Literary notes: 175 years of literature in Urdu from Balochistan
PROF ANWER Roomaan (1924-2013) in his book Balochistan Mein Urdu Zaria-i-Ta’leem, or Urdu as medium of instruction in Balochistan, has described the early history of Urdu in Balochistan.
According to him, Balochistan’s first real and impactful introduction to Urdu occurred in 18th century when Khan of Kalat Mir Naseer Khan (reign 1749-1794) sided with Afghanistan’s Ahmed Shah Abdali during the latter’s military campaigns in India, in particular during the third Battle of Panipat in 1761 against Marathas. From Khan of Kalat’s side, about 25,000 Baloch, Brahui and Pakhtun soldiers fought alongside some Urdu-speaking troops from Delhi and other parts of India. Forefathers of Mulla Hasan Brahui — Balochistan’s first Urdu poet — were also part of Khan of Kalat’s troops and later on Hasan Brahui learnt Urdu from them.
In 1826, Syed Ahmed Shaheed and his fighters, most of them Urdu-speaking, travelled through Dhadar, Dasht, Saryab, Quetta and some other parts of Balochistan en route to Kandahar, Afghanistan. But a more important phase of Urdu’s impact dawned during the British colonial period. Dr Shamim Kausar in her book Balochistan Mein Urdu Adab, or Urdu literature in Balochistan, says the British adopted Urdu as official language in Balochistan and Urdu language and literature have been thriving more vigorously in the province since then.
A large number of poets from Balochistan have been contributing to Urdu literature and some of them wrote in Urdu as early as in 19th century, for instance, Mulla Hasan Brahui (died 1855), who finished writing his collection of Urdu poetry in 1847, and Muhammad Yousuf Khan Popalzai (1863-1936). The latter-day poets from Balochistan carried on the tradition of composing poetry in Urdu, for instance, Taj Muhammad Tajel (died 1944), Khaliq Gul Muhammad Magsi (1884-1954) and Syed Abid Shah (1888-1949), not to mention the hundreds of others writing in Urdu in 20th and 21st centuries.
The 2025 Kamal-i-Fan, or prize for lifetime literary achievements, administered by Pakistan Academy of Letters, was awarded to Abdur Rahman Brahui, a scholar from Balochistan, for his outstanding research and critical works. One of his books Angrezi Par Urdu Ka Asar, or influence of Urdu on English, makes an interesting reading. The 2018 Kamal-i-Fan was awarded to Munir Ahmed Badini, a prolific writer from Balochistan.
So, history of Urdu language and literature in Balochistan is quite long and rich, spreading over 175 years and recording it is not an easy task. But Syed Khursheed Afroz, a veteran scholar from Loralai, Balochistan, has been doing so for over a decade now. Compiling a compendium of Urdu literature created in Balochistan, Afroz has so far published eight volumes in a series titled Mashaheer-i-Balochistan, recording brief life sketches and describing literary works of prose writers and poets of Urdu hailing from Balochistan.
The first volume (2016) covers Urdu poetry’s 100 years in Balochistan, from 1830 to 1930. The second volume (2017) spans next 30 years, that is, 1930 to 1960. In the third volume (2017), Khursheed Afroz chronicles the period of Urdu literature between 1957 and 2016. The fourth volume (2017) presents the introduction to literary organisations active in Balochistan. The fifth volume (2018) highlights women poets from Balochistan who composed poetry in Urdu between 1914 and 2014. In the sixth volume (2019), he introduces the prose works in Urdu by women writers from Balochistan, spanning the 50 years from 1915 to 1965. The next 50 years are covered in volume seven (2019). The eighth volume (2025), titled Mashaheer-i-Balochistan: Urdu Shaeri Ka Aik Sadi Ka Safar is in fact a vastly revised and updated edition of the first volume and the 400-page first volume now has over 700 pages. These volumes prove that Urdu has been a medium of literary and creative expression in Balochistan for nearly two centuries and the province has produced some very fine poets and prose writers of Urdu.
Syed Khursheed Afroz was born on March 15, 1943 in Loralai, Balochistan. He has taught at different colleges in Balochistan. A poet, columnist, researcher and critic, Khursheed Afroz has published three collections of his Urdu poetry.
Khursheed Afroz is working on the ninth volume but lack of support and encouragement has made him sound a bit sulky in the eighth volume’s intro. One hopes that the provincial and federal governments would play their role and the untiring efforts of this octogenarian scholar would be recognised in a befitting manner.
Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2026