Bahot Baloch is a freelance journalist and scholar from Balochistan, specialising in covering Baloch armed organisations and the broader Baloch liberation movement. In an exclusive interview with Medya News, he provided insightful commentary on the history of the Baloch people, as well as on their ongoing struggles and the modes of resistance they currently employ. Bahot’s analysis is careful to bring attention to the realities on the ground and the voices of those involved in the Baloch movement, with an eye to dispelling illusions created by mainstream narratives.
In this interview we posed a number of questions, each of which received a thoughtful and detailed response. The first thing we wanted to ask for was simply a brief history of the Baloch people, to which Bahot began by describing some of the ways in which the Baloch people have been misled about their own history, and why this is so;
“Until some time ago, we believed that the written history of the Baloch nation began during the Rind era, i.e., the 14th century. Later, during the colonial period, the British introduced various fabricated theories, portraying us at different times as Turkmen, Tajik, Chaldean, Arab, Iranian, or even Rajput. Unfortunately, we blindly followed these colonial narratives. The British settlers aimed to entangle the nation in historical confusion to prolong their rule, and they succeeded.”
Bahot referred to one of the earliest texts recognisable as a work of historical scholarship, Herodotus’ The Histories, to point out that of the over twenty tribes named by Herodotus in this text, many still exist among the Baloch as well as Kurdish population, and inhabit the same lands today. However, Bahot cited the archaeological discoveries in Balochistan, such as the discovery in 1977 of an aceramic Neolithic settlement in Mehrgarh, Balochistan, as a clear indication that Balochistan has been inhabited continuously for several millennia preceding Herodotus’ tribal studies.
Bahot goes on to make a number of references to stories described in the legendary Persian national epic Shahnameh, written by the poet Abul-Qasim Ferdowsi, such as the war against the Assyrian king Zahhak lead by Kaveh Ahengar (or Kaveh the Blacksmith in English, Kawe-y Asinger in Kurdish). This story, which is deeply significant in Kurdish folklore, is also a striking record of the unity of Kurdish and Baloch people, as Kaveh Ahengar’s military campaign lead to the establishment of the Median Empire in 854 BCE, which Bahot Baloch pointed out is consistent with Herodotus’ recognition of the Med tribe, a tribe which still exists in Balochistan and speaks the Medī dialect of the Balochi language.
Throughout the interview, Bahot Baloch returned several times to archaeological evidence and historical literature to make his point abundantly clear; Balochi tribes have inhabited Balochistan since ancient times. He cited the names of places, tribes, individuals, and texts to demonstrate the impossibility of certain hypotheses, such as the suggestion that Baloch people originally migrated to Balochistan from Kurdistan. At the same time he was able to refine our historical understanding of the relationship of Baloch and Kurdish peoples, and was careful not to rule out the possibility that some migration occurred;
“I would like to clarify that at one time, Kurds and Baloch were settled from Kurdistan to the Indus River—whether during the era of the Median state or the rule of the Askani and Kushan dynasties. In this regard, Baloch archaeologist Raza Baloch writes in his book Muhimmat-e-Balochistan that “Quetta” was originally known as “Shal”, named after the Kurdish chief Shalin Kurd, during the era of the Median Empire. Even today, the Bolanzei clan of Kurds resides in Sari Bolan. Moreover, the ancient population and tribes of Quetta are the same as those found in present-day Kurdistan, bearing identical names.”
Some of the felt need to clarify this comes from historical claims propagated by the Baloch people themselves, notably the 17th century Baloch scholar Akund Muhammad Salih Zengene Baloch, who penned a text now known as Kurd Gel Name. The claim that Baloch are displaced Kurds seems to have originated in this text, and the abundance of similarities in language and culture has had the tendency to reinforce it. Fascinatingly, Bahot recalled that even before this, the 14th century Arab polymath Ibn Khaldun referred to the two peoples together as ”Kurd o Baloch”.
