Press statement: September 2, 2006
BALUCHISTAN: INDIA SHOULD LOOK BEYOND THE BUGTI KILLING
N.S. Rajaram
Indias response to the Pakistan Armys killing of the Baluchi tribal leader Akbar Khan Bugti is deeply disappointing. Instead of a routine condemnation issued through a Ministry of External Affairs spokesman, India as the major regional power, should have expressed support at the highest level for the Baluchi peoples struggle for freedom from military occupation. India s low level response indicates profound ignorance of history and Indias geo-strategic interests at the highest levels of the UPA Government, particularly on the part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
To those familiar with the history leading up to Indias disastrous border war with China , this bears a disconcerting similarity to Nehrus betrayal of Tibet to China in 1950 in pursuit of personal glory in Korea . It is all the more disturbing that China seems be actively engaged in Baluchistan, while India is staying aloof despite long standing historical, cultural and maritime interests.
Baluchistan is different from Kashmir . Unlike Kashmir, which acceded to India and invited the Indian Army only after it was invaded by Pakistani irregulars and the army, Baluchistan, dominated by the Khanate of Khalat wanted to remain
independent. If Indian leaders at the time of had had the necessary vision and foresight, Baluchistan could have been made into a strategic ally like Bhutan . Instead, India sat idly by while Pakistan occupied Baluchistan by force and garrisoned the country. The present conflict is only the latest phase in the sixty year long freedom struggle that the Baluchis have been waging against the Pakistani Army.
The situation is eerily similar to that witnessed 35 years ago when Bangladesh broke away from Pakistan , but the insular UPA leadership seems to be blissfully unaware. The Indian government is treating it as an internal affair of Pakistan . This suggests that Indian and Baluchi groups and
individuals outside the government should establish close contact so that a foundation of mutual trust and goodwill are established on which a healthy relationship can be built when Baluchistan frees itself from the Pakistani yoke. This seems to be only a matter of time.
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