By Aziz Baloch
Sana Baloch is intellectually honest while writing his article in dailytawar, Winston Churchill said “Criticism is easy, achievement is difficult.” It is fare to criticize the Baloch leaders for their weaknesses, as part of expressing our opinion but their achievements should not be over looked. After attending many conferences organized by various international bodies on issues related to Balochistan, Sana Baloch’s role in exposing human rights violations by Musharraf’s military thugs is admirable. He successfully presented to the world media well documented proof of Pakistan army’s brutal suppression of the Baloch people. He is capable of representing Baloch issues as an articulate Balochistan National Party leader at national and international levels. I think his commitment towards the Baloch cause and his party is solid regardless of his few weaknesses.
All nationalist leaders should be equally held accountable for their parties and people of Baloch nation whom they represent. This is the norm of democracy, they {Baloch Leaders} should be judged on the bases of their achievements. Carrying their responsibility honestly, the most important thing is they {Baloch Leaders} be judged on what they do practically, not what they say, be it the National Party, Balochistan National Party, Jamhoori Watan Party, Balochistan National Movement, Haq-Tawar, BSO (Baloch Students Organization} or any other Baloch organization within Balochistan or abroad, because they all represent the nation of Balochistan.
Similarly other Baloch community members, mostly ones that have had relations with the Baloch cause, such as: bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors, Engineers, officials, educators, teachers, intellectual’s, writers, community workers and business persons must be key contributors to the cause for they play an integral role in the long Baloch national struggle, because “charity starts at home”. All of the above can make a huge difference in their community, if these professionals are not fulfilling their duty they too are betraying the Baloch cause, when it comes to serving our helpless and oppressed people none of them should be exceptional, because the famous saying is “God help those who help themselves”. Nelson Mandela is mostly known as a great leaders but he was also a committed community worker, a lawyer for his oppressed people of South Africa he writes “ As I realized quickly what Mandela…meant to ordinary Africans. It was a place where they could come and find a sympathetic ear and competent ally, a place where they would actually feel proud to be represented by men of their own skin color this was the reason I had become a lawyers in the first place.”
As a visionary leader, with strong will and strong decision making power, Nelson Mandela spent about 27 years in jail, but never once was he shaken by his oppressors. He believed he could free his people from slavery, during this long struggle to freedom, he realized he has to change his strategy, because they were not working he said, “ I began to suspect that both legal and extra – constitutional protests would soon be impossible.” He gave the reason why and explained that “In India, Ghandi had been dealing with a foreign powers that ultimate was more realistic and farsighted. That was not the case with Afrikaners in South Africa” Because he thought as he said “ Nonviolent passive resistance is effective as long as your opposition adheres to the same rules as you do. But if peaceful protest is met with violence, its efficacy is at an end. For me, non violence was not a moral principle but a strategy…”
So, the irony with Baloch struggle is they are facing similar circumstances for decades, history tells us -Politics of Polarization- have not changed the misery of Baloch people. For the past 60 years, many lessons have presented themselves for Baloch leadership, but sadly to say they were never fully grasped. Their empty slogans, decades of Pakistani drawing room politics, power struggle among themselves, games of compromising with rulers for themselves and their party interests, making false promises with their own poor Baloch during elections have all been the actions of Baloch leadership themselves for decades.
Therefore, Shaheed-i-Watan Akbar Khan Bugti, at the end of his political life, referred to such leaders by saying, “Not a nationalist but pat-paresth” when he grasped the critical situation of Baloch and Balochistan and put forward a sincere call for unity to form a single Baloch political party to persevere centuries old ‘deh’ {land} identity, gold coast and rich natural resources of Balochistan. Nawab Bugti said, “We have presented a proposal to Baloch people and political parties who called themselves nationalist parties that they should depart from their individual status and merge into a new Baloch nationalist party.” Sadly no one was ready to commit to a merger, and the idea of unity remained just that, an idea. Their lack of commitment and decision making power became a classical obstacle for future advancement. And the Baloch nation still awaits the arrival of their Nelson Mandela, who will hopefully come forward to add a golden chapter to Baloch history. Rabindranath Tagore said, “You can’t cross the sea merely by staring at the water.” So it is now time to end our stare into the horizon and began our swim to freedom.
Such repeated failed political strategy - politics of polarization - hopefully will be modified, if not for political autonomy then at least for the sake of their own poor, illiterate, and nomadic oppressed population, Baloch leaders and political activists would be doing a great favor to their people because they too have grown tired of the blame-games and lack of political maturity based on ego-centric shallowness.
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