127 said that he was granting India its independence before the 30th June 1948. However, Lord Mountbatten, Viceroy of India, rushed to declare independence after the troubles that took place at the time, pressing demands for independence. On 15 June 1947, the British House of Commons approved the Independence of India Act, based upon Lord Mountbatten’s recommendation. This was followed on 15 August 1947 by Jawaharlal Nehru’s declaration of independence speech. The relationship between the Gulf Political Resident and the Foreign Office, London, was not as good as that with the New Delhi Office. As a result, the communications with the London onOffice were transferred. To make arrangements in relation to the Armed Forces required in the Arabian Gulf, a conference was called for by the Senior Commander of the British Forces to be held at the RAF airfield of al-Fayyid, Ismailiyya, Egypt. Preparations and consultations with specialists in the affairs of the Arabian Gulf were made. Communications were also established between the Gulf Political Resident and that of Bahrein, L. R. Hay. At the time, the residence of the Gulf Political resident had been moved from Bushire on the Persian coast to Bahrain. Hay wrote a letter to L. F. L Pyman of the Eastern Department, Foreign Office, London, on 29 July 1948, saying: “ Dear Pyman, Please refer to your semi-official letter No.(E 8863/605/G) of the 2nd July, 1948. 2- I attach a note containing my comments on your memorandum which I am afraid is rather lengthy and in places outspoken. Generally speaking, I agree with most of your conclusions, but not with all your premises. 3- In particular I would urge most strongly that we should not endeavor to impose our wishes on the Gulf Shaikhdoms by the use of force, which usually implies either the bombard¬ment of a Ruler’s palace, or the starving of his people, except in extreme cases. I attach herewith an extract from a letter written by Fowle in his last year of office in the Gulf. I agree fully with what he says except that I think he attaches a little too much importance to modern democratic development in the Gulf States. His whole letter, semi-official No.207-S of FROM A CIVIL AIR STATION TO A MILITARY BASE
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