
The news of Soulat-ud-Douleh’s death in Tehran in August was, according
to all reports received with indifference by the Qashqai tribesmen and it seems
probable that since Ins recall to the capital in April 1931, they had ceased to
regard him as their leader and were in any case not sorry to be freed from a
suzerainty which must, at times, have proved irksome and even oppressive
Whether their lot has improved under the rule of a military governor is a
question which is not easily answered.
Of the other tribes—the Khamseh, the Boir Ahmadi and Mamassani,—little
was heard though progress was^reported with the government’s efforts to settle
them m the new town of Tul-i-Khosro. The imprisonment of the Qawam-ul-
Mulk m December, beyond giving rise to one or two bazaar rumours, provoked
little comment. The confiscation of his lands in June 1932 undoubtedly threw
many of the Khamseh tribesmen out of work and it is pretty certain that some
of these threw in their lot with the various robber bands which were in evidence
during the year. ( Such bands were not, however, predominently tribal but
were composed of men thrown together by necessity and with no other means
of earning a livelihood. They were dispersed one by one and several notorious
leaders, including Sar Mast, a relative of the once formidable Mehdi Surkhi
were captured. ’
With the exception of a minor epidemic of “ hold-ups ” in the middle of
the summer when lorries were plundered between Bushire and Shiraz and
Shiraz and Isfahan, there was little interference with traffic on the main roads.
In outlying districts, notably in the neighbourhood of Fasa and Jahrum, various
acts of brigandage were committed and various clashes between the amnieh
and the robbers were reported, but the number of such incidents showed a
marked diminution in the latter half of the year, attributable perhaps to the
submission of Ali Khan and his followers as well as to extensive “ round-ups
carried out by the military.
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