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{{Short description|Ideology that claims the Baloch people are a distinct nation}}
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[[File:Balochistan flag.svg|thumb|Flag used by most Baloch nationalists and separatists]]

'''Baloch nationalism''' ({{langx|bal|بلۏچی راجدۏستی|translit=Balòci ràjdòsti}}) is an ideology that asserts that the [[Baloch people]], an [[Iranic]] [[ethnic group]] native to [[Iran]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]], form a distinct [[nation]].

==Baloch ethnicity and nationalism==
[[File:Flag of Balochistan.jpg|thumb|Flag of Balochistan, which was introduced and used by Baloch Liberation Army as the national flag of Balochistan. Currently it is one of the popular symbols of the freedom movement in the region.]]

Baloch people are an [[Iranic]] ethnic group native to southeastern [[Iran]], southwestern [[Pakistan]] and southern [[Afghanistan]].

The Baloch nationalist movement's demands have ranged from greater cultural, economic and political rights, to political autonomy, to outright [[secession]] and the creation of an independent state of Balochistan. The movement is [[Secularism in Balochistan|secular]] and was originally inspired by [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] liberation movements.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2013/04/balochistan-the-state-versus-the-nation?lang=en|date=11 April 2013|publisher=The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|access-date=9 November 2024 |title=Balochistan: The State Versus the Nation }}</ref>

The movement claims to receive considerable support from the [[Baloch diaspora]] in [[Oman]], the [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[Sweden]], [[Norway]], and other countries. Pakistan has repeatedly made claims that the Baloch nationalists have received funding from [[India]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ia.rediff.com/www/news/2006/jan/06baluch.htm|title=India supporting Baluchistan violence: Pak|date=6 January 2006|publisher=Ia.refiff.com|access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> although these have been denied by [[India]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/US/US-bails-out-India-from-Balochistan-wrangle/articleshow/4839468.cms|title=US bails out India from Balochistan wrangle|work=The Times of India|date=31 July 2009 |access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> Similarly, Afghanistan has acknowledged providing covert support to the Baloch nationalist militants. In the 1960s and 1970s, the [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)|Republic of Afghanistan]] provided sanctuary to Baloch militants. The Republic of Afghanistan had established training camps in [[Kandahar]] to train Baloch militants and also to provide arms and ammunition.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SzGTDAAAQBAJ&q=daoud+khan+baloch&pg=PT104|last=Sirrs|first=Owen L.|title=Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate: Covert Action and Internal Operations|date=2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317196082}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Newton|first=Michael|title=Famous Assassination in World History:An Encyclopedia|page=106|publisher=ABC-CLIO |date=2014|isbn=9781610692861|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4-dAwAAQBAJ&q=Daoud+khan|quote=By 1976, while proxy guerilla war with Pakistan, Daoud faced rising Islamic fundamentalists movement led by exiled cleric aided openly by Pakistani prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.}}</ref>

==Modern Baloch nationalism==
Baloch nationalism in its modern form began in the form of the [[Anjuman-e-Ittehad-e-Balochan-wa-Balochistan]] based in [[Mastung, Pakistan|Mastung]] in 1929, led by [[Yousaf Aziz Magsi]], [[Abdul Aziz Kurd]] and others.<ref name="Dawn">{{cite news |last= Khosa|first= Tariq|date=20 July 2020|title=Baloch Nationalism|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1570090|newspaper=Dawn| access-date= 11 January 2023}}</ref> In November 1929, Yousaf Aziz Magsi published an article stating the aims of the group, namely:

# Unification and independence of Balochistan;
# A democratic, socialist system guided by Islamic universalism;
# Abolition of the [[sardar]]i-[[jirga]] system;
# Free, compulsory education for the Baloch, and equality for Baloch women;
# Promotion of [[Balochi Culture|Baloch culture]].<ref name="breseeg">''Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development'', Taj Mohammad Breseeg, 2004</ref><ref name="Dawn"/>

Simultaneously with the formation of the Anjuman, Baloch intellectuals in [[Karachi]] formed a nationalist organisation, called the Baloch League.<ref name="breseeg"/>

In February 1937, the Anjuman reorganised and became the [[Kalat State National Party]], carrying on the Anjuman's political agenda of an independent united state of Balochistan. They demanded the independence of the ancient [[Khanate of Kalat]], which was later incorporated into Pakistan in 1955.<ref name="breseeg"/> The party was dominated by more secular-minded, anti-imperialist and populist elements, such as [[Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo]], [[Mir Gul Khan Naseer]] and Abdul Aziz Kurd. When parliamentary elections were held in the State of Kalat, the party was the largest winner with a considerable majority.<ref name="breseeg"/>

