'File 11/46 Publicity in the Persian Gulf' [‎92v] (184/314)

by this method, and if such results can be maintained,
they will enable India to set a standard of printing
second to none in Asia.
1. RUSSIAN:—
Indian Chronicle No. 3 appeared in November. As
has been reported, very few direct reactions to this
magazine can be obtained, but from Tabriz came the
statement that “the impression made by Indian Chronicle,
though good, seems to have been on a very small scale.”
This of course is to be understood, as the high academic
tone of the magazine limits its appeal.
2. IRANIAN PERSIAN
(а) Ahanq: The new/Man# has met with considerable
approval in India: copies have gone off to Persia and
reactions from there are awaited. The new format
seems to make the magazine easier to handle than
before, though it is perhaps a little too thick. The new
method of printing the English and Persian in the
bidingual section in parallel columns, while increasing
the value of the magazine to those who use it as
a means of studying English, increases also the difficulties
of production.
Reactions are still coming in to the old Ahang. Delays
in its receipt are reported from Bushire: in Kerman
it is said to be ‘‘successful with students but has a
very limited appeal”.
(б) The Persian version of India's Natural Resources
and of India 1945 have both been received and despatched
to Persia.
(c) The version of Gullivers Travels published in
Bugle Library Series “A” proved popular in Bushire.
3. AEGHAN PERSIAN:—
There is some indication that Taj Mahal is making
its way slowly in Afghanistan, and copies of the magazine
sent under the new distribution system are now being
received through the post by the addressees. It is
still a popular magazine in Persia though its style,
written as it is in the Persian of Afghanistan, is occasion
ally found hard to understand.
The Basic English lessons finished as a course with
lesson No. 15, but it has been decided to continue
the four-page English supplement on the following
lines: the first two pages will give revision exercises in
Basic English for those whose main interest is in Basic
English; while the second two will provide a course in
“wider English” adapted for Afghan readers from the ex
cellent booklets authorized by the Orthological Institute.
4. PUSHTU:-
Some difficulties have been encountered in obtaining
qualified calligraphists, but these have now been solved.
It is hoped to produce an annual number of Zhtoand in
March 1946 and preparations for this number are
already being made.
5. Arabic:—
The appearance of Al Arab has been much improved
by a cover produced by the photo litho offset method.
Enquiries for the magazine have already been made from
Singapore and the copies that have gone there have been
appreciated. The magazine is therefore making its in-,
fluence felt from Malaya to Morocco.
{b) The response to the Arabic version of /rafi’a- 1945
has been disappointing. Both Bushire and Cairo feel
themselves unable to sell copies except at a remarkably
low figure, owing to the alleged lack of interest in things
Indian. This lack of interest may be a real fact, but the
enquiries received from booksellers who are anxious to
obtain agencies for United Publications in the Arab
world suggest that the interest is not as insignificant as is
often supposed.
6. Urdu:—
(a) Ajkal. In this magazine too, the new cover^re
reported to be a “distinct improvement”.
The editor of this magazine receives regularly each
month well over 500 letters of appreciation (and some
times criticism !) and many Urdu magazines pay it the
compliment of reproducing articles, generally with full
acknowledgements. Some of the letters received make
amusing reading: one reader likes Ajkal “particularly
because it does not entertain obscene articles and adver
tisements ” ; another is “ so much addicted to Ajkal that
unless he reads it he cannot digest his food”; yet another
finds in himself after studying very carefully “ a
craving to become a writer The lowest of the four classes into which East India Company civil servants were divided. A Writer’s duties originally consisted mostly of copying documents and book-keeping. ”, and in the final example
there is a little sting: “ May God grant you strength
enough to serve literature more”.
In a poll recently taken in the Punjab to test the
popularity of various magazines, Ajkal was placed second
to another United Publications, Dunya, which cam^rst. /**
ib) Naunihal. In the last Progress Report, it was
announced that Naunihal would appear from November
with an entirely new cover, an increase in the letterpress
and in the price. The increase in price has not driven
down the sales as much as was anticipated, largely owing,
we imagine, to the excellence both of the design and of
the printing of the cover.
The last Progress Report referred to a contributor to
this magazine who had worked up a case against the
Editor when an article which he had sent in did not
receive the payment to which he thought he was entitled.
We prophesied then that we had not heard the last of
the “ enterprising child ”—child because the Editor
accepted the article as if from one of the young readers
of the magazine. This prophecy has proved only too
true, for the contributor turned out to be a fully-
fledged journalist who used the full strength of his
organization to start in various Urdu newspapers a