BALOCH MILILTARY ORGANIZATION UNDER NASIR KHAN

 

 

Baloch are inherently a mili­tant group of tribes. By Firdausi (great Persian poet) in his famous Shahnama tribute Baloch soldiers in these words:

Thus, we see Baloches depicted as: “People with a warlike spirit, wearing exalted plumes, like the cock’s comb, on their turbans.”

Baloch society, since ancient times, has essentially been military-oriented. The annals of Baloch history bear testi­mony to the fact that even its women-folk and children were remarkably skilled in marksmanship and horse riding. In fact, every male in the tribe who wore a shalwar was a perfect soldier. The Baloches, therefore, never needed to maintain a ‘regular army’ as understood in the modern sense of the word. Martial spirit and pursuits were an integral part of their lives. As such, one can almost say that every Baloch home was an epitome of an army by itself. Thus, though there was no ‘recruited’ army, every young and able-bodied man in the tribes held himself in readiness for action whenever his Sardar made the call.

However, with the passage of time and evolution of tribal Chieftaincy through the ages, the concept of war craft underwent a steady transformation, till eventually it

assumed the form of a collective fighting force com­prising of baggage-men, footmen, infantrymen, cavalrymen and other essential personnel.

Mir Nasir Khan, himself an accomplished fighter and commander-who had tackled Indian insurgent elements like the Marhattas and Sikhs, and had watched the Afghan and Persian techniques of warfare realized the necessity of main­taining a well-organized army for his Khan Dom. Accordingly, he chose and stationed a permanent army unit, called Dasta-e-Darbar (Palace Regiment) in his capital, numbering 1,200 men In emergencies, three additional Divisions used to be raised from among the tribes. These reinforcement units were called Dasta-e-Khas (Special Division); Dasta-e-Doem (Second Division) or the ‘Sarawan Lashkar’; and Dasta-e-Soem (Third Division) or the ‘Jallawan Lashkar’. The Khan-e-­Baloch, Mir Nasir Khan, was the Supreme Commander of this whole body of the State army.

With each Dasta or Division went a long retinue of Loris (artisans), poets, Hakims (physicians), and surgeons accompanied by adequate personnel and non-combatants to man supplies, transport and communication. The Loris formed, as it were, a ‘mobile workshop’ during wartime, repairing damaged arms, spears, swords, saddles, horse­shoes, tents and other military wares at the base camps not far off from the scene of action. Their services were thus indispensable to the fighting units.

The Raizwars or poets and ballad-singers, too, played an important role during military engagements, inspiring the warriors and maintaining their morale with their moving verses and melodious eulogies of the warriors’ bravery on the battlefield. These poets and bards were, in fact, the chroniclers, of dates and events of past as well as contemporary history, who preserved the age-long traditions of the Baloches and their fearless performances of valour and chivalry, both on and off the field.

The Hakims or physicians and surgeons came from the venerable class of Muslims, known as Saadats. Well-versed in religion as well as in medicine and surgery, they played a dual role, treating the wounded and the sick, and leading the congregational prayers and preaching the temporal and spiritual values of Jihad (religious war). Belonging to the genealogical lineage of the Holy Prophet, they commanded a high place and reverence in the esteem of all.

The Dehwars, Jamotes, Jats and Hindus were in charge of supplies and transport and other executive works of the war machinery. The Hindus dealt mainly with supply of rations to the units.

Thus, the entire tribal community contributed its might in an apportioned manner during military engage­ments, with each single Baloch actively involved in his respective operation on the field and at the base.

