Page 2 of 4
Taking Stock of the Baloch Struggle and the Way Forward
The struggle of the Baloch people has entered a very critical stage. It is a point of no return. The Baloch people have “nothing to lose
but their chains”; they have no alternative but to fight to death to protect their freedom, their very being. The years of hobnobbing with
the Pakistan state, which weakened the movement, have taught the Balochs that they have to keep fighting for their independence
rather than resign themselves to lead their lives in misery and indignity. They have to fight it to the end, to the last Balochs.
The movements for freedom around the world have shown that no amount of force can subjugate a nation which comes together with
a singular determination to throw off the yoke cast on it by others. The Baloch have been on the wrong side of history for centuries,
but now there is an opportunity beckoning them in the horizon. They have to seize it.
The tale of Pakistani oppression and the step-motherly treatment meted out to the Baloch people under illegal occupation is all too
well known. Pakistan state has been much worse than the colonial British administration in its way of dealing with the Baloch people.
It has resorted to all kinds of illegal and illicit means to keep the Baloch land under its control. The Baloch people have hardly
mattered to the Pakistani state. It has tried to wean away the Baloch leadership through force or allurement of money and privileges
from time to time. The people of Balochistan have stood away from such negotiations. They have participated in the elections under
pressure and with the hope that the Baloch leadership would take a courageous stance on the question of independence. But they have
been betrayed time and again.
But the current phase of Baloch movement for independence has been markedly different. The Baloch middle class has asserted itself.
A new generation of leadership has emerged which has no stake in the Pakistani state system. It is wedded to the idea of complete
independence. The tribal Sardars are now willing to be led by rather than lead the people. They have read the writing on the wall. It is
for independence, Azaadi, as they call it.
There are several strategies at work by the Pakistani state to dilute the spirit of Baloch people. The Balochistan package, the 18th
Amendment, the Seventh NFC Award, and the Benazir Income Support Scheme being implemented in Balochistan are
lollypops/inducements to wean us away from our struggle. Moreover, the people need to look at the list of missing persons from
Balochistan whose numbers are increasing on a daily basis. This is the real face of Pakistani state. It uses and understands no language
other than the language of force. It has used the appeal of Islam to obfuscate the Baloch identity. Mushrooming of madrassas in
Balochistan in last one decade points to this fact. The Pakistani state is seeking to lull our senses with heavy doses of Islam.
Fanaticism is unknown amongst the Baloch people. They are Baloch first and Baloch last. Islam is only one of the facets of Baloch
identity. This has to be emphasized and the slow process of descent to extremism needs to be arrested.
docsity.com
