Adding a personal touch to Waajah Nasser Muhtashamiy

Adding a personal touch to Waajah Nasser Muhtashamiy's documentations of Persian bigotry against the Baloch

Waajah Nasser Muhtashamiy's piece "chiraa Balochhaa be Faarshaa Gajar miygooyand?" / "Why the Baloch call the Persians 'Gajar'?" published in balochistaninfo.com and elsewhere was not the first of his writings in Balochi and Farsi which I read with great appreciation. I have appreciated all of his writings, and consider him one of several rising stars of the Baloch Nationalist Movement of Pahlavi-occupied Balochistan. The piece on the Gajar atrocities and bigotry concerning the Baloch, however, was the first that touched my emotions personally. After reading the piece, I wanted to kiss Nasser jaan's hands who, like one of my sons (Dr. Nasser Towghi), bears the the name of my great grandfather, Mulla Nasser Towghi (Tawkiy).

In his much-appreciated and very much-needed documentation of the Persian crimes against the Baloch nation, Waajah Muhtashamiy has also mentioned correctly the notorious Farmanfarma of Kirman as one of the criminals.

As I have inherited the story from my father, Ghulam Muhammad, and other Towghi elders (and advised never to forget this story), this infamous Farmanfarma of Kirman happens to be also the killer (with his own cursed hand in his court at Kirman) of my great grandfather, Mulla Nasser. Mulla Nasser was the chief (Kamaash) of the small Towghi clan of the Bam-Narmaashiyr region, now a part of the Kirman Province. As we know, the whole region around and particularly east of Kirman was historically a Baloch-populated area.

Being handed-over by my father, Ghulam Muhammad son of Husayn Aaliy son of Mulla Nasser, I still have some of the legal papers indicating that Mulla Nasser, like many other Balochs of the Bam-Narmashir region, owned some valuable land, water resources (kahns) and a good number of livestock.

Being comparatively well-off, Mulla Nasser like other hard working and well-off Balochs was repeatedly a victim of the Gajar officials' extortions. These extortions were a part of the Gajar ethnic cleansing strategies aimed at harassing the Baloch and forcing them to leave their ancestral lands.

It was in this context that once my great grandfather Mulla Nasser was summoned personally by the infamous Farmanfarma to his court / darbar at Kirman. He had been alleged not to have paid the taxes (maaliyaat) of a certain period of time. The family story informs that Mulla Nasser had indeed already paid those taxes in time. Anticipating the allegation, my great grandfather took the receipt with him.

Reaching Kirman, Mulla Nasser was ushered before the notorious Farmanfarma. As the Mulla had anticipated, the Farmanfarma accused him of not paying the taxes of such and such period.

According to the Persian traditions -- as a matter of fact, according to all disgusting oriental despotic traditions -- (as mentioned, e.g. by Herodotus) -- Mulla Nasser was not supposed to respond the way he did. He was expected to say what Shaykh Sa'di has advised to say on such occasions. In the chapter "How to conduct oneself before the Lords and Kings (Amiyraan wa Paadshaahan) of his Gulistaan, Sa'di suggests:

When my great grandfather was charged unfairly by the Farmanfarma with not paying the taxes, according to these disgusting Persian despotic traditions Mulla Nasser was supposed to say something like this:

BALEH GHORBAAN; HAZRAT-E-AALIY DOROST MIYFARMAAYAND; BANDEH GOH KHORDAM WA GHALAT KARDAM ..... (someone, please reconstruct it in the Persian language of such occasions. Let me try to reconstruct it in my imperfect English, though even if perfect, the English language like Balochi is inherently incapable of communicating the typical Persian-oriental flattery and self-incrimination. ... In any case, Mulla Nasser Towghi was supposed to say something like this:

"Yes Sir, Your Excellency is telling the truth. I have indeed committed the crime of not paying the taxes in question. Please forgive and allow me to pay those unpaid taxes along with penalty right now".

My father and other elders have told me proudly, although painfully --- emphasizing that I should be proud to remember -- that Mulla Nasser did not respond so and did not do so. Like the seventh century Arabs before the Persian King of Kings, Mulla Nasser did not care about the sickening Persian etiquettes. He responded in simple language that he had already paid the taxes in question. Moving towards the Farmanfarma's seat in a simple and frank Balochi manner, he tried to show him the receipt.

"MARDAKA-YE BALOOCH-E PEDARSOOKHTEH, GOH MIYKHORIY KE BAA MAN DO-BE-DO MIYKONIY" / "You the barbarian Baloch whose father is burnt (in Hell), you the shit-eater, how dare you argue with me".

Calling a Baloch "PEDARSOOKHTEH / your father is burnt in hell " sounds like calling him "a bastard". Many Baloch have suffered in the Gajar-occupied Balochistan because they resent beiing called PEDARSOOKHTEH or told that "GOH MIYKHORIY / you eat shit".

Under pressure, the four or so brothers and close relatives of Mulla Nasser along with my grandfather who was a toddler at the time and his widowed mother left the Bam-Narmashir area and settled in Shmsabad, Bampoor. Their unattended property was eventually stolen by the Gajar and some collaborators.

Handing over to me the deeds related to Mulla Nasser's property at Bam and Narmashir area, my father said: " My son, someday, you should avenge your great grandfathers blood, and take back his stolen property."