Baloch Sacrifice their lives to achieve National Existence.
Dosteen Baloch
Martyrs, an easy path to pronounce but hard to walk on, are the ones who die for a specific cause, either religiously or politically. This state of being martyred is generally called martyrdom, a philosophy people idealize and appreciate.
Following the definition of martyrdom, each ideology has its perspective. For instance, in Islam, anyone who dies in Jihad (the Islamic concept of holy war) or unjustly is a martyr. In contrast, “martyrdom” in Arabic is called “shahadat,” which means to witness.
Another non-religious explanation for martyrs is possible. A martyr can give their life or something of significant (mostly personal) value to further a cause. Both religious and political martyrs are respected and honored in every society, depending on the people’s faith. Those fighting a liberation war for their respective subjugated region are politically conscious. They sacrifice themselves for independence, or, we might say, they go with the philosophy of martyrdom to bring liberation for their besieged land by slaying the enemy. They, the martyrs, are conscious of their impending deaths.
The concept of martyrs and martyrdom developed in Balochistan during the state’s oppression. The occupation primarily impacts Baloch national identity in Balochistan. Baloch martyrs and martyrdom exist because of the seizure and its brutal consequences for Baloch national identity.
Although Pakistan is the primary cause, it is not the only one. Iran, China, Turkey, the United States, the United Kingdom, and international humanitarian organizations are currently considered to be a part of colonialism due to their strong ties with Pakistan and their financial, military, and moral support for this lethal country to maintain its regressive occupation of the Baloch land.
Martyrs are considered and presented by the colonizer as “terrorists.” But in reality, the movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have changed the meaning of martyrdom: those who fight against colonialism are individuals with feelings and innocent souls. The same applies to Baloch too. They are a people, innocent, and are not violating any other nation’s rights. They are not colonizing other nations’ lands or practicing genocide against any other people; they are fighting for independence and a bright future for their people on their land so that they can live happily as a nation like the rest.
Given the debate above, the colonial discourse of declaring Baloch freedom fighters as terrorists is thoroughly illogical and based on their illegal ruling policy on Baloch soil to further exploit the Baloch land and sea and create an identity crisis among the people. Fortunately, the Baloch resist such a discourse since they are a nation with a clear ideology through which they struggle to protect their national identity.
Fighting for freedom can be seen as making war and killing for the sake of an ideology. A person’s ideology allows the offender (the colonizer) to be killed. From a radical nationalist perspective, the perpetrator breached the nation’s sovereignty, and the nationalist is justified in fighting for freedom. Thus, innocence implies that the nation’s rights and sovereignty are being violated, and as a result, its citizens might take action against the violators, for they have been peacefully living, but their nation was forcefully captured. In the name of such innocence and nationalism, every Baloch is entitled to be armed against every person who denies the people their right over their nation.
However, some actors portray Baloch notions and other ideas negatively. The colonizer and its techniques of oppression, like propaganda, media, and parliaments, as well as its brutal and genocidal policies, contributed to the construction of the Baloch national struggle, of which martyrs and martyrdom are integral parts. Such as the government and media portraying the phenomenon as terrorism, which creates misunderstanding in international politics regarding the Baloch uprising. The concept of martyrdom permeates every Baloch’s life and thoughts.
I saw the nation and nationalism as essential to the development of martyrs and martyrdom. Martyrs are most frequently motivated by nationalistic resistance goals. When a martyr has a belief about something, that belief becomes their ideology. The ideology of a martyr is the nation’s philosophy; it can be viewed as nationalism. Instead, each person imagines their version of the nation and its people. However, this image has the power to forge powerful bonds of camaraderie among the populace that might motivate people to sacrifice their lives for one another.
In radical nationalism, the populace is seen as a political force. Radical nationalism holds that the nation should strive for freedom since it is a political community. Balochistan, one such nation adept with the idea of a political community with political consciousness, possesses a unique and significant number of martyrdoms purely for the reawakening of their nation. Amidst the streets of Balochistan, everyone appeared to know someone who had been designated a martyr and to have at least one martyr among their friends and family.
Furthermore, there is a tone to paintings of martyrs and other memorial paintings that pay tribute to and lament the loss of martyrs. Additional symbolic remembrances include sculptures, signs, flags, memorial days, ceremonies, customs, etc. The constant reminder of martyrdom through dialogue with the Baloch and the tributes shows that martyrdom is a massive phenomenon in Balochistan. The martyrdom tributes produce resistance in the Baloch nation; the tributes also remind the Baloch of the occupation.
It is important to note that a country can use rites to unite its citizens through a shared cultural heritage. A politically influenced cultural group in the Baloch nation is built through a martyr’s funeral. The Baloch are inspired to battle against the colonizer by the martyrdom rite funeral. Memorials inspire Baloch to fight against the state’s brutal occupation. The memorial serves to remind Baloch martyrs who died fighting for their cause, nevertheless, the struggle for all Baloch. People who are reminded are inspired to continue fighting for the rights of the Baloch; they wish to emulate the martyr’s sacrifice and “accomplish what he did.”
In other words, Baloch must accomplish what the martyrs accomplished. The meaning is described as having two possible interpretations. It doesn’t seem conceivable that Baloch would resist attaining the “martyr” “rank” (to die). Baloch people choose to live rather than perish. Baloch occasionally survives because of martyrdom. Balochs are not willing to die or carry out suicide bombings to become martyrs; they do so to live somewhere when they die. Martyrdom might be seen as a factor in the Baloch nation’s resolve to survive. This should be interpreted as meaning that sacrifice produces resistance. Hence, memorials remind the Baloch nation to explain the significance of martyrdom and educate others about the resistance.