Baloch as a people

“Baloch as a people”

Under courtesy; Johar Ali Bugtti, MA, LLB & Prof. Zaffar Bugtti, LLB (Hon), LLM

The Baloches are a people comprising of a confederation of about five hundred tribes and clans. They claim to be of common Semitic stock, sharing common traditions and culture and speak a common language called ‘Balochi’. They occupy a vast track of land, now politically divided between Iran, called Iranian Balochistan with its capital at Zahidan covering an area of about 69,487 square miles, the other in Pakistan, known as Balochistan with its capital at Quetta, spread over an area of about 134,000 square miles. Apart from the above provinces of Iran and Balochistan, Baloch settlements are to be found in Northern Iran, around Herat region in Northern Afghanistan, Sindh, Punjab, N.W.F provinces of Pakistan, and in India. There are Baloches, living in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Persian Gulf, Dubai, Abu Dubai, Qatar, Kuwait, Russia, Europe, and United States of America.  Indeed the Baloch have begun to colonise the United Kingdom whereby the only Bugti family are the writers and their families having first left Pakistan for London in 1972.

Firadusi (writer of Shah Nama – The Story of The kings) without any reservation and hesitation, acknowledged Baloches, and praised their valour and bravery.  He has paid the highest tributes to Baloches, their fighting qualities and their bravery.

Historians are unanimous over the fact that as a people the Baloches offered the toughest battles to all manner of foes be they Achaemenians, Sassanids, Buwaihids, Iranians, Arabs, Afghans, Moghuls, Indians, or British. They preferred to die warriors and an honourable death on the battle field rather than seek quarter or cow-down to submission.

      

Between the 16^th and 18^th centuries Baloch succeeded in establishing two independent States in Balochistan; Kalat under the Khans of Kalat; Sindh under Talpour Mirs (Baloch).

“The Bugties are reported to be the bravest of the Hill Tribes. Physically they are some of the finest man among the Baloch and intellectually, perhaps, they are the least bigoted like the Marris. They are active, hardly and capable of traversing great distances without fatigue”; as per The Gazetteer of Balochistan. Sibi District, pg. 292.

“I am sure that ‘Koch and Baloch’ lived in Iran, bordering, ‘Hind and Sind’, and that some of them (Bugti) came from a place in Iran known ‘BUG’”; (Ibn Haukal.) They then emigrated from there and settled in their present country called Bugti, which means ‘Old Residents of Bug.’ The Bugti hills are called after this tribe.

Sylvia Matheson, the author of ‘The Tigers of Balochistan’ says “….I came back to make my home in the middle of one of the world’s hottest and most inhospitable deserts among the most hospitable, generous and quick-tempered people I have ever encountered..”

Baloches did not want British Armies to pass through the regions of Sindh and Balochistan, therefore, they inflicted heavy losses to the British in men and material. In 1839 the Northern Baloches gave the British Army sufficient trouble on their way to Kandahar, particularly by Marris, Bugtis, Dombkis, Jakharanis, and others. From Sindh border and in Bolan Pass many battles were fought causing considerable loss of life and baggage to the British army.

Major John Jacob (after whom Jacobabad is named) described in his memoirs the first campaign in the hills north of Kutchee in 1939 / 40 by Major Billamore. He goes on to describe ‘Deyra’[Dera Bugti] and the meetings between Major Billamore and Islam Khan, the son and heir of Beebruck Khan, the head of the ‘Boogtee’ (Bugti) tribe; and the ensuing battles fought. In fact Beebruck Khan was arrested after being invited for “talks” with the British and then imprisoned at Bukhar Fort. The Bugtis only surrendered after the life of their chief was threaten. The British then occupied Dera Bugti and subsequently Kahan, the capital of Marri. The surrender however was short lived.

In the autumn of 1844 Sir Charles Napier (The Conqueror & Governor of Sindh) undertook a march through North-Western Sindh to confirm the wavering chiefs in their allegiance. As soon as the army of Sir Charles Napier left the hills the Bugtis returned to their area and continued actions in Sindh and Kachi. Napier had no choice but to offer a reward of ten shillings for each Bugti head and ordered that their cattle be seized or killed, and the ‘Boogtees’ themselves were to be treated as enemies ‘where ever found in hill or plain!’ Sir Charles Napier, in spite of his repeated armed attempts against the Marris and Bugtis, failed to subdue them by force of arms.

A letter dated 2^nd October 1847 written to Major John Jacob, Commanding Frontier, Khanghar describes the battle that took place at the Zeemanee [Zamni] River;

“…We continued our attacks, killing numbers, until on re-crossing the Zeemanee River they made another short stand. They were again over thrown and given and driven into the plain…..Their numbers were now getting small, but though repeated offers of quarter were made to them, they obstinately continued to fight until the destruction was so great that their numbers were reduced to about 120, many of whom were wounded.”

After this battle all remaining Bugtis were sent to Bugti Camp Larkana, including Chief Islam Khan and Chief Alim Khan Kalpar, under the supervision of the Deputy Collector Larkana in November 1847. October 1851 saw the return of most Bugtis back to Dera Bugti whilst many remained; hence the second largest population of Bugtis today are in Larkana. The said Bugtis are the Sundranis of the Perozani clan of which the writers hail from.

Indeed the Bugti are known for their bravery and also their stubbornness. Time and various rulers have done little to change this fact and one doubts if it shall ever be so. The history of the Baloch and Bugti tribe is a great and long one yet today it seems that we have learnt nothing from history itself. Nawab Akber Khan Bugti, Tumandar of the Bugti tribe, died like many chieftains and tribesman before him fighting a battle that may have seemed impossible to win, but if history has taught us anything it is that the Bugti do not bow down to anyone and will happily lay down their own life for Balochistan.

Excerpts taken from ‘Baloch – The Victims of the British Empire’

 written by J. A. Bugtti [to be published 2007]