YES

YES, WE MUST BE PROUD OF HIS ROYAL MAJESTY MIR DOST MUHAMMAD KHAN BARANZAHI BALOCH

By Malek Towghi

Khan Mihrab Khan Ahmadzai chose to fighting to death against the British in order to preserve Baloch sovereignty in Eastern Balochistan. it was the first brave and decisive act of Resistance that forced the British to recognize de jure the Baloch sovereignty and independence as long as the British Empire dominated South and West Asia.

We were not so lucky after the Brits left. In 1947-48, while the whole Baloch nation (including Agha Abdul Karim, Khan Ahmad Yar Khan's brother) represented by an elected and sovereign Baloch parliament had decided to maintain Eastern Balochistan's sovereignty, Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmadzai, this unworthy progeny of Mihrab Khan the Great, wavered and wavered, and finally -- and of course unconstitutionally -- signed under duress a document of surrender of our sovereignty. Instead of fighting to death like Mihrab Khan, Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmadzai opted for a miserable life of begging the Punjabi-Muhajir tyrants for this or that post of a servant. What a pathetic end of the Ahmadzai guardianship of our sovereignty in Eastern Balochistan. [Ahmad Yar Khan's sons and grandsons seem to follow his deplorable example instead of trying to revive the glorious memory of Mihrab Khan Ahmadzai.]

Let us thank our brother Waajah D. Sarbazi for reminding us of the fact that we were not so unlucky when the Pahlavi Persian tyrant, Raza Shah, invaded and occupied Western Balochistan in 1928.

By declaring himself "The Shah (King) of Balochistan, Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baranzahi Baloch asserted unambiguously the full sovereignty of the Baloch nation and the complete independence of Western Balochistan.

Unlike our Kalati 'Khan-i-Muazzam Beglar Begi' Khan Ahmad Khan Ahmad Yar khan Ahmadzahi who remained as a pain in the neck of the Baloch fighting forces -- the Baloch Parliament and the National Party leaders -- exasperating them by his cowardly nonsense and nuisance, our tiger of Dizzak and Bampoor, Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baranzahi Baloch acted as the Supreme Commander of the Baloch fighting forces.

After his defeat and arrest, the Gajar wanted to keep him alive as a perpetual symbol of our humiliation. He was taken to Tehran allowing him a comfortable life with respect. In brief, Raza Shah wanted him to sign documents similar to those signed by Ahmad Yar Khan, giving up the claim that Western Balochistan was an independent country outside the Persian Imperial jurisdiction, and that he was the Shah of Balochistan symbolizing Baloch sovereignty.

Had he obliged the Pahlavi-Persian tyrant, Mir Dost Muhammad Khan could get whatever he wanted for himself and for his progeny. He could be appointed the Wali / Ustandar / Governor of the Pahlavi-occupied Balochistan.

Whatever happened under duress in that short period, the fact of history is that the captured Shah of Balochistan Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baranzahi Baloch did exactly what the defeated and captured Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, had done.

After his capture in Paris in 1814, the victorious allies exiled Napoleon from France, making him the ruler of the tiny island of Elba off the northwest coast of Italy. They allowed him a comfortable life hoping that he will forget France. Students of history know what happened. Let me quote from a quick reference book " The World Book Encyclopedia":

"On Elba, Napoleon planned his return to France.In February 1815, he sailed from the island with about 1,100 followers who had shared his exile". Napoleon reached Paris and the "One Hundred Days War" and the final defeat at Waterloo followed. This time, Napoleon was imprisoned on St. Helen, a barren British island in the South Atlantic ocean where, according to some historians, he was poisoned to death in 1821.

Yes, Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baranzahi tried to do the same. As soon as he got a chance, he escaped the golden cage at Tehran, trying to reach his beloved Balochistan almost all alone. Reportedly only one loyal Baloch servant was with him. Our Baloch Napoleon, however, was found and arrested before he could reach Balochistan. He was taken back to Tehran and executed promptly. What a glorious ending of the Baranzahi guardianship of the Baloch sovereignty in Western Balochistan.

Yes, we have all the reasons for being -- and we must be -- proud of His Royal Majesty Mir Dost Muhammad Khan Baranzahi Baloch, the glorious symbol of Baloch sovereignty in Western Balochistan.

Let us find and fix, by genuine research, the exact date of Mir Dost Muhammad khan's execution in Tehran, and declare that date as the day of national mourning for the loss of our sovereignty in Western Balochistan as we mourn August 14 for the loss of our sovereignty in Eastern Balochistan. [Please let me know if the date has already been fixed authentically.)

Our brother Waajah D. Sarbazi is also right in pointing out that "the Baloch in Western Balochistan have been in constant rebellion against " the Pahlavi-Persian occupation. Much more is needed to be written on this topic, particularly in English.