Three Great Baloch Leaders
By Ahmed Baloch
Leadership is essential for developing organizations, societies, nations, states and the world. It’s the leader who leads the change.
The theory and practice of leadership date back to ancient times. It speaks of the importance of the subject. The leaders have a vital impact on human society, because future of the people greatly depends on the decision and actions of its leaders.
In Baloch society, three great Baloch Leaders are Ghulam Mohammad, Fida Ahmed and Dr Allah Nazar. The three of them are just ordinary persons like us except the fact that they left their marks on the face of history.
Ghulam Mohammad Baloch made a new history for Balochistan and the Baloch nation. He formed the Baloch National movement (BNM) in 2003 and served as its president till his assassination on April 2009.
Ghulam Mohammad Baloch was one of those leaders who created situation for good, and if any bad situation could have occurred, he had his reaction to that. He never sat idle. He gave understanding to the nation that their motherland was of immense value for them and their future generations. He told the youngsters how to serve the nation and how to achieve its freedom.
Ghulam Mohammad was always in touch with people and other Baloch leaders for discussing the issues and problems of Balochistan. Ghulam Mohammad was the vice president of BNM. He was a man of his words. He didn’t believe in empty promises.
Ghulam Mohammad Baloch believed that the youth could play a front-line role in the Baloch struggle for national emancipation. Therefore, he encouraged the Baloch youth and got himself closer to them.
On 26th November 1967, the Baloch Students Organization (BSO) was formed in Karachi. Many years later, Ghulam Mohammad became an active member of the organization, and then within a short time, he became its chairman in 1990s.
He wanted an independent Balochistan where every individual should have access to justice and where all live in accordance with the principle of peaceful coexistence.
He was picked up by personnel of Pakistani secret agencies along with Sher Mohammad Baloch and Lala Munir in Turbat. Their mutilated bodies were found on 9th April 2009 in Murgaap, which is some ten kilometers away from the Turbat city.
Another great Baloch leader is Fida Ahmed.
Fida Ahmed son of Ghulam Mohammad Baloch was born in 1957 in Turbat, a town in Balochistan. He grew up in a poor family. However, he did everything to complete his education. He got his bachelor degree in 1975 and in the following year he completed his masters in Economics. In 1981, he got another masters degree in English literature.
Historically, ancient Chinese and Greek leaders looked to philosophers for advice, Egyptians attributed specific traits to their leader-Kings, and famous writers such as Homer and Machiavelli documented shrewd and cunning strategies of successful leaders.
However, leadership style can be classified into three categories:
1. The Authoritarian (or Autocratic) Style: the style of leadership where the focus of power is with the manager, and all interactions within the group move toward the manager.
2. The Democratic Style: the style where the focus of power is more with the group as a whole and there is greater interaction within the group.
3. A Laissez-Fair (Genuine) Style: the style where the manager observe that members of the group are working well on their own.
However, in Fida Baloch’s leadership process, he demonstrated how to improve the life standard of the Baloch women.
House leadership identifies four main types of leadership behavior. Directive Leadership involves letting subordinates know exactly what is expected of them and giving specific directions. Fida used to discuss everything with his supporters and followers.
Fida was social and friendly leader. There was no gulf between him and his followers. Most of his time was consumed in the company of his people.
Participative Leadership involves consulting with subordinates and the evolution of their opinion and suggestions before taking any decision. It was in fact the hallmark of Fida’s leadership style.
Achievement-oriented Leadership involves setting challenging goals for subordinates, seeking improvement in this performance and showing confidence in subordinates’ ability to perform well.
Fida was educating the Baloch society. Ghulam Mohammad was not interested in politics and national issues first. It was Fida who trusted his abilities and encouraged him to realize his national responsibilities.
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch is another great leader in Baloch history.
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch is a medical doctor, who graduated from the Bolan Medical College (BMC), Quetta, Balochistan. He was born in Mehi Mahkay Awaran, Balochistan. He is a fierce Baloch nationalist leader. He believes that Balochistan can’t achieve its freedom from Pakistan through parliamentary politics. His conviction is that the deprived nation needs the power to resist, and that power can be achieved through guerrilla warfare.
Dr Nazar lives the life of Mao and Che Guevara. All three wanted to liberate their countries from alien occupation. Through Dr Nazar and Mao were born and grew up in different times and geographic locations, and practiced different religions. With different people, and had different attitudes, they had identical political views about the liberation of their people.
Dr Allah Nazar has the following agenda:
1. To weaken parliamentary politicians
2. To make the nation aware of their problems
3. To find support for guerrilla warfare in the public
4. To know the nation’s likes and dislikes
5. To know his people’s strengths and weaknesses
6. To know his enemy’s strengths and weaknesses
7. To know strategy of the enemy
Dr Allah Nazar Baloch believes that guerrilla warfare is the only way out. The question that how a guerrilla organization is formed is better replied by Mao:
a) From the masses of the people.
b) From regular army units temporarily detailed for the purpose.
c) From regular army units permanently detailed.
d) From the combination of a regular army unit and a unit recruited from the people.
e) From the local militia.
f) From deserters from the ranks of the enemy.
g) From former bandits and bandit groups.
In the present hostilities, no doubt, all these sources will be employed. Of course, the situation in Balochistan can be different, thus, it required same techniques but implemented in different ways. That’s how Dr Nazar went on.
Between the night of 24th and 25th March 2005, Dr Allah Nazar along with his comrades was abducted by the Pakistani intelligence personnel in Karachi. They were badly tortured in secret detention. When Dr Nazar was released after more than one year, he was almost paralyzed. He was poisoned during detention. This indicates that there is no value of human beings in Pakistan.
“Any philosopher at that time was a criminal.
He’d be killed, very simple.
This indicates that Greece had no respect.
For science or intellect”.
The above ancient poem predicts the present situation in Pakistan.
The state of Pakistan always tries to kill those minds, thoughts, and ideologies which make the Baloch nation to think of the free Balochistan.
Dr Nazar was badly tortured in the secret detention. Dr. Imdad Baloch sat on an unto death hunger strike to put pressure on Pakistani authorities to release Dr. Nazar, and finally he and other Baloch activists succeeded in forcing Pakistani agencies to set Dr Nazar free.
After Dr Nazar’s abduction, a number of Baloch writers and poets wrote numerous articles and composed poems to pay tribute to the brave son of soil.
Roche ki siyanhein Neim shpey
Atka ma waba narmazar
Allah Nazar goun baragen
Ballad o mardi tawkala
Goshta mani darya dila
Bandigia bazhni nayan
Plato, in his Republic, Book V11, says:
“Behold, human beings living in an underground den, here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that cannot move, and they see only their shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave. To them, the truth would be literally nothing but shadows of the image.”
This is brief information about the three great Baloch leaders, but there are lots of books about them. “Leaders in Search of An Independent Balochistan” is about them by Anwar Noor Baloch . And there are more books about them.