A word about the army formations and their mode of deployment will not be amiss here. The State army comprised of three main Divi­sions, namely Dasta-e-Khas (the Special Division), Dasta-e-­Doem (Sarawan Division), and Dasta-e-Soem (the Jallawan Division). The constituents and strength of each of these Divisions were as under:

 

The Special Division

 

This 10,120-strong Division (Dasta-e-Khas) was in the personal command of the Khan-e-Azam and placed as the central formation, flanked by the Sarawan Lashkar on the right, and the Jallawan Lashkar on the left. The tribe-wise break-up of this force was:

1.Zagar Mengal                      1,000

2.Lasi                                      1,000

3.Kharani                                1,000

4.Sanjra                                  1,000

5.Marri                                   1,000

6.Bugti                                   1,000

7.Derajati                               2,000

8.Makrani                               1,000

9.Mirwani                              100

10.Qumbarani                        50

11.Altazai                               50

12.Gurnari                              100

13.Qalandaran                        100

14.Samalani                            200

15.Mroduni                            200

16.Dehwar                              60

17.Dehwar f Mastung            60

18.Jamali                                200

The Jallawan Division

This Division (Dasta-e-Doem) numbering 5,800 com­prised of tribes settled in Sarawan, and was commanded by the Sardar of the Raisani tribe. Its tribe-wise constituents were:

 

1.Raisani                                                      300

2. Shahwani                                                   800

3.Bangulzai                                                    500

4.Kurd                                                            500

5.Mohammad Shahi                                      300

6.Sarprah                                                       300

7.Lahri                                                           300

8.Rind                                                            800

9.Lango                                                         500

10.Parkari                                                      150

11.Dehwar of Kalat                                        50

12.Various tribes from Kachhi                      300

13.Tribes from Khangarh (Jacobabad) 500

14.Tribes from Nasirabad                             500

 

Total:                                                          5,800

 

Numbering 4,500, this Jhalawani Lashkar (Dasta-e­-Soem) was under the command of the Sardar of the Zarkzai clan of Zahri tribe, and comprised of the following other tribes:

 

1.Zahri                                 800

2.Mohammad Hasani          800

3.Bizenjo                             300

4.Mengal                            1,000

5.Magsi                                 800

6.Sasoli                                 300

7.Khadrani                            100

8.Nichari                               100

9.Jatak                                   100

10.Bajoi                                 100

11.Sajdi                                  100

 

Total:    4,500

 

Military Intelligence:

 

Obtaining of intelligence has always been the most im­portant and integral aspect of warfare since time imme­morial. Termed as Chari in the Balochi language, this unit or Dasta functioned as the Intelligence Corps of the Khan-e-Azam’s armed forces, its primary purpose being the gathering of information of military value. This unit of picked intelligence men was charged with the mission of supplying information upon which the plan of action would be chalked out. These men would move out as Charis or scouts, from the base camp and penetrate as far deep into the No-man’s land as safely possible in order to reconnoiter the field and observe the enemy positions, assess their strength and number of cattle, and the possible mode of deployment. The news these scouts brought back would determine the plan and technique of action. If the information they gathered warranted a surprise night attack, the Commander and the ranks would plan their move accordingly. This action was called Pasara. If on the other hand, the scouts reported the enemy positions as poised for forward advance at any moment, the situation then called for another technique, called Maidan, i.e., frontal engagement in the open.

If we examine this ancient technique of Pasara, it will be seen that the modern guerilla warfare is but a developed manifestation of these techniques employed by the Baloches in their raids centuries back.

The modus operandi of Pasara, or night attack, was that, based on the intelligence report of the Charis, or scouts, the army would move forward under the cover of night; and getting as close to the enemy positions as they could without raising any suspicion, they would entrench themselves at a convenient striking distance. This halt, or tamb as it was called, was virtually a lull before the storm. The men, breathing watchfully in grim silence, would wait while whispered orders were passed around, specifying the place they should meet at on the morrow with their spoils. An agreed timing of attack would then be fixed at a precise moment of the darkest hour nearest the dawn. The men would then wait resolutely, perhaps making mental calculation of the ‘prizes’ that would fall to them a few hours hence.

And then, with the arrival of the crucial zero hour, the horsemen would spring out simultaneously like a cavalcade of untamed fury, followed in the rear by the footmen with their swords and spears; and the enemy, taken unawares, would thus find it wiser to do something other than being chopped like a ripe harvest.

