Baloch Culture Day is celebrated with immense enthusiasm on March 2nd each year by Baloch people across the world, including in Balochistan. The celebration of Culture Day provides a unique opportunity to showcase diverse and vibrant Baloch culture, such as traditional clothing, turban (paag), folk dance (Dochapi), folk music, art, crafts, and other cultural rituals. It is another way of expressing ancient history, rich cultural heritage, and national identity.
Culture Day serves as a powerful and timely reminder of the urgent and dire need to acknowledge, strengthen, and preserve the rich Baloch cultural heritage, as it is the cornerstone of national identity, which not only embraces diversity and uniqueness but also fosters national pride and unity among its inhabitants. The cultural legacy of any nation is not only a unifying force but also a continuing force for future generations.
In his book “Decolonising the Mind,” renowned Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o states that cultural celebration is a form of resistance and empowerment through which a nation can reclaim its culture and assert its identity. He emphasizes the significance of cultural unity in the face of oppression. He stresses the need to celebrate and promote indigenous culture amidst the colonial erasure of the culture.
The inception of Culture Day can be traced back to 2010 when Baloch students of the Engineering University in Khuzdar were attacked with three hand grenades. As a result, two students died, and nine were injured in that attack. It was not an attack on a single cultural event but an attack on the national culture of the Baloch Nation. It was a botched attempt to erase Baloch cultural identity.
Every year, the Baloch nation celebrates Culture Day with greater zeal and zest to deliver a befitting reply to those elements who are petrified of the Baloch cultural heritage. It is also an act of paying homage to those who were martyred while celebrating, recognizing, and safeguarding Baloch culture during cultural event in 2010.
On every Culture Day, a debate sparks whether celebrating culture is a symbol of the preservation of cultural identity or an emblem of strengthening slavery amid colonial subjugation. To be frank, abandoning the celebration of one’s culture in protest of slavery is equivalent to strengthening slavery. The celebration of culture becomes indispensable amid systematic cultural erosion.
Several cultural events in Balochistan are already being sponsored by state institutions and being used as tools of propaganda and narrative building. The true reflection of Baloch culture is never shown in these events. It is a systematic attempt to ruin the genuine heritage of the Baloch culture. Despite this fact, can we afford to leave cultural events at the mercy of the state by labelling ourselves as “slaves”? This collective mindset is tantamount to cultural extinction.
It is pertinent to mention that wearing a turban and an 11-meter shalwar only once a year during the cultural event on March 2nd is not only a ridiculous act but also a dangerous practice that will further undermine the cultural heritage. Culture Day should be embraced as a lifestyle, not as a one-day celebration. Culture is not only to be celebrated but also to be lived and incorporated into our daily routine. By doing so, cultural heritage becomes vibrant and livable.
Last but not least, Balochistan, a region that is already long plagued by systematic marginalization and persecution where people continue to endure extrajudicial abduction, assassination, exploitation, torture, and other forms of injustice on a daily basis, resistance is the only way forward, and resistance is the true form of Baloch culture.
For the colonized and oppressed nations, resistance has always been a powerful form of culture. From the British Empire to the Persian Empire, Portuguese pirates to the current repressive colonial structure, Baloch have historically resisted and fought to preserve their land, language, literature, cultural heritage, and national identity. To genuinely honour our Baloch cultural heritage, we must embody the spirit of resistance in our everyday lives.
