By: Malek Towghi
The Baloch Nationalist Movement of the late 1940s was crushed by the overwhelming Punjabi-Muhajir force and fraud. Yet its performance will always be a source of pride and inspiration. It is so because of the following three reasons, among others:
1. The movement was guided and represented by a single political organ called " The National Party".
2. There was a single undisputed top political leader (Mir Ghaws Bakhsh Bizanjo), recognized so and respected and loved by all Baloch nationalists who called him Ghawsi out of love along with respect.
3. The movement and party were joined or supported by representatives of all classes and sectors of the Baloch society including the ulama (Islamic religious scholars and leaders) and their followers -- ofcourse, other than outright toadies.
Balochistan (headed by the Khan of Kalat) had adopted a reasonably modern-type of Constitution before Pakistan invaded and occupied this part of our homeland. According to this constitution, Balochistan had to have two chambers of its National Parliament: Dar al-Awam "House of commons" and Dar al-Umara "House of Lords".
"Soon after the promulgation of the constitution", Dr. Inayat Baloch informs, "elections were held .... for the first time in the history of Balochistan ... the National Party won 39 out of 51 seats in the House (Dar al-Awam). The rest of the seats went to independent candidates, who supported the cause of the National Party. The election was a victory for the democratic forces in Balochistan, who had worked since 1920 for the cause of democracy and an independent Greater Balochistan."
The members of the Balochistan House of Commons included atleast six Baloch ulama (Islamic clergymen) namely -- as mentioned in the official records of the Baloch Parliament ---, 1. Honorable ("Aaliyjaah") Mulla Gul Muhammad, 2. Honorable Mawlawi Noor Muhammad, 3. Honorable Mawlawi Arz Muhammad, 4. Honorable Mawlawi Muhammad Siddiq, 5. Honorable Mawlawi Muhammad Umar. and 6. Honorable Mawlawi Hadi Bakhsh.
After its creation by fraud, Pakistan demanded accession of Balochistan. The Khan referred the demand to the Baloch Parliament. The December 1947 and January 1948 sessions of the Houses of Commons and Lords of the Baloch Parliament unanimously rejected accession to Pakistan and reaffirmed Balochistan’s sovereignty. Let me quote Dr. Inayat Baloch again:
" Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo, the leader of the House (of Commons), criticized the unfriendly attitude of the Government of Pakistan and warned that the Baloch would not tolerate any insult and humiliation and would sacrify their lives for the cause of their national independence. The other members of the House supported the views of Bizenjo. The House, after long debate, adopted the following resolution unanimously on December 14, 1947":
"Relations with Pakistan should be established as between two sovereign states through a treaty based upon friendship and not accession."
In its January 4, 1948 session, the Dar al-Umara passed unanimously a similar resolution rejecting firmly the idea of accession to Pakistan, and declaring proudly to maintain the independence and sovereignty of Balochistan.
As recorded by Khan Ahmad Yar Khan in his book in Urdu " Mukhtasar Tarikh-i- Qawm-i-Baloch wa Khawanin-i-Baloch (A Brief History of the Baloch Nation and of the Baloch Khans), the speeches delivered in these sessions of the Baloch Parliament including those of the ulama are worth reading. All including the ulama, our mawlawis, spoke unapologetically and enthusiastically as Baloch nationalists and insisted to maintain the seperate entity of the Baloch as a nation in a sovereign country called Balochistan. The Baloch ulama in particular ridiculed the idea that Balochistan should become a part of Pakistan just because Pakistan was a Muslim-majority country. They, like their great teachers, Husayn Ahmad Madani and Abul Kalam Azad, knew and practiced Islam more than Jinah and Liaqat did.
During the anti-Pakistan debate in the Baloch Parliament, our ulama / mawlawis had a leading role. They rejected the idea of accession to Pakistan as vehemently as our secular-minded Baloch members of the parliament did.
In the December 12-13 sessions of the Dar al-Awam, the three speakers immediately following the inaugural speech of Mir Ghaws Bakhsh Bizanjo were the Baloch ulama, namely Mawlawi Muhammad Umar, Mawlawi Arz Muhammad, and Mawlawi Noor Muhammad. Here I can translate only a sentence or two of their speeches.
Following Ghawsi’s speech, Mawlawi Muhammad Umar said: "What the Honorable Member of the House, Mir Ghaus Bakhsh has said in his speech is indeed what every Baloch wants to say. Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo has said what all the members of this House and the whole Baloch nation want to say." Mawlawi Muhammad Umar ridiculed the claims that Islam required Balochistan’s accession to Pakistan. He insisted to maintain Balochistan’s independence and sovereignty.
Mawlawi Arz Muhammad said: "By demanding accession, Pakistan wants to deprive us of our (God-given) freedom; we will never accept that."
Mawlawi Noor Muhammad of Makkuran began his speech by saying "Pakistan’s demand of accession has hurt the feelings of the Baloch". He ended his speech by asserting: "We will never, never allow our country (Balochistan) to become a part of Pakistan."
Please also note that like almost all genuine ulama and mawlawis of what is now Pakistan, almost all Baloch ulama of Sindh and Saraiki region were against this cursed idea of Pakistan. Just one example is that of the great Baloch aalim of Lyari, Karachi, Mawlaanaa Muhammad Usman !
Now let me come to the point, briefly:
Respected Baloch Ulama of the Punjab-Muhajir-occupied Balochistan,
Your nation, the Baloch nation, is being oppressed not only by the Punjabi-Muhajir tyrants, but also by our own corrupt and vision-less leaders. This noble but oppressed nation needs you.
Please return to your people, the Baloch nation, as Baloch nationalists -- as your predecessors were. Please quit MMA, i.e., the Jamaat-Islami and Jamiyat-i-Ulama-i-Islam. You may do so respectfully, without any criticism of these two parties. Just tell your non-Baloch colleagues that your own nation needs you.
Having done so, please form a Baloch-based independent political party, concentrating on the Baloch Issue at large, and on the need for a clean and honest leadership concerning the worldly affairs of the Baloch, particularly of the downtrodden, i.e. on khidmatul-ibaad and huqooq al-ibaad within the Baloch nation. You may call this new Baloch-based party "Jamiyat-i-Ulama-i-Baloch (JUB)" which may have branches in Sindh and Saraiki region.
Such a JUB may cooperate with a Baloch Nationalist Alliance or a Baloch Nationalist Party under the leadership of Nawab Bugti. (The rest are hopeless.)
The creation of such a JUB may become a blessing for the Baloch Nationalist Movement in the Punjabi-Muhajir-occupied Balochistan.
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