CHAPTER I

THE COHESIVE BASIS OF THE BALUCHI NATIONALISM

This chapter describes and analyzes the cohesive basis or common foundation of Baloch nationalism; elements which bind the Baluch people together and give them their sense of nationhood. These are the baloch homeland, Language, culture and religion, history, and ethnic origin. Of these, the historical base of baloch nationalism has been treated more extensively in order to place the question in its proper historical context as well.

Balochistan

Baluchistan is the contemporary designation for the Gedrosia, the country of Ichthiyophgi, and part of the Drangia of the ancient Greek chronicles, while comprising Makuran (corresponding to the first two names.) Turan (Kalat highlands in central Balochistan), and Sajistan (Drangia)of medieval times. (1) The name balochistan, that is the Balochi homeland, bears in itself a significant national connotation identifying the country with the Baloch (2) Gankovsky, Soviet Scholar on the subject, has attributed the appearance of the name to the “formation of the Balochi feudal nationality” and the spread of the Baluch over the territory bearing their name to this day during the period between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. (3)  Lord Curzon has credited Nadir Shah of Persia with giving the country its present name in mid-eighteenth century. (4)  Marri baloch has viewed the birth of the designation to have coincided with the spread of the Balochis throughout the country in the early decades of the fifteenth century, thus confirming more or less the first nation. This and other Baluchi historical accounts also trace the origin of the name as far back as the fifteenth century when the Baloch established a large tribal confederacy that incorporated the Balochi territories and united the Balochi tribes under the rule and hegemony of the Rinds. (5)   Henceforth, the Baloch emerged as the predominant political and military power, and the Baluchi language and culture become paramount throughout the country. Consequently, there is a general agreement among scholars of Baluchi studies bordering consensus in identifying the land as the gradle of Balochi ethno-linguistic identify.

 This vast tract of land covers more than 240,000 square miles with a coastline of 1000 miles stretching from strait of Hormuz to west of the port of Karachi on the Arabian sea. Its fronties are generally accepted to be bounded on the north by the Helmand Valley, on the Arabian sea, on the west by the Iranian Province of Kirman, and on the east by the Sind and north west Frontier.  Under the British, the land was divided politically into three parts. The Goldsmid line, drawn in 1871 and demarcated in 1896, gave western Baluchistan to Persia, while retaining the larger eastern part for British India. The Durand line, drawn also by the British in 1894, further divided Balochistan between British India and Afghanistan, assigning to latter a small portion of Northern Baluchistan as a British colonial legacy, these borders were inherited by Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, and have eastern part constitutes the Pakistani province of Balochistan covering more than 134,000 square miles with its capital at Quetta, while the western part in Iran is administratively divided into three parts of Balochistan with its capital at Zahedan, as will be described in chapter III. (6)

Balochistan has always been the victims of its geopolitical position as a much as its formidable geography and savage climate. Geopolitically surrounded by, and compacted between, Arabia in the west, Persia in the North, and the Indian subcontinent in the east and strategically located on the maritime and overland routes of communication between the middle East and South Asia, the land has always been the scene of constant contest between its powerful neighbors, attracting the attention of the disastrous march of Alexander the grate and his armies through Gedrosia are recorded in the Books of ancient history. The Muslim armies and the Arab traders, on their way to the Indus valley, traversed the land in the seventh century. Neither did it escape the devastating waves of the Turkish and Mongol invasions of the Middle East that lasted from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. (7)   Again in the contemporary era, great British colonized the land in the mind-nineteenth century to secure the “western gate” of its Indian empire from Tsarist Russia. During the cold war the growing tensions and rivalry between the USA and the USSR in south Asia, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean made Baluchistan once again a potential area of conflict the region as will be discussed in chapter IX.

Geographically viewed, Balochistan is separated and Isolated from the rest of the Iranian plateau by rugged and massive mountains on the west, northeast, and east and by the formidable Lut desert on the north. These natural boundaries have always formed major barriers and strong defense lines against foreign invaders even though they have not stopped the major invasions, such as the once mentioned earlier, from taking place. They have also served to isolate the Baluch and to make communication between them and the surrounding cultures more difficult. The easiest routes of communication between Balochistan and Iran are the two classical invasion routes going north or south through the Lut Desert. Here it is possible to enter Baluchistan either through seistan or through Kirman to Balochi twon of Bampor, as was the case with the Arab armies in the seventh century or the reveres as Alexander the Great marched one thousand years before them, again it was through these two routes that the Persian armies sent by Reza Shah Pahlavi entered western Balochistan in 1928. (8)     

The most striking feature of the land is well known to every outside observer, the area is a forbidden region of extreme natural contrasts alternating between massive ranges of barren mountains, rocky plains deserts, and fertile valleys. Makyran’s massive coastal ranges in the south, the Bashagard Mountains in the northwest, Taftan (Daptan) volcano and the Bazman ranges which are the extension of Iran’s central and northeastern mountains into the  Sarhad region of northeast balochistan, the snow-covered ranges of the central Kalat highlands, and massive ranges sulaiman  mountains as the extension of the Hindu kush mountains for hundred miles in parallel, have always formed major barriers to easy communication within the country. At the same time they have served as natural hardors, sheltering tha Baluch in cases of war and foreign invasion. This natural aspect has been captured best by a Baluchi ballad that runs, “the lofty heights are our comrades, and the pathless gorges our friends.” (9)  Again the massive mountains ranges are separated by semi-desert and rocky plains which from arid expanses separating the scattered communication in towns and villages by great distances. There is also the desert of Kharan and seistan in northern Baluchistan that is the southward expansion of the central Lut Desert of Iran.

