The "Discourse" of Baluchi Nationalism and its Relations to the Idea of a Baluchi "Identity"

Abstract

This lecture deals with the ‘discourse’ of Baluchi nationalism as it developed in Pakistan during the second half of the 20 century. As a political movement, Baluchi nationalism raised and acquired widespread authority among one of the most populous ‘stateless nations’ of South-Central Asia as a consequence of the intrusion into the area by various local and western powers. But, as a ‘discourse’ supporting a political movement, Baluchi nationalism developed through the conflux of texts and ideas produced by western intellectuals and scientists on the one hand, and as a result of local representations of Baluchi society, history and identity (which were reshaped accordingly) on the other.