Balochistan is not Bangladesh despite Doval Doctrine

A Hindu former government minister from Balochistan, who now lives overseas, is extremely angry with India. "Look at how the Baloch have fought against Pakistan, selflessly, but look how India has done nothing for them, shamelessly," said the minister on a condition of not being named.

Exactly same kind of voices was echoing from inside India. "My country is sleeping brother,i hate my people," said Rajan Bhardwaj, from Bihar who lives in Delhi, and played host to Mama Qadeer and his grandson Beuragh Reki. "Its like an Elephant is in deep sleep. Even, I am not pleased with (Narendra) Modi sahab," Bhardwaj, who is an activist of Hind-Baloch Forum added.

Propaganda galore that the situation in Balochistan is like that of former East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. It is true that the army is carrying out brutal atrocities and war crimes in Balochistan, but there can be no comparison between Bangladesh in 1971 and Balochistan today. Other than the "B" as the first letters in the names of Bangladesh and Balochistan, bloodshed and brutality, the most important "B"-- Bharat-- is not playing the same role as it had played in Bangladesh.

India does have concerns over how to support a fragmented movement, with no single party that can claim it represents the national aspirations of the Baloch people nor even a united front of multiple parties. Among the Marris, while there was just one Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, who controlled the destiny of his the tribesmen in his more than 3,200 square miles fiefdom, there are today four of his sons engaged in a power struggle with one another. The sons are filthy rich while the tribesmen are the poorest among poor on earth.

A second tribe of Bugtis, who basically were never nationalists but sold their gas for a pittance to the Pakistan state for 60 years, has a three-way tug of war between three Bugti cousins: Mir Aali Bugti, Shahzain Bugti and Brahumdagh Bugti, president of the Baloch Republican Party, who the Swiss suspect also leads the Baloch Republican Army. In the past there was just one Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, former governor and chief minister of Balochistan, who was assassinated on August 26, 2006.

One Family, Two Politics: Former Balochistan Sardar Ataullah Mengal and his grandson Bhawal, who is accused by Pakistan of running the militant Lashkar-i-Balochistan., along with his dad Javed Mengal and brother Noordin Mengal. The senior Mengal says Baloch are not yet ready to run their own affairs. but  his son and grandsons run multi-million Free Balochistan ads allegedly financed by India. The first home to the senior Mengal  in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, was gifted by an uncle of this writer.

Yet another tribe, Mengals, is headed by the veteran politician Sardar Ataullah Mengal who says Baloch are not ready to become the masters of their own destiny. His two sons, include former chief minister Sardar Akhtar Mengal and former senator Javed Mengal do two different kinds of politics: Akhtar Mengal does parliamentary politics while Javed Mengal  and his two sons Noordin Mengal and is accused by Pakistan of running the Lashkar-i-Balochistan in side Balochistan while he and his two sons run World Baloch Organization overseas.

The first and foremost is political organization. The war in Bangladesh was highly organized  in the political domain as the Awami League had won the popular mandate with a face to show to the world, Sheikh Mujib. In the 1970 elections, the Awami League won 160 out of of Pakistan's overall 313 seats and it was the army-and-civil bureaucracy who refused to accept the election results. In
Balochistan there is no such party that can claim popular mandate and even parties demanding freedom have been pushed into exile, but their basic action is limited to militancy. It is for this reason there are no mass protests over the CPEC or even against the daily killings. More or less, one can palpably feel the rise of warlordism and by and large the majority of the population appear to be tired of militancy.

Bengalis had well-trained guerrilla force Mukti Bahini that had open support of India, was being trained by Indian army officers, under one of the bravest Indian politicians Indira Gandhi. Ms Gandhi went from nation to nation, becoming the voice of the Bengali people.

The funding mechanism appears to be highly corrupt feudal leaders sitting in the west are collecting funds in the name of militancy. On the other hand, the real faces of Balochistan liberation are Dr Allah Nazar Baloch, chief of the Balochistan Liberation Front, Aslam Baluch, chief of a splinter faction of the Balochistan Liberation Army, Gulzar Imam of the Baloch Republican Army are on the battleground without proper lines of support. Highly corrupt security mangers in India's North Bloc seem to be calling the shots and so the matter is never raised in the Indian parliament nor debated in the Indian media.

For instance, a recent multi-million Free Balochistan ad campaign was run in Western cities, ostensibly bankrolled by India to organizations with militant links, but the only notice of the ads in the US was an interview in the Huffington Post; the cost of the ad campaign in New York alone stood at $10 million. With this amout of money lot could have been seriously achieved in the US, including a resolution in the Congress, setting up of a Baloch Department in a major university or a Balochistan chair in major US think-tanks. Committed activists are at a sense of loss over Indian priority and policies in Balochistan, saying that the ads campaign reflected Indian non-seriousness on Balochistan.

Like Indira Gandhi, this time India has a great leader in the form of Narendra Modi, but while the BJP is in government it does not seem to be in power. After Modi's historic speech at the Red Fort August 15, 2016, a spokesperson of his BJP visited Washington DC but got a cold feet at the last moment on the excuse that Pakistanis were also staying in the same hotel and he did not want to be seen with this scribe, whose face is recognized by Pakistan. Even local US supporters of the BJP were shocked to see the cowardice of their central leader.

Malik Siraj Akbar,Harvard-educated Baloch journalist, laments reaction seen from many Baloch leaders after Modi’s comments indicates that the new generation of the Baloch was just too desperate to become pawns in the hands of bigger powers, including India. "I would say this generation of the Baloch is too naïve and oblivious of international relations and diplomacy. Hoping that Modi’s mere expression of concern about the state of human rights in Balochistan will eventually translate into overt Indian official support for the free Balochistan movement looks either too premature or completely absurd."

In fact, a month after Modi's speech BRP's Bugti went to the Indian consulate in Geneva to apply for asylum. Many of his close relatives were angry with Bugti for doing so. as the army launched brutal attacks on innocent Bugti tribesmen as a tit-for-tat for embarrassing Pakistan, killing 2,000 of them. Almost a year later, the Indians informed Bugti he was not welcome, leaving him stranded in the middle of nowhere,

Genuine Hindus want to visit Balochistan unfettered for holy pilgrimage to Hinglaj Mata Sakhtipeet or pilgrimage site but unfortunately these Hindus too want to support just militancy while the solution lies in open diplomatic support for a free Balochistan.

But even most ardent supporters of Balochistan say India won't go to war with Pakistan over Balochistan. "Getting into a war with Pakistan, will surely bring China to its aid, bogging us down and preventing any development to bring up 40%  our population from below poverty line," says Professor Suchitra We cannot take such a risk unless pushed to the limit, like Pakistan attacking us, when we will definitely defend ourselves by whatever means at our command..