Likewise, if a Pasara, or night attack, was not feasible, and the Charis, or intelligence men, had reported a possible surprise initiative by the enemy, the army would accordingly prepare to meet the situation. For this, men were posted in a chain at suitable distances around the camp, each person being replaced in turn by another fresh sentinel during the watch round the clock. If the enemy launched a full-scale attack, the combatants of the State army would ensconce themselves in the crevices on the hill slopes nearby, and roll down heavy boulders upon the advancing hordes. But more often than not, they would issue forth into the open field the moment they espied the onrush of the enemy. Usually, all the three Divisions joined battle as one co-coordinated force with two flanks and one center.

 

Weapon;

 

Baloch traditional weapons of war numbered six, as per a lullaby, which Baloch mothers even today sing emotion­ally to the babies at their breasts or in the cradle. This is how a mother wishes to see her son in his manhood:

“May Alam Din (the son) grow into a white-clothed youth and bind on his person the six weapons: shield, gun and dagger, and carry his own quiver ful of arrows and the Shirazi sword of the Rinds. May he ride a swift mare.”

Thus, a Baloch mother not only suckles her son with her divine lacteal fluid, but also at the same time instills a martial spirit in her infant through her maternal secretions, longing to see him grow into a fearless youth.

However, during the times of Mir Nasir Khan, Baloch military ware consisted mostly of matchlocks, pistols (Durrani), swords, daggers, shields and bags (kisag) con­taining gunpowder. Matchlocks and pistols were used for making a target of the enemy at a distance; but when the fighting became a hand-to-hand affair, the traditional weapons like the swords, shields and the daggers would come into their full play. These light and handy weapons were homemade; for practically every Baloch was a competent armoire during his leisure time. Mending and making these implements of war was a pastime of the ever-vigilant youths of Baloch tribal society. Nevertheless, it was also always an appealing pursuit for the tribesmen to snatch weapons from their enemies and preserve them as cherished souvenirs, which changed hands from father to son as valu­able articles of family inheritance.

 

Development of Artillery

 

Artillery had not yet made its appearance in Baloch engagements on the front. The honor of introducing artillery in this part of the Indian subcontinent goes to Khan-e-Azam Mir Nasir Khan, who did so when he re­turned victoriously after humbling the Marhattas at the famous Third Battle of Panipat in 1761, in co-ordination with Ahmed Shah Abdali of Afghanistan.

 

In the initial stages, the entire artillery strength com­prised of only four cannons manned by 100 men, who formed a regular unit of the State army. However, by the time of Mir Khudadad Khan, the Khan-e-Baloch-X (1857-93), and the artillery unit grew to 300 artillerymen with 12 standard-size and several small-size cannons, all of which were of British make.

It was an established policy of my grandfather, Mir Khudadad Khan, to place each of his Sons in full com­mand of one of his Regiments. These princes would per­form the regular duties of a Commandant on parade grounds during peacetime, as well as during actual army engagements on the battlefield. I have seen my father, Mir Azam Jan, the Khan-e-Baloch-XIJ, in the position and role of a Commandant of the Artillery Regiment of the State army.

Apart from other Divisions, my grandfather maintained a regular Reserve Force of 500 men, excluding the 300-strong artillery unit. This group was called Amala. Simi­larly, he had a cavalry unit of another 500 men, called Risala. All these various units and Divisions functioned with an auxiliary force of 1,000, who supplemented the total army as the Transport Unit.

 

Transport

 

There were 1,000 sound-bred camels for transport pur­poses, which were used during campaigns and long marches. One man was in charge of four camels. One hundred horses and camels of the finest pedigree were reserved for the transport of Court nobles, State officials, elder men, Saadats and other high-ranking persons.

Whenever the Khan-e-Azam used to travel between Kalat and Kachhi, a retinue of 1,000 camels would accom­pany him, alternating with another 1,000 camels, which rested for future occasions.

Donkeys, too, had their due share in civil as well as military activities, these domesticated animals being used mainly by lower cadres like Loris, cooks and other such personnel.

This, then, is a brief account of achievements during the period of Mir Nasir Khan’s life, which eventually ended in 1817, leaving his loving and beloved people in a state of long lasting anguished mourning. The Shahinshah of Iran, Mubarak Hussain Safvi, was deeply moved and sent a special message of condolence to the Baloch people.