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Balochs in UP towns back Modi taking up cause
BAGHPAT: Wanted by Pakistan, exiled Balochistan leader Brahamdagh Bugti has made up his mind to seek asylum in India. If his wish is granted, Bugti will find himself
BAGHPAT: Wanted by Pakistan, exiled Balochistan leader Brahamdagh Bugti has made up his mind to seek asylum in India. If his wish is granted, Bugti will find himself at home among fellow brethren.
Hundreds of miles away from their restive homeland, tens of thousands of Balochs live in India, most of them in western Uttar Pradesh. Having settled down in India centuries ago, many of them have become more Indian than Balochs.
But ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned the spotlight on alleged rights violations in the Pakistani province during his Independence Day speech, Balochs on this side of the border have woken up to the plight of their erstwhile countrymen and are rediscovering their roots.
“We are Indians first, but cannot ignore that our forefathers were from Balochistan. We have an emotional bonding with Baloch land and it will remain in our heart,” says Hazi Akhtar, a resident of Bilochpura in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat.
In dozens of villages across the region such as Hasanpur, Khedki, Pukhta Garhi and Garhi Abdullah, there is a sudden longing for the land they came from and a deep desire to help their brethren in the troubled times.
Most Balochs in UP have themselves fallen on bad times. Many have been forced to sell their land to meet rising expenses and in Bilochpura, for example, they own only about 10% of the 20,000 acres of land. Yet, some of them have taken the initiative to network among themselves and build a support group for the Balochs back home.
Irfan Khan is one of them. Till recently, his sole identity was that of a Muslim leader. But once Balochistan came to prominence following Modi’s speech, he is now considered a Baloch leader. Khan is busy contacting other Balochs and creating a database. “A reasonable support group has already been formed to extend support to Baloch leaders for organising protests, handing over memorandum and other activities,” he says. “Hundreds of people could go anywhere at a short notice to show their solidarity to the Baloch cause,” he says.
Balochs in UP have begun identifying prominent people among them for a leadership role. Former member of parliament Amir Alam, BSP MLA Nawajish Alam, and leading medical practitioner of Muzaffarnagar, SU Khan, are some of them.
A visit earlier this month by exiled Baloch leader Mazdak Dilshad Khan to the town of Baraut provided further momentum to their endeavour and they say they will hold a pro-Balochistan rally in New Delhi next month.
“Our forefathers came here and India is now our home for centuries, but at the same time our identity is also from Balochistan as people call us Baloochi,” points out Hazi Yaseen.
How and when they arrived in present-day UP is disputed. Amit Rai Jain, a local historian, says the Balochs first came to the state as experts on explosives, accompanying Maratha warriors. Others say they came along with the army of Mughal emperor Humayun.
But there is unanimity that Modi did the right thing by raising the issue of Balochistan. “It reminded us of our Baloch identity,” says Irfan Khan. “Now, we are all itching to do everything we can for the land of our forefathers”.
