Author: Ameer Sajidi
The word colony comes from the Latin word colonus, which means farmer- indicating the transfer of people to land. Colonialism is the act of power and domination of one nation, by acquiring of maintaining full or partial political control over an other sovereign nation.
Though colonisation has existed since ancient times, the concept is most strongly associated with the European colonial period starting with the 15th century when some European states established colonising empires.
Colonisation is a practice that most countries in the world have experienced, like Ethiopia, Nepal, Japan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Saudi Arabia, Liberia, Tonga, Iran, China, Thailand and Balochistan, which is also one of those countries that has been experiencing the colonisation based tactics for decades, that were and are able to withstand the various colonial powers.
In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their language, religion, economics and cultural practices. The foreign administrators rule the territory in pursuit of the interest, seeking to benefit from colonised region’s people and resources.
According to Wikipedia, there are 11 countries in the world which have ruled and colonized most of the countries in the world. They are Belgium, United Kingdom(Britain), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and the United States of America USA.
Historically, Balochistan, the land of Baloch nation, has also faced many colonial powers and it has continued to face some these days. On the other hand, Baloch nation has always rejected the colonisers’ exploitative conspiracies when it comes about Balochistan. When British came in 18th century and colonized Balochistan, the Baloch nation started resistance against the British colonisation and its divisions.
Once again, the resources of Balochistan are being looted and exploited by the colonised missionaries. Not only the resources are being exploited in the name of development but the genocide of Balochi language is also being committed in different ways. In most of the Pakistani universities, the Balochi language is not dynamic so this is how coloniser’s educational system is undermining the Balochi language in universities. It is said that when a language is not dynamic, or keep changing, it finishes one day. There are many languages in world which have lost their existence and today no one knows them because they were not dynamic.
In conclusion, Baloch nation must collectively stand against the colonisation and its missionaries so that the fanaticism of colonialism is finished before the Balochi language is hurt. Otherwise, not only the resources of Balochistan are exploited further and Baloch youth are killed or abducted but the Balochi language is also finished because the coloniser never wants our language to develop but always uses its missionaries for its destruction.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Balochistan Post or any of its editors.