Poetry, Power & Humanity—II  Balochistan: Resistance & human dignity

"زمین صرف مٹی نہیں ہوتی، وہ یادداشت بھی ہوتی ہے، شناخت بھی، اور انسان کی اخلاقی ذمہ داری بھی"

Mir Gul Khan is a well-known figure in Balochistan’s history of politics and journalism. Apart from that, Mir was also an inspirational poet. He wrote poems in English, Balochi, Persian, Urdu and Brahui. But most of his poems are in Balochi. Mir’s poetry is filled with anti-imperialist and revolutionary themes which reflect upon his socialist and activist role. Mir Gul Khan Naseer stepped into the world of philosophy and literature in 1940s when the Progressive Movement was at its peak—Mir Gul Khan Naseer–The Poet of Common Folk by Mir Balaach, Voice of Balochistan, April 30, 2018

Atta Shad is considered the architect of modern symbolic Balochi poetry. Due to his rebellious nature, he earned criticism from all quarters—Atta Shad: the architect of modern Balochi poetry by Sajid Hussain, Balochistan Times, November 14, 2016

To read Mubarak Qazi’s poetry is to walk the rugged paths of Balochistan, where every word carries the weight of its mountains and the dreams of its people—Mubarak Qazi’s poetry of Baloch resistance by Bakhtawar Shabbir, Express Tribune, January 27, 2025

The opening part of this series explored two towering poets of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Rahman Baba taught that the first battle is fought within the human soul, where temptation must yield to restraint. Khushal Khan Khattak reminded us that societies incapable of resisting domination ultimately surrender both dignity and freedom. Together they demonstrated that inner freedom and political freedom are inseparable. 

The journey now moves south-west, to Balochistan. If the poetry of Sindh emphasises spiritual universality, that of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa moral courage, and Punjab the transformative power of love, Baloch poetry is distinguished by another enduring characteristic—the defence of human dignity against domination.

Unfortunately, Baloch literature has rarely received the attention it deserves in mainstream Pakistani criticism. Political discussions have often overshadowed its profound humanistic tradition. Yet some of the most compelling reflections on justice, memory, identity and freedom are to be found in the works of Baloch poets. The dominant voice among them is Mir Gul Khan Naseer.

Mir Gul Khan poetry cannot be reduced to nationalism alone. It is, at its core, a defence of human dignity. The recurring themes are remarkably consistent: resistance to injustice, respect for labour, attachment to one’s land, historical memory and the conviction that ordinary men and women possess an intrinsic worth which no empire, state or ideology can extinguish. This makes Mir Gul Khan Naseer particularly relevant to the contemporary world.

A research study titled, Mir Gul Khan Naseer: An Evaluation of his Contributions to the Baloch Cause [Balochistan Review, Balochistan Study Centre, Quetta, Vol. XXXII NO.1, 2015] notes:

“The resistance literature is considered as an important factor in the development of political consciousness among subjugated people. This phenomenon exhibited not only the resentment and the foiling of Mir Gul Khan Naseer (Hereafter Gul Khan), and other Baloch critics against colonialism but also identified social and economic problems of Balochistan.

Education for boys and girls, end of the sardari system, political and economic reforms were some of its most frequently emphasized subjects. Therefore, Balochi resistance literature generally and Naseer’s lyrics against the authorities specially merit evaluation. Even a cursory glance at the history of Balochi literature, manifests the pride and dignity that Baloch poets and epic writers have shown for their heroes.

This literature also demonstrates anger and resentment against the intruders and ridicule alongside traitors. Notwithstanding historical accuracy, the Baloch self-perception as the guardian of noble values is perpetuated in their literature. They trace their origin from Arabia and show their presence in almost every great battle, which was fought for the glory of Islam or for the veneration of Baloch culture. Gul Khan, the legend under special study has also extensively written on these features”.

Modern market fundamentalism reduces citizens to consumers and societies to markets. Human value is increasingly measured through purchasing power rather than moral worth. Communities become fragmented while economic success replaces ethical responsibility as the principal measure of achievement.

The Baloch poetic tradition offers a strikingly different vision. Land is not merely territory. It is memory. Language is not merely communication. It is civilisation. Freedom is not merely political independence. It is the preservation of human dignity. This understanding resonates strongly with Erich Fromm’s distinction between having and being. A civilisation organised around possession inevitably weakens empathy. A civilisation organised around human dignity strengthens it.

Atta Shad, an outstanding Baloch intellectual and poet, approached these questions differently. His poetry reveals an intensely reflective consciousness. The external landscape frequently becomes an extension of the inner world. Solitude, silence and memory are never merely personal experiences; they become ways of understanding the relationship between human beings and history.

When Atta Shad began writing poetry in Balochi during the late 1950s, Baloch literature stood at an important intellectual crossroads. The literary landscape was broadly divided between two influential, and at times competing, schools of thought.

The first, led by Gul Khan Naseer, represented the Progressive movement. Its adherents regarded literature as an instrument of political awakening and social transformation. They believed poetry should engage with the realities of colonialism, exploitation, poverty and injustice. For them, the ethical and political message of a poem often took precedence over stylistic refinement or linguistic ornamentation.

