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Book Review: The Baloch Cultural Heritage



Book name: The Baloch Cultural Heritage
Writer: Jan Muhammad Dashti
Edition: Second (2019)
ISBN No. 978-969-680-100-9
Price: 20 USD

This masterfully crafted book can be termed a Magnus Opus of Mr Dashti. The style of the book is marvellous, research put into it make it an asset for any student of Baloch culture. The book is divided into four chapters, it contains information about the Baloch nation from ancient times to today. References provided by the author are extensive and that makes the book very important.

The book starts off with Baloch migration from their original home, there are countless theories regarding these origins of the Baloch. Mr Dashti unlike many other writers tries to bring forward a scientific approach. His scientific approach may be disorientating to some readers as he looks at things from a very logical and analytical way rather than trying to base things on legends or myths. The origin of Baloch is analysed and a few theories are examined in the book, for Mr Dashti Baloch are Elamites. There is some scientific evidence to support that theory, but ancient history is unrecorded so it may be very hard to come to a certain conclusion.

Further, into the book Mr Dashti has clearly explained Baloch culture, from their settlements, dressing to their names and titles. His work is magnificent, one can learn a lot about Baloch culture. It is not only about the current situation either, the book is an attempt to make a clear picture of Baloch culture, how it was influenced by events and foreign contacts with other groups. There are few instances in the book where some hints of bias can be found, but that may be expected from a Baloch.




The chapter about Baloch religious and mythological practices is very insightful, it feels like the writer was trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle, the current practices and their roots in ancient times. Many things today did subconsciously have their roots in some old belief in the supernatural. The reasons behind Balochi names their significance to mythical beliefs of Baloch of old.

The final chapter is about the political setup of the Baloch nation. Tribalism, Sardars and tribal unions, how a Sardar or tribal head was chosen and their role in the society. This is very interesting to read how Baloch society functioned before the British empowerment of Sardars. The absence of a priest class and the religious significance of a Sardar, how the decision of Sardars were originally very democratic, unlike today.

In conclusion, I would say that this book is a great asset for anyone interested in Baloch history and culture. Though, there are too many probabilities and uncertainties in the book. The reader at times is left with more questions than answers. But, all in all, this is a very decent effort, in my humble opinion, this book is the most scientific and logical book on the subject.

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