One notable example of such an identification is the ‘Mamesani’ tribe, who live in both Kurdistan and Balochistan. Those in Kurdistan call themselves Kurds, while those in Balochistan call themselves Baloch. This leads us to ask, if the Baloch are in fact indigenous to the land they presently occupy, but share so much with Kurds in language and culture, how do the Baloch tribes of today see their relationship with Kurds? Bahot Baloch was able to provide a list of names of tribes which have nearly identical names among Kurds and Baloch;
“The Barzani tribe among the Iraqi Kurds is Baranzai among the Baloch; their Dina corresponds to our Dinarzai; Dolamari in Kurdistan is Mari in Balochistan. The Mamosei and Memesh tribes in Iraq correspond to the Mamsani and Mamshai in the Baloch region. The Misan and Mosani tribes of Kurdistan correspond to our Musiani; Rekani among Kurds is Reki among the Baloch; Zerari among Kurds is Zardari among Sindh’s Baloch. Similarly, Shahwani among the Baloch is Shahwani among the Kurds, Lashani in Iranian Kurdistan is Lashari in Balochistan, Kiani among the Kurds is Kiazai or Kiani among the Baloch, and Masiyan among the Kurds corresponds to Mastoi among the Baloch.”
Naturally, these shared histories and communities create an affinity among the two peoples. Unfortunately, Kurds and Baloch have experienced similar forms of oppression as well, as the land on and from which they live has been divided into different nation-states. This is a more recent historical development, which occurred at the close of the First World War. As this is a topic of enduring interest for understanding the relationship of Kurdish and Baloch liberation struggles today, we asked Bahot Baloch about how he understands the partition of Balochistan, to which he responded by with a historical overview.
The first and only moment in the history of Balochistan wherein all regions inhabited by Baloch were governed by a Baloch administration was the era of Kambarani Baloch, whose territorial expansion culminated in 1761. However when the British arrived in 1839, their divide-and-rule strategies began to corrode the unity of the Baloch nation, despite an immediate yet disorganised resistance on the part of the indigenous Baloch population. In 1871, the Goldsmid Line was drawn from the tripoint of Afghanistan, Iran, and British India, dividing Balochistan between Iranian and British control without consulting the Baloch administration. The final division occurred in 1893 with the British drawing the Durand Line, which ceded parts of Baloch territory to the Emirate of Afghanistan.
Interestingly, Bahot points out that a declaration of Balochistan’s independence was signed on 4 June 1947, with the endorsement of both the British and the newly formed Pakistani leadership. Balochistan declared its independence on 11 August 1947, the British encouraged Pakistan to forcibly annex Balochistan in 1948, to combat Soviet expansion. This shored up Pakistan’s raison d’être, contrary to the narrative that the partition of India occurred simply due to British opportunism taking advantage of religious sectarianism already present in the region. He concluded by stating “According to the 1935 Indian Act, these agreements were supposed to dissolve automatically after British withdrawal, but they disregarded their own laws and instead paved the way for Pakistan’s unlawful occupation of Balochistan.”
This would fragment the Baloch people and divide them along national boundaries. Our fifth question concerned the methods and means of the Baloch struggle against this partition and occupation; how is it organised? Bahot was quick to insist on the fact that the Pakistani administration persists as the primary antagonist of the Baloch people in their struggle for freedom and basic human rights, despite the fact that Iran and Afghanistan do in fact occupy large part of the territory on which indigenous Baloch have lived for millennia.
Bahot recalled how the 1948 Baloch uprising lead by Agha Abdul Karim Khan was directed against the Pakistani state, and subsequent uprisings in 1958, 1962, and from the 1970s up until today have been principally directed at Pakistan. It is because of this that the ongoing Baloch struggle is centred in Pakistan, as the ground has been prepared for struggle both militarily and politically. He noted that there have nevertheless been rebellions in Western Balochistan (in Iran) but never in Afghanistan.