The second school, led by Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi, adopted a markedly different approach. Its principal concern was the preservation and purification of the Balochi language. Convinced that the Western dialect spoken largely in Makran and Sistan represented the purest form of Balochi, its proponents sought to shield the language from external influences and resisted the incorporation of vocabulary from other dialects.

Syed Hashmi pursued this objective with remarkable dedication, compiling and composing hundreds of pages of poetry that consciously preserved archaic vocabulary and classical idiom. His endeavour was not merely literary; it was an attempt to safeguard a linguistic heritage that he feared was gradually disappearing under the pressures of modernity.

Atta Shad emerged from within this creative tension. Without entirely identifying himself with either camp, he absorbed the strengths of both. From the Progressives he inherited a deep sensitivity to human suffering and the social condition of his people; from the purists he acquired an extraordinary respect for the expressive richness of the Balochi language. The result was a body of poetry that transcended this early polarisation and elevated Balochi literature to a new level of philosophical depth and artistic sophistication.

Atta Shad refused to be imprisoned by either school. He was unconvinced that poetry, by itself, could become an instrument of political transformation, yet he was equally unwilling to reduce it to an exercise in linguistic purism. Instead, he charted an independent course. Although a native speaker of the dominant Western dialect of Balochi, he consciously fashioned a poetic language that drew upon the richness of all Balochi dialects. In doing so, he not only challenged the rigid linguistic boundaries advocated by the purists but also greatly expanded the expressive possibilities of modern Balochi poetry.

This linguistic inclusiveness enabled Atta Shad to construct a poetic universe distinguished by philosophical reflection, subtle symbolism and layered meanings. His poetry was not divorced from the realities of his society. Tribal oppression, social injustice and human suffering recur throughout his work, but they are presented with remarkable artistic restraint rather than ideological assertion. Unlike many Progressive poets, who often subordinated aesthetics to political messaging, Atta Shad demonstrated that profound social criticism need not sacrifice poetic elegance or intellectual complexity.

Recognition of his literary genius came relatively late. Among the earliest and most perceptive readers of his work was his close friend, the poet and Balochi’s first full-time literary critic, Karim Dashti. At a time when Atta Shad’s innovative diction, symbolism and free verse attracted criticism from traditionalists, Dashti devoted a series of penetrating essays to defending both his artistic vision and his revolutionary contribution to modern Balochi literature. Posterity has vindicated that judgment. Dashti deserves a full independent article.

Mubarak Qazi continued the Baloch humanistic tradition while emphasising the cultural resilience of ordinary people. His poems repeatedly affirm that languages survive because communities preserve memory, not because governments issue proclamations.

“Today, from Atta Shad to Allah Bux Bozdar, almost upon all modern Balochi poets, the imprints of Mir’s poetry can easily be traced. Even poets somewhat sceptic about Gul Khan’s poetic sensibilities couldn’t avoid his impact. In 2001, the Government of Pakistan, belatedly realising the meritorious services of Mir Gul Khan Naseer, posthumously awarded him the Sitara-i-Imtiaz”, wrote Fazal Baloch in Dawn on the 28th death anniversary of Mir Gul Khan.

The cumulative effect of these poets is remarkable. Unlike many modern literary traditions where the individual increasingly becomes isolated, Baloch poetry consistently reconnects the individual with history, landscape and community. This distinction deserves careful attention. Neoliberalism fragments. Humanistic poetry reconnects.

We all know that neoliberalism celebrates acquisition. Humanistic poetry celebrates belonging. Neoliberalism encourages competition. Humanistic poetry cultivates solidarity and respect for human dignity. Here the observations of Annemarie Schimmel become particularly illuminating. She repeatedly argued that the greatest poets of South Asia cannot be understood merely as mystics or romantics. They were interpreters of civilisation. Their concern was not simply beauty of language but the moral formation of human beings.

The Baloch poets belong firmly within that tradition. Their language differs. Their landscape differs. Their metaphors differ. Their ethical vision remains remarkably close to Rahman Baba, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Bulleh Shah and Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Each, in his own way, insists that humanity cannot survive where power becomes an end in itself. That insight has acquired renewed urgency. Contemporary societies increasingly celebrate visibility rather than wisdom, consumption rather than compassion and domination rather than dialogue. Public discourse revolves around power while neglecting dignity. The result is a civilisation rich in technology but increasingly impoverished in empathy.

The poets remind us that this imbalance cannot endure indefinitely. Every society eventually chooses between power and humanity. The great poetic traditions of Pakistan consistently chose humanity. The next part of this series will move eastward into Punjab to revisit Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah and Shah Hussain. Their poetry demonstrates that love was never merely an emotion. It was a profound critique of hierarchy, orthodoxy and every structure that sought to diminish human freedom. In their hands, love itself became one of the most powerful forms of resistance.

[To be continued]

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Dr. Ikramul Haq, Advocate Supreme Court, writer, literary critic, Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), member Advisory Board and Visiting Senior Fellow of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), holds an LLD in tax laws. He was full-time journalist from 1979 to 1984 with Viewpoint and Dawn. He also served Civil Services of Pakistan from 1984 to 1996.