In order to earnestly address the challenges faced by Balochistan, it is imperative to dismantle the colonial system of Sardars and Nawabs that was imposed by the British as a means of cruel and oppressive control. This system continues to perpetuate social, cultural, and economic hardships for the common populace, compelling them to adhere to the authority of these Sardars and Nawabs in collective affairs to a significant extent.
The allegiance of entire tribes to a disgruntled chief underscores the pervasive influence wielded by these traditional leaders. Consequently, governments have often resorted to appeasing these figures, viewing their contentment as a shortcut to achieving “good governance,” while neglecting the welfare of the ordinary citizens. The adverse repercussions of deviating from the fundamental principles of citizenship are now manifesting themselves.
The current Sardari system was established by the British in 1876 as a means to suppress resistance in the area by installing their loyalists at the top. These appointees were provided with armed bands in the form of levies to quash any rebellions.
The chiefs sent their children to Atchison and Dera Doon Military Academy for education, while denying education to the common people. The colonial administration not only stopped at this, but also added a religious aspect by portraying the chief as the representative of Allah, whose orders must be obeyed. False tales about the chiefs were spread to deceive the populace.
The British solidified this system by establishing a hierarchy where they offered a reward of two thousand rupees for the murder of a commoner, but eight thousand rupees for the murder of a noble. This meant that the defenders of the colonial system were considered four times more valuable than the common man. When the British left, they left behind their officers, royalties, feudatories, nawabs, chieftains, and warlords. Unfortunately, subsequent governments continued to perpetuate this colonial formula. The lands acquired from the British in exchange for loyalty did not fall under the rightful ownership of Islam. These lands were originally under the rule of the Mughals, who had declared them as the property of Allah. The British distributed this trust among their loyalists as if it were plunder.
The context has also been described by Sir Archie Baild Galloway, the former chairman of the East India Company, in his book “Observations on the Law and the Constitution and the Present Government of India.” He writes that the system was created by the Mughals before the arrival of the British. In this system, the Mughal emperor assigned administrative responsibilities to people at the local level and gave them temporary lands and jagirs to fulfill these responsibilities so that they could pay their expenses from the proceeds of these lands. When they died, the lands were not passed on to their children. Rather, they went back to the administration of the Mughal emperor and then to whom he gave this office.
However, when the British ruled, they gave these lands to loyalists from generation to generation on a permanent basis, so that when the father died, the son got the fief.
Therefore, this class is still in power in Pakistan based on these jagirs. It was as if it was a treasure that the British distributed among their loyalists. Someone was given a jagir under the horse husbandry scheme, someone was given a jagir in return for other mercantile services. The British organized a legion of loyalists from Bengal to Balochistan and imposed these loyalists (traitors) in an agrarian society. There may have been some who already had their lands, but the story of most jagirs was that they were shared in the reward of treason.
This is the right time for the state to directly reach its citizens, without any Sardar or nawab acting as intermediaries.
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