Historic Struggle

2009,07,30

Through most of their history the Balochis administered themselves as a loose tribal confederacy.

Since the prime minister in his infinite wisdom put Balochistanon on the Indo-Pak agenda along with Kashmir, let's not shy away from talking about it. The Pakistani case for Kashmir no longer rests on religion; the Bengali rebellion and secession in 1971 did in that argument. It now rests upon the more exalted principle of self-determination. But we must not shirk from talking about self-determination with them. It's a two edged sword.

The province of Balochistan is a mountainous desert area of about 3.5 lakh sq km or 45 per cent of Pakistan's land mass and has a population of over 7.5 million, about as much as Jammu & Kashmir. It borders Iran, Afghanistan and its southern boundary is the Arabian Sea with the strategically important port of Gwadar on the Makran coast commanding approach to the Straits of Hormuz. It has huge oil and gas reserves.

Quetta is the capital. There is also the Iranian province of Sistan and Balochistan spread over 1.82 lakh sq km with a population of over 2.5 million Balochis. Its capital is Zahedan.

Through most of their history the Balochis administered themselves as a loose tribal confederacy. Legend has it that they originally came from near Aleppo in Syria and there is much linguistic evidence to suggest that they belong to the same Indo-European sub-group as the Persians and Kurds. They were converted to Islam by Muhammed bin Qasim's conquering Arab army in 711 AD.

Relatively late arrivals in the region, the Balochis had to battle earlier occupants like the Brahui tribes who still abound around Kalat. The Brahui language belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is close to Tamil. The Brahuis are the only Dravidian survivors in northern sub-continent.

The British first came to the region in 1839 on their way to Kabul when they sought safe passage. In 1841 they entered into a treaty with Kalat guaranteeing its independence. The British annexed Sind in 1843 from the Talpur Mirs, a Balochi dynasty. After the formal surrender of the Sikhs on March 29, 1849 and the annexation of Punjab, the British now had a long border with the Balochis.

In 1876, the British coerced the Khan of Kalat to lease the salubrious Quetta to them. The Khan's writ still ran over Balochistan, but now under the watchful but benign eye of a British minister. That the Khan of Kalat was not considered an insignificant prince was in the fact that he was accorded a 19-gun salute like the Jaipurs and Jodhpurs.

In 1947 the Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, went further than Hari Singh of Kashmir and Osman Ali Khan of Hyderabad. He declared independence, while the other two dithered and allowed events to overtake them. Unlike in Hyderabad, it was apparent that the population largely supported the Khan.

Yet eight months after the Khan's assertion of independence Pakistan forcibly annexed Balochistan. But Balochi aspirations for an independent state were not quelled completely. In 1973 a fierce war of independence broke out in Balochistan. Indira Gandhi was quick to provide assistance. Five years later, thousands were killed. Pakistan and Iran joined hands to crush the rebellion and had few qualms in using their air forces to napalm and bomb villages.

Speaking at the 57th session of the Commission of Human Rights in Geneva in 2001, Mehran Baloch, a prominent leader, said, "Our tragedy began in 1947, immediately after the creation of Pakistan. The colonialist army of Pakistani Punjab forcibly occupied Kalat at gunpoint." The struggle continues.

After the killing of Akbar Khan Bugti, others like Sardars Attaullah Mengal and Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Nawab Khair Baksh Marri - heads of the three great Baloch clans - have been leading protests over the economic exploitation of the region's great natural resources to the exclusion of the local people. Marri and hundreds of his supporters are under arrest.

Till 1977 the Indira Gandhi government actively worked for the democratic aspirations of the Balochis and Pathans. Balochi fighters were trained in the deserts of Rajasthan. India also provided them with financial and diplomatic assistance. With Bangladesh free, Indira Gandhi reckoned that Sind, Balochistan and Pakhtunistan should follow.

After her electoral defeat in 1977, AB Vajpayee as the Janata government's foreign minister made his first misguided and woolly-headed attempt to normalise relations with Pakistan. Vajpayee's assurances to Zia-ul-Haq, the man who initiated the policy of "death by a thousand cuts" to destroy India, ensured that the Balochis were forced to leave their camps in Rajasthan and all financial, military and diplomatic assistance was cut.

The question of self-determination affects Balochistan as much as KashmirNow that the prime minister has put into his mouth what should have been firmly planted on the ground, if the Pakistanis insist on talking to us about self-determination for Kashmir, let them also talk self-determination for Balochistan.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/opinion/main-article_historic-struggle_1278551