Ustad Saba, We Miss You
Sohaib Mengal
Since the day Balochistan lost its sovereignty, the Baloch nation has lost many of its great sons but there have been few deaths that have shocked the whole Baloch society. One of such tragic losses was when Ustad Saba Dashtyari Baloch was murdered this date seven years ago.
Ustad Saba’s life has been a great source of admiration for the Baloch activists.
It was the year of 1953; the lower middle class family of Mohammad Usman and the area of Maripur where Ghulam Hussain opened his eyes, he was to turn into the respected Ustad Saba for the Baloch nation in coming years.
In the early days of his life, Ustad Saba was raised in the company of famous Baloch writer, novelist and Poetess, Banal Dashtiyari and the famous Baloch intellectual Syed Hashmi. Saba attained his earlier education from Lyari and did his matriculation from Okahi Memon School. He did his intermediate from SM commerce college Karachi in 1973. He graduated in 1976. Later Mr. Dashtyari obtained Master’s degree in Islamic studies and Philosophy.
He started with his PhD in 1979 but got a job as lecturer in Balochistan University and preferred to help the nation through teaching instead of continuing his own further studies. From 1979 till his brutal murder in 2011 he remained a professor of theology in Balochistan University. He was fluent in many languages including English, Persian and Arabic.
He started his literary work by writing poetry in Urdu. He wrote his first poem on the death of famous Baloch singer Ustad Jharok.
In 1984, inspired and encouraged by famous Baloch writer Abdullah Jan Jamaldini, Ustad Saba completely abandoned writing in Urdu language and solely adopted Balochi language for his literary works. He started writing poetry and short fiction stories for Radio Balochistan.
Ustad Saba himself was very much inspired by the personalities of Syed Hashmi and Abdullah Jan Jamaldini. He considered them his teachers and gurus.
In 1983 he became a member of Syed Academy, a Balochi literary academy and became its Vice President in 1988. He was also appointed as the deputy editor of monthly magazine Balochi in 1988 and founded a literary organization Chaidag in the same year. In 1994 his fiction work Hon o Hosham was published. He was author of at least 24 other books.
Ustad Saba devoted his whole life for the promotion of Balochi language and culture because he believed that until and unless Baloch nation does not realize the importance of their culture they could never surface as an independent and civilized nation in true meanings.
Though Ustad taught theology but he was a liberal and open-minded person who was not reluctant to discuss any topic that others considered taboo.
One of his greatest achievements was laying down the foundations of a premier Balochi language academy, Syed Hashmi Library, in 1996 in Karachi. Syed Hashmi Library started fully functioning in 2002. This library is considered as a treasure by many. It has hundreds and thousands of books on Balochi literature. It is the only place in the world where more than 95% of all the published magazines or pamphlets of Balochi language are found.
During the last days of his life he was planning to form a Balochi encyclopedia committee and a research academy by the name of Balochelogy institute of Research.
Professor Saba spent most of his Salary on promotion of Balochi language and improvement of the library. He also used to pay the education fees of many Baloch students who couldn’t afford.
His talent and intellect was not only limited to literary works but he was also a great activist and big supporter of Independent Balochistan movement. After the murder of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in 2006, Ustad Saba started participating in protests and activism for the legitimate rights of his people.
He witnessed the extra-judicial killings of his own students but his stance never trembled. He revolted against the tyranny and led many marches and protests against Pakistani occupation of Balochistan. Not confined to this, he also made with his teachings a whole platoon of Baloch students who are armed with ideologies that have completely turned the course of events in current struggle.
Baloch struggle, which traditionally had attributes of tribalism, has advanced to a stage where such influences have faded for good. Many accredit such transformation to teachings of figures like Ustad Saba.
A Baloch who was a walking institution, University and an encyclopedia in himself could never be tolerated in Balochistan. Everybody knew that Saba Dashtiyari was enriching the minds of Baloch youth with ideologies that will be driving forces for the Baloch movement for years to come. Due to these ‘crimes’ the beloved Ustad Saba was killed, brutally by the agents of deep state.
Due to Ustad Saba’s enormous achievements and contribution for the Baloch movement he was posthumously titled Qandeel-e-Baloch and Mulam-e-Azadi.
Ustad we miss you!
We miss that humble person in his own classical attire who was deemed as an angel by many. We miss the way you smiled whenever and wherever you met your students. We miss that warm welcome Ustad.
We miss the way you would embrace your students with affection irrespective of whether you personally knew them. Ustad we miss those chats we used to have in the cafeteria of Balochistan University where you would morph to a dear friend from a professor. And those discussions where nothing was taboo are dearly missed too.
The difficult Balochi words that you would use, and then take hours to explain them in detail. Nobody has filled your shoes nobody is there to guide the young students of Sariab or those who had come from remote parts of Balochistan to study in Quetta. Dear Ustad you were not an individual but an institution.
Ustad we miss your teachings But Ustad let us tell you that your students have continued your path and their stance is undeterred despite infliction of brutalities that would embarrass the German Nazis. The uncountable brutalities, enforced disappearances and murders have not been able to tremble the cognizant students that you had equipped during your lifetime with weapons of values and ideologies.
Ustad they have killed many of those who used to sit with you in the cafeteria but they couldn’t break them. The thousands that you had enriched with consciousness are still resisting the forces of evil with great vigor. There have been setbacks; some because of mistakes and others because of egoistic friends, but each time the indefatigable have risen from ashes with more zeal.
Dear Ustad there will surely be a day when evils will be brought to justice and they will be probed for all brutalities including your heartbreaking murder.
Ustad Saba you were unique and irreplaceable but your teachings are always there and with the strength of these teachings your students will defeat the tyranny one day.
وتی شہیدانی ھوناں کہ پارسنگ مکنت
بلوچ چون بکنت دژمن ءَ گوں جنگ مکنت
مئے وش نیتک کہ ایر رتکگ اَنت چو کنزیرءَ
مئے زہگ پرچا وتا گریشگ ءِ پُلنگ مکنت
The first version of this article was written and published on 1st anniversary of Shaheed Saba Dashtiyari in 2012.