In 2017, the World Baloch Organisation placed advertisements on taxis in [[London]] to say ''#FreeBalochistan'' along with slogans such as "Stop enforced disappearances" and "Save the Baloch people". These were initially allowed but later denied permission by [[Transport for London]]. The World Baloch Organisation claimed that this was a result of pressure from the Pakistani Government after the British High Commissioner in Islamabad was summoned to appear before the Pakistani Foreign Secretary.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mortimer|first=Caroline|date=6 November 2017|title=TfL removes 'Free Balochistan' adverts from London black cabs after pressure from Pakistani government|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pakistan-london-black-cabs-adverts-free-balochistan-remove-condemned-a8040641.html|work=The Independent|location=UK|access-date=17 December 2017}}</ref>

== Surveys ==
A survey in 2009 by the [[Pew Research Center]] found that 58% of respondents in Balochistan chose "Pakistani" as their primary mode of identification, 32% chose their ethnicity and 10% chose both equally.<ref name="PEW">{{cite web |date=13 August 2009 |title=Pakistani Public Opinion – Chapter 2. Religion, Law, and Society |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/08/13/chapter-2-religion-law-and-society/ |work=Pew Research Center |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506131650/https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/08/13/chapter-2-religion-law-and-society/ |archive-date=6 May 2024 |quote=In Baluchistan, the southwestern territory with rugged terrain and sparse population, 32% say they identify themselves first by their ethnicity and 58% say they identify themselves first as Pakistanis.}}</ref>

In 2012, Gallup conducted a survey for the United Kingdom's [[Department for International Development]] that revealed that 37 percent of Baloch were in favour of [[independence]]. Amongst [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan's]] [[Pashtuns|Pashtun]] population support for independence was lower at 12 percent. Sixty-seven percent of Balochistan's population favoured greater provincial [[autonomy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grare |first=Frédéric |date=11 April 2013 |title=Balochistan: The State Versus the Nation |url=https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2013/04/balochistan-the-state-versus-the-nation?lang=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819185619/https://carnegieendowment.org/2013/04/11/balochistan-state-versus-nation-pub-51488 |archive-date=19 August 2023 |website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]] |quote=According to a July 2012 survey, only 37 percent of the Baloch favor independence, and a mere 12 percent of Balochistan’s Pashtuns favor that option. However, 67 percent of the total population supports greater provincial autonomy.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 August 2012 |title=Only 37% Baloch favour independence: UK survey |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/only-37-baloch-favour-independence-uk-survey |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230819184930/https://www.khaleejtimes.com/world/only-37-baloch-favour-independence-uk-survey |archive-date=19 August 2023 |website=[[Khaleej Times]]}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Balochistan Liberation Army]]
* [[Insurgency in Balochistan]]
* [[Saraikistan]]
* [[Separatist movements of Pakistan]]
* [[Sindhudesh]]
* [[Sindhudesh Liberation Army]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* Selig Harrison, ''In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations'', Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, 1981
* Selig Harrison (Winter 1980–1981). [https://www.scribd.com/doc/15573449/Baluch-Nationalism-and-Superpower-Rivalry Baluch Nationalism and Superpower Rivalry] ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025232027/http://www.scribd.com/doc/15573449/Baluch-Nationalism-and-Superpower-Rivalry |date=2012-10-25 }}), ''International Security'', Vol. 5 No. 3. pp. 152–163.
* Paul Titus and Nina Swidler (February 2000). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130731032328/http://www.scribd.com/doc/4103792/Post-Colonial-Balochistan Knights, Not Pawns: Ethno-Nationalism and Regional Dynamics in Post-Colonial Balochistan]. ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 47–69.

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072156/http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=17865&prog=zg The Resurgence of Baluch Nationalism], Frederic Grare, [[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]], Paper No. 65, January 2006
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090406075017/http://www.greenleft.org.au/2006/693/35987 Balochistan's history of insurgency]
* [http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4373 Pakistan: The Worsening Conflict in Balochistan], [[International Crisis Group]], Asia Report No. 119, 14 September 2006

{{Stateless nationalism in Asia}}
{{Baloch nationalism}}
{{Nationalism in South Asia}}
{{Ethnic nationalism}}

[[Category:Baloch nationalism| ]]
[[Category:Baloch society]]
[[Category:Balochistan]]
[[Category:History of Balochistan]]
[[Category:Nationalist movements in Asia]]

Baloch nationalism - Revision history

imported>Abo Yemen at 09:48, 20 June 2025