This led us to ask him about the structure and strategy of the ongoing movement in Pakistani-occupied Balochistan, to which he responded in an original way, showing the relationship of the armed struggle to the popular protest movements. He stated that the principal armed organisations are the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Baloch Raj Aajoi Sangar (BRAS). On the non-military front the Baloch National Movement (BNM) is the principal actor, but is joined by the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) and the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) in a unified struggle.
Significantly, the role of women in the Baloch struggle has been taken to new heights with the leadership of Dr. Mahrang Baloch who has in many ways become the face of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). She was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her courage and leadership have inspired millions, which prompted us to ask Bahot Baloch about the women’s struggle in Balochistan, with the hope of drawing connections to the Kurdish women’s struggle. He had very generous words for her, but he pointed out that Dr. Mahrang Baloch is not the first woman to take a leading role in the Baloch struggle. He recalled a lesser known figure, Banok Kareema Baloch, who was the first female leader in Baloch society and chaired the oldest and most prominent student organisation, the Baloch Students’ Organisation (BSO) in the 2000s.
There was also Mahal Baloch, also known as Zilan Kurd, who took inspiration from a Kurdish martyr who likewise carried out a self-sacrificial attack against Turkish soldiers during a flag-raising ceremony in the city centre of Dersim on 30 June 1996. Mahal Baloch was the third female ‘fidayee’ of the BLA. When asked why Mahal Baloch associated herself with Zilan Kurd in particular, Bahot responded in this way:
“Revolutionaries and freedom fighters often draw inspiration from historical figures who share their ideals. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, the Baloch and Kurds share a common ancestry, whether it be through Mehrgarh’s remains or Zagros’ history. These two groups lived together for thousands of years, with shared struggles and interests. This natural bond is likely why Mahal Baloch chose the name Zilan Kurd as her identity.”
Although Dr. Mahrang Baloch has not engaged in armed struggle like Mahal Baloch, Bahot stresses the fact that she has endured torture and arrests, yet has remained steadfast. ”Her resilience and ability to unite people have made her the most beloved and influential figure in Baloch society today.” Following her lead, a number of Baloch women have also taken leadership roles, such as Sammi Deen Jan and Dr. Sabiha Baloch. Following Dr. Baloch’s leadership, many politically stagnant areas have become active, such as the Green Belt of Balochistan.
The geographical and ideological distance of Balochistan from the Soviet Union was cited by Bahot as a reason why the Baloch women’s struggle developed more recently than in Kurdistan, as well as the conservative tribalism of Baloch society that was exacerbated by Robert Sandeman’s ‘Forward Policy’. This tribalism is exploited by Pakistan. He stated that over 70,000 people have been forcibly disappeared by the Pakistani state, and the mutilated bodies of over 20,000 Baloch people have been discovered in Pakistan-occupied Balochistan. Villages have been razed and looted and entire communities have been devastated by the Pakistani army and its death squads, who do not hesitate to inflict sexual violence on their victims. This has led to the displacement of thousands of Baloch to Afghanistan and Iran.
Bahot did not deny that atrocities have occurred in Iran, where there have been massacres of hundreds of people, such as the Zahedan massacre, and executions of hundreds of Baloch in Iranian prisons every year. He also stressed the fact that Iran systematically carries out educational, political, and economic discrimination against the Baloch people. Nevertheless, he considers that the policy of specifically the Pakistani administration towards the Baloch constitutes a form of genocide. He closed the interview with a plea to the international community at large, and to Kurdish people in particular;
“Therefore, we urge the international community to send a fact-finding mission to examine the true situation in Balochistan. Moreover, we appeal to all oppressed nations around the world, especially the Kurds, to raise their voices for us wherever they are because only the oppressed can truly understand the suffering of the oppressed. In particular, we urge Kurds living abroad to maintain close ties with the Baloch people, as our global solidarity can help draw the world’s attention to our plight.”
