Baloch Nationalism
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__NOTOC__ Baloch nationalism () is an ideology that asserts that the
Baloch people The Baloch ( ) or Baluch ( ; , plural ) are a nomadic, Pastoralism, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian, Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South Asia, South and Western Asia, encompas ...
, an Iranic
ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
native to
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, form a distinct
nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
.


Baloch ethnicity and nationalism

Baloch people are an Iranic ethnic group native to southeastern
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, southwestern
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
and southern
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. The Baloch nationalist movement's demands have ranged from greater cultural, economic and political rights, to political autonomy, to outright
secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
and the creation of an independent state of Balochistan. The movement is
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
and was originally inspired by Marxist–Leninist liberation movements. The movement claims to receive considerable support from the Baloch diaspora in
Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
, the UAE,
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, and other countries. Pakistan has repeatedly made claims that the Baloch nationalists have received funding from
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, although these have been denied by
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. Similarly, Afghanistan has acknowledged providing covert support to the Baloch nationalist militants. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Republic of Afghanistan provided sanctuary to Baloch militants. The Republic of Afghanistan had established training camps in Kandahar to train Baloch militants and also to provide arms and ammunition.


Modern Baloch nationalism

Baloch nationalism in its modern form began in the form of the Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Balochan-wa-Balochistan based in Mastung in 1929, led by
Yousaf Aziz Magsi Nawab Mir Yousaf Aziz Magsi was a Baloch people, Baloch leader and co-founder of the Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Balochan-wa-Balochistan alongside Abdul Aziz Kurd. In 2011, a commemorative seminar was held at the National Language Authority in Islamabad.
, Abdul Aziz Kurd and others. In November 1929, Yousaf Aziz Magsi published an article stating the aims of the group, namely: # Unification and independence of Balochistan; # A democratic, socialist system guided by Islamic universalism; # Abolition of the
sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...
i- jirga system; # Free, compulsory education for the Baloch, and equality for Baloch women; # Promotion of Baloch culture.''Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development'', Taj Mohammad Breseeg, 2004 Simultaneously with the formation of the Anjuman, Baloch intellectuals in
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
formed a nationalist organisation, called the Baloch League. In February 1937, the Anjuman reorganised and became the Kalat State National Party, carrying on the Anjuman's political agenda of an independent united state of Balochistan. They demanded the independence of the ancient Khanate of Kalat, which was later incorporated into Pakistan in 1955. The party was dominated by more secular-minded, anti-imperialist and populist elements, such as Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, Mir Gul Khan Naseer and Abdul Aziz Kurd. When parliamentary elections were held in the State of Kalat, the party was the largest winner with a considerable majority. In 2017, the World Baloch Organisation placed advertisements on taxis in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to say ''#FreeBalochistan'' along with slogans such as "Stop enforced disappearances" and "Save the Baloch people". These were initially allowed but later denied permission by
Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...
. The World Baloch Organisation claimed that this was a result of pressure from the Pakistani Government after the British High Commissioner in Islamabad was summoned to appear before the Pakistani Foreign Secretary.


Surveys

A survey in 2009 by the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
found that 58% of respondents in Balochistan chose "Pakistani" as their primary mode of identification, 32% chose their ethnicity and 10% chose both equally. In 2012, Gallup conducted a survey for the United Kingdom's
Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...
that revealed that 37 percent of Baloch were in favour of
independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
. Amongst Balochistan's
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...
population support for independence was lower at 12 percent. Sixty-seven percent of Balochistan's population favoured greater provincial
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
.


See also

*
Balochistan Liberation Army The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) is a Baloch ethnonationalist militant organization based in the Balochistan region. Operating primarily from safe havens scattered across southern Afghanistan, BLA perpetrates attacks in neighboring Paki ...
*
Insurgency in Balochistan The insurgency in Balochistan () is an ongoing insurgency by Baloch separatist insurgents and various Islamist militant groups against the governments of Iran in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan and Pakistan in the province of Baloch ...
* Saraikistan * Separatist movements of Pakistan * Sindhudesh * Sindhudesh Liberation Army


Citations


General and cited references

* Selig Harrison, ''In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations'', Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, 1981 * Selig Harrison (Winter 1980–1981)
Baluch Nationalism and Superpower Rivalry
(), ''International Security'', Vol. 5 No. 3. pp. 152–163. * Paul Titus and Nina Swidler (February 2000)
Knights, Not Pawns: Ethno-Nationalism and Regional Dynamics in Post-Colonial Balochistan
''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 47–69.


External links


The Resurgence of Baluch Nationalism
Frederic Grare,
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Foun ...
, Paper No. 65, January 2006
Balochistan's history of insurgency

Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a global non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, conducting research and analysis on global crises. ...
, Asia Report No. 119, 14 September 2006 {{Ethnic nationalism Baloch society Balochistan History of Balochistan Nationalist movements in Asia