ANALYSING THE BALUCH-ANGLO WAR WITH SUBALTERN PERSPECTIVE: CASE STUDY OF BIJAR KHAN DOMBKI

Abstract

This thesis studies the representation of a Baloch chief Bijar Khan Dombki in the British knowledge produced by British colonial officers, and in the local Baloch history writing. This does so by first collecting the archival data on the representation of the Bijar Khan, and then by conducting the interviews of those Baloch historians and intellectuals who are deconstructing the colonial knowledge produced on the Baloch people. The thesis is divided into three parts. First, the representation of Bijar Khan in colonial writings by British officers during British invasion of Sindh has been discussed. Second, the criticism on the colonial knowledge by the local historians and intellectuals of Balochistan is discussed. Third, the history writing of Bijar khan by local Baloch historians and intellectuals is discussed. This thesis argues that the British have misrepresented Bijar Khan as uncivilised because they wanted to construct themselves as civilised comparatively to the Baloch but in the folk and oral accounts of Baloch people Bijar Khan has been represented as a Hero who conducted resistance against the British rule. This colonial misrepresentation is answered with the help local perspective gathered from thematic interviews conducted from local Baloch intellectuals and documented the oral history of Dombki tribe. I situate my argument in significant context of academic literature on the de-colonisation of knowedge. Key words: Colonial Discourse, British Empire, Bijar Khan, Uncivilised, Robbers, Social Darwinism, Civilising Mission.