August 11: Commemorating Balochistan’s struggle for sovereignty (IANS Analysis)

New Delhi: August holds substantial historical significance for South Asia. While the Independence days of India and Pakistan on August 15 and August 14, respectively, are well known, the importance of August 11 for the Baloch people and Balochistan is less recognised.

On this date in 1947, the departing British colonial administration announced that leaders of the Pakistani Movement had signed a Standstill Agreement with the rulers of the Kalat Khanate, the precursor to modern-day Balochistan, effectively acknowledging its sovereignty just four days before Pakistan’s creation through the partition of India.

This date is significant as it marks the Baloch reclaiming their homeland after a century of British colonial rule.

However, this Independence was short-lived as Pakistan’s founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, orchestrated a takeover of Balochistan by the Pakistan Army through force in March 1948. Since then, Balochistan has been ruled under a stringent, imperialistic agenda.

For the Baloch nation, August represents Jinnah’s betrayal, Pakistan’s ongoing oppression, and yet a glimmer of hope for freedom, evidenced by the robust resistance led by Baloch women.

As Baloch nationalist groups such as the Baloch National Movement (BNM) and the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) prepare to commemorate Independence Day, they are organising global events like seminars, sit-ins, and protests to remind the