Naturally the climate of such a vast territory has extraordinary variety. In the northern and interior highlands, the temperature often drops to 40 centigrade f in winter, while the summers are temperate. The coastal region is extremely hot, with temperatures soaring between100 to 120 f in summer, while winters provide a more favorable climate. In spite of its position on the path of southwest monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean, Balochistan seldom receives more than five to twelve inches of rainfall per year due to the low altitude of Makuran’s coastal ranges. As a result, surface water is a scarce commodity. There is no large river flowing through the land. Most rivers possess permanent banks, but flow only during heavy rains. At times the water from rain disappears most often underground only to reappears at a distance or to be preserved in the rivers’ rocky beds.

Yet the land possesses many fertile valley and plains which have been the center of towns and villages for the bulk of settled population throughout history. The agricultural life traditionally had been centered in the fertile valleys of Makuran in south, the rich plains of lasbella and Kachi in the southeast, the Bampur region irrigated by a river of the same name in the northwest, and numerous other agricultural oases scattered throughout the country, Selig S. Harrison; a prominent authority on the subject of Baluchi (Balochi)   nationalism, has estimated that out of a total of some 85 million acres in Pakistani Balochistan, only 3.3 million acres are cultivated of which only 800 000 are irrigated, (10) The most important agricultural products consist of dates grains, beans and a variety of fruits and vegetables. The relatively large tracts of cultivated land in these regions are smaller tracts are irrigated by means of kahn or Kariz, an ancient system of irrigation based on a chain of wells connected by a subterranean passage which brings underground water to the surface and is prevalent in Makuran and parts of Iran. There are also patches of land collected and preserved on their surface. More important, Balochistan, for the most part, is formed of volcanic layers, thus being fertile and capable of cultivation when sufficiently irrigated. This is particularly the case in light of the recent discovery of huge reserves of underground water in many parts of country.

On the other hand, in sarhad and other parts of northern Baluchistan and the central Kalat Highlands where mountains territory and plains are better suited for grazing than farming. The semi-nomadic tribes are roving the land in search of water and fresh pasture lands for their flocks of sheep and goats. Traditionally, the agricultural (agrarian) economy has prevailed in southern Balochistan resulting in a deep-rooted feudalism in Makuran. While the northern part of the country has been dominated by tribalism and pastoral economy. In many parts, however the dual economies of settled agriculture and pastoralist are practiced side by side engaging both the nomads and peasants, Both sectors traditionally have practiced trade, exchanging animal products for agricultural crops or for products of the small artisan communities in towns or for fish catches of the coastal fishermen. In addition there always has been a group of traders in small towns and villages trading different goods from region to region within the country. Another kind of trade involved neighboring countries with Balochistan exporting mostly dates, metals, and animal’s products (skins, wool, etc.) Via the caravan routes or ports to Arabia, India, and Afghanistan. In return for these exports, it imported spices and manufactured products for agriculture and warfare.

Inevitably, the formidable geography and the harsh climate of the land have left its marks on all aspects of Balochi society, influencing its history, its Scio-economic structure and institution its political psychology. The geographical isolation has served to preserve and reinforce the Balochi ethnic and cultural identity, thus preventing its assimilation and absorption into the neighboring cultures. As a result of the dry climate and the lack of adequate surface water supplies, the predominantly barren land is sparsely populated with an estimated population 5-7 million for an area of aground 240,000 square miles. This accounts for a population density of around eight to ten per square mile. The same ecological factors have also been responsible for the fragmentation of agricultural centers and pasturelands, thus shaping the formation of the traditional feudal/tribal economy and its corresponding Scio-political institutions. (11)  

Yet, the Baluch have developed a deeply rooted sense of attachment and affection to their homeland, which has in turn given them their sense of identity and national consciousness. This attachment is closely linked with a strong sense of awareness and of admiration for the natural features of the land as is manifested in an ancient Baluchi saying that “the dry wood of the homeland is better than the world” (wai-ie vatane hoskin dar). It is often incorporated in patriotic songs chanted at nationalist gatherings as exemplified in the following:

Pleasant as homeland of anotehr may be,

Populous and affluent and great of name,

Streams of honey may run there.

But for Nasir {the ruler of Balochistan from 1741 to 1805}

The wood of the homeland is better than the entire world (12)

Finally, the process of modernization and economies development has just begun to affect both the eastern and the western parts of Balochistan in recent years, opening a new era which is bound to transform the Baluchi society and its divided homeland. The limited surveys which have taken place so far in both parts indicate that the land is endowed with rich mineral resources including Oil, natural gas, uranium, coal, chromites, marble, suphur, iron ore, and other potential resource that await further studies. So far only natural gas, coal and marble mines have been exploited in Pakistani part of Baluchistan, while the Iranian part is lagging far behind in this regards. There is great economic potential for developing the extensive fishing resources and expanding the part facilities along the long coast of approximately 1,000 miles. Given the discovery of huge sub-surface water reserves, the potentials for agricultural expansion and urban development have multiplied in recent years. (13) In short, the process of modernization is bound to reduce the impact of ecological barriers, as will be discussed in chapter III.   <--back to index---