British Colonialism and Baloch Resistance | HSS Seminar Series | Jahanzeb Baloch

At the dawn of the twentieth century Balochistan was well incorporated into the British Indian Empire, either formally or informally and was controlled through both direct and indirect rule. Colonial state formation had created multiple power centers within Balochistan with a web of interwoven legal and administrative apparatus, which would ensure smooth running of affairs.Similarly to other parts of the colonized world, colonial state formation in Balochistan created its supporters and opposition among the native people. However, the control of indigenous power elites was rather illusory; in reality, British officials were the fountain head of all legal, judicial, administrative and revenue power starting from village level till district and culminating into the A.G.G office. This dual nature of colonial control was resisted by the native tribes of Balochistan who challenged both the British Raj and their native collaborators. This history of resistance in Balochistan during the colonial period is generally missing from accounts of the region's politics as scholars and commentators on Balochistan consider resistance to be a new phenomenon in the postcolonial period. In reality, resistance in Balochistan has a far longer history and has been organized in multifaceted and multidimensional forms from thc British Colonial period. This talk will explore Baloch resistance against British Raj in a thematic form and will discuss its literary, militant and political dimensions in the colonial period. Bio Jahanzeb Khan is Assistant Professor of History in the University of Balochistan and a Post doctorate Fellow at LUMS. He teaches colonial history and frontier governmentality with a particular focus on the socio-political history of Balochistan. He has published several articles and presented papers in national and international seminars, on Balochistan, its history and colonial discourse on the Balochistan