Historically speaking, we have seen the environment of Karachi shape into a multicultural setup. On the other hand, in Baloch areas, we only see one kind of ethnicity with little to no diversity. This is because the Baloch believe in collective authority. However, this is not the approach they use when it comes to politics.
In Balochistan, political associations are reliable sources of collective decisions. What I mean to say by this is that political parties will come together to resolve issues, and not because of their cultural or ethnic affinity. This is the reason many Baloch support the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)
Associations are developed as per different activities, such as political or educational. For the sake of political integration, the Baloch people have always supported democratic political approaches. However, before PPP there were no mainstream political parties that could address the needs of the Baloch population in Karachi.
In the early days of the PPP, the Baloch people did not need the political support of the party. The party was looking to find a way to legitimise its slogan of Roti, Kapre aur Makan and the Baloch people presented a decent opportunity to increase numbers. However, the situation is not anything like this at present, and Baloch people have been left on their own to suffer in silence
Moreover, they shaped the association as an authorised structure that developed a consensus among the members and conceptualised collective decisions on social and political grounds. Particularly speaking, their political decision was not political per se; rather it was social in its nature, and aimed to preserve their social authority. If the Baloch went with political slogans of the PPP, it was either for social preservation or political power.
In the early days of the PPP, the Baloch people did not need the support of the party. They knew that the party needed people — people who had civil awareness. It was looking to find a way to legitimise its slogan of Roti, Kapre aur Makan and the Baloch people presented a decent opportunity to increase numbers. The Baloch were not politically stable and PPP gave them jobs to sustain themselves meanwhile adding to its own supporter-base.
There are three aspects to this story.
The first is the economic situation of the Baloch population, next comes the class of the Baloch and the social dimension takes its place as the last element. All these elements overlap to create the setup in which Baloch people exist.
When the gang wars began, everyone was marginalised. The Baloch tried to create a peace committee that could engage people to address their problems. However, the committee had to be socially legitimised, and that never happened. The Baloch did not feel socially secure at the time either.
The Baloch people decided to vote for the PPP to develop an association with the party so that they could ensure their basic rights. However, these days, the people of this ethnicity are suffering around Karachi.
The issues they face are social, political and economic. Despite their association they are in a state of crisis. It is high time that the PPP paid heed to the issues being faced by this community — one that has supported it for long.
If PPP fails to act, it may lose the Baloch vote as well.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, June 22nd 2018.