In May, the Government of India sent reply to Shaikh Abdulla's earlier letter, rejecting all of his demands, except that of jurisdiction over non-Bahraini Arabs, on the condition that other Arab rulers agree. Dickson spared no time before contacting rulers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar regarding the matter. After getting their replies, in which they refused to give Bahrain jurisdiction over their subjects, Dickson announced in November that foreign subjects were under British protection.