The turn of the 21st century saw a new wave of Baloch nationalism and the Baloch national struggle, which transformed the contours of the Baloch conflict with Pakistan and brought the tragedies of blood and guts for the Baloch. Compared to the previous wave of antagonistic conflict between Baloch and Pakistan, the present conflict brought much loss. The number of casualties and human rights violations increased, with target killings, Baloch leaders and intellectuals’ assassinations, enforced disappearances, and mass graves discovered, reflecting the atrocious and brutal face of state terrorism. The barbarity of the Punjabi army is notorious for the genocidal techniques in Bangladesh, and the very same tactics and manners are being used for colonizing Balochistan.
However, such an enlightened intellectual, a committed Baloch leader, poet, author, researcher, scholar, critic, teacher, and active Baloch political and human rights activist, Professor Saba Dashtiyari, was assassinated on June 1, 2011, in Sariyab Road, Shaal.
It is the 12th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Saba Dashtiyari, who is also known by the title of “the teacher of freedom” and also called “Qandeel-e-Baloch” (the candle of Balochistan). The assassinated soul Saba Dashtiyari is called the teacher of freedom because he devoted his life to preaching and spreading the light of freedom. And like a candle, he burnt himself and gave light to his nation, for which he is given the title of Qandeel-e-Baloch. His birth name was Ghulam Hussain. He was born in a lower middle-class family in Mohammad Usman’s house on September 2, 1953, in a small town of Karachi, Mari Pour Grix. He completed his basic education at Essa Jamal School in New Abad Lyari in 1965. He received a metric degree in commerce from Okai Memon High School in Karadar in 1971. He finished his intermediate in commerce at the government-run SM Commerce College in 1973. His BA was completed privately in 1976. He received a first-division grade on his MA in “Islamiat” in 1978. He successfully completed the philosophy examination in 1982. He also studied Persian language in a privately owned language academy at this time. Saba was hired as a lecturer in the Department of Islamiat at Balochistan University.
Shaheed Professor Saba Dashtiyari was an iconic figure in the Baloch national struggle, where he played a vital role in mobilizing the Baloch youth and students. He was a courageous man and a man of great bravery. During the military dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf, he initiated his political activism and participated in the rallies and demonstrations of BSO Azad, a pro-independent student organization, where he preached the students with his enlightened philosophy: he taught the students about the causes of slavery, the seed of colonialism, and the aggressive policies of the colonial state of Pakistan. He used to tell in demonstrations in his open speeches to the common mass and students by showing and tracing them the means by which they can get emancipation from colonial suppression and restore their freedom and independence. He firmly believed and tried to teach the Baloch masses that the death of the colonial occupation is only possible by use of violence itself. He said in one of his speeches:
“I would rather suggest that Franz Fanon’s book must be the most important and sacred treatise for guiding Baloch national movement.”
He participated in both protests and hunger strikes. In his public mobilization to young pupils, Saba Dashtiyari spoke on the psychiatric study of the nation’s dehumanizing impacts of colonialism. As every occupying power does to destroy the culture and identity of the subjugated and captive nation, he said that the colonial state of Pakistan and its nomological ideology had totally taken over his mind, and he had lost sight of his own identity. This is what the colonial attitude is toward the colonized nation. He was also a great critic of parliamentarian Baloch nationalists, to him they were the ones who joined hands with the Pakistani colonial political system where they only preserve their individual interests. He called these parliamentarian nationalists traitors, because they are part of the same colonial setup which loot and plunder the resources of the Baloch nation but have nothing to do with the people of Balochistan. He also used the vocal of his poetry to criticize the pro-Pakistani nationalists and suggest resistance against the colonialism system. His interest and fondness in literature led him to Urdu literature. But later, he understood the linguicide (linguistic genocide) by the state and therefore realised the need of preserving the Balochi language.
His contributions to the realm of Balochi literature other than his fiction writings include Balochi Zoban Ay Aaqibt (a compilation of Balochi linguistics), Gul Kar O Chakan Kar (a study of several poetry.
