Page 455 - PERSIAN 9 1941_1947

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The consulate has lost no opportunity of urging the Qa3hqal to settle
and the summer of 1945 saw 500 more Darrehshurl families settling
permanently In the summer quarters thus making a total there of
1,000 families. Naser Khan, who is building a school in Firuzabad,
put the public bath there in working order and proposes to build a
hospital, has produced a plan for large scale settlement at Baigan
on the Firuzabad plain 10 miles from Firuzabad. He has been strongly
encouraged to go ahead with this plan.
15*. Naser Khan overcame his fears and presented himself to the
Shah in J.uly thus returning to Tehran for the first time since he
fled from the detention in which the Shah's father placed him.
16. The remaining tribal groups in Fars, the Mamassani and
Doshraanziari, have kept quiet. Hossein Qoli .Rostara who leads the
Hamassane seems to have few friends and to be lacking in the
sincerity that makes friends. He has however managed to keep the
Qashqai off his lands.
17. The Boir Ahraedi, who only partially come into the provincial
picture, have maintained their reputation as thieves and raiders
and at one period penetrated as far as the Isfahan- Shiraz road
near Abadeh. . The Gendarmerie took appropriate steps in the general
and the Darrehshuri took steps in their own interest with the result
that the Boir Ahnedi withdrew. Apart from this incident and a short
break in the early summer (attributable to the absence of a
Governor-General) security on the roads has been well maintained.
18. Relations of the province with Tehran have not Improved. The
Shah, who has only once been to Fars and seems to mean little or
nothing to the people of the province has lost ground over his
catrimonial affairs, •Tehran Governments s in general are accused of
neglecting Fars. Lar which is still a fine town and has architectu-
rally one of the best bazaars in Persia has bden slowly dying for
years and no move seems to be made to save it. Now the rot has
started in Shiraz. A number of the richer merchants have gone to
Theran to live finding that with the increasing centralization of
affairs in Tehran they must be in the capital if they are to
survive. Currency control and the accentuates this
desertion of the provinces and gradually all the wealth of the
country seems to be collecting in the capital. It only needs ten
of the biggest merchants to leave Shiraz to shake the economy of
the town completely.
19. Qavam ul*Mulk who followed Firuz to Tehran In September
returned to Shiraz at the beginning of December. Whether it was
because he had achieved his aim in ousting Firuz or bdcau.se of a
warning given him by the Embassy he returned apparently a much
changed man. Y/ith Firuz away he tended to usurp the functions of
Governor-General and to run Fars from his private residence but
with the worsening of the situation in the north showed wisdom,
balance and calm. The Tudeh newspaper campaign which he fought
before his departure for Tehran died down in his absence and on
bis return the one remaining Tudeh newspaper was under suppression.
One of the first acts of the Incoming Governor-General was to
raise the ban on this newspaper.

20. Party activity has been sluggish. In August the Tudeh were
ejected from liervdasht (on the Persepolis plain) where there Is a
sugar-factory and had their club there gutted. With the temporary
loss of their Shiraz newspapers they were not very vocal. The
Adalat Party showed little sign of life. The Democrat Party (which
is a conservative body and nothing to do with the movement in
Azerbaijan)opened a reading room but otherwise followed its leadert
a local nullah, into a state of deep depression. The Eradeh Uel.ll
(Seyyed Zia's Party) started a newspaper and thennlost it because *
it was unwilling to pay sufficient blackmail to the'owner. It has
a snailreading room but undertook no activerecruiting of members.