Mir Lawang Khan
Encyclopedia
Mir Lawang Khan was the second eldest son of Mir Habib Khan, a member of the famed PAINDZAI(Sardarkhel) Family of the Zagr Mengal
Tribe. Born in Killi Mengal Noshki, he was the elder brother of the National Awami Party
leader and Balochi
National Poet Mir Gul Khan Nasir and the First Commander of the Balochistan Reserve Police (BRP), Col.Sultan Mohammad Khan.
of Balochistan
. It is said that Mir Lawang Khan liked to hunt a lot in his spare time.
). After the Independence of Pakistan in 1947 and the annexation of Balochistan into Pakistan
in 1948, Mir Lawang Khan was bothered and harassed a lot in Noshki by the Pakistani Agencies. This forced him to leave his home town and get settled in Dasht-e-Goran.
, was quite a prominent figure in the National Awami Party
(NAP) and was the Education Minister of Balochistan during his party's government in 7th of aug in 1973. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (the Prime Minister of Pakistan
at that time) already had grievances with the NAP Leadership and after Nawab
Akbar Bugti "revealed" in an address at Mochi Gate
, Lahore
that Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo (Governor of Balochistan at the time) and Sardar
Ataullah Mengal
(Chief Minister
at the time) planned to separate Balochistan from Pakistan, Bhutto got his chance to persecute the leaders and workers of NAP. The NAP Governments in North-West Frontier Province
and Balochistan were toppled, its leadership was thrown in jail and a Military Operation was launched in Balochistan. During this time a mass scale armed resistance movement started against the Pakistan Army
in Balochistan.
When the Pakistani Troops entered Dasht-e-Goran to arrest Mir Lawang Khan, he chose to fight them rather than surrender. After that a long battle ensued between the Pakistan Army which was laced with State of The Art Weaponry and a handful of Baloch Locals (who opted to fight alongside Mir Lawang Khan) and were using outdated and obsolete rifles. After almost a whole day of fighting and a loss of 29 soldiers, the Pakistan Army was able to kill the 1 Locals who took a stand against them. Author Selig Harrison in his book In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations describes the incident as, "72 years old Mir Lawang Khan, elder brother of the Baluch poet and political leader Gul Khan Naseer,hobbed out of his hut on crutches to the centre of the square shouting that he would die before permitting the troops to violate Baluch honour by intruding on the female members of his family,he picked up his out-modeled muzzle loader and started to fire at the soldiers from their fortified huts.
Soon most of the able bodied men in the village had joined him in hand to hand fighting that lasted for four hours. Army soldiers/sources concede that reinforcements had to be called in before the village could be subdued but deny baloch eye witnesses claiming that 28 Pakistani soldiers were killed before Mir Lawang Khan got martyred . Thirty Five villagers were killed by Pakistani MG'S and ARTY fire. Many Baluch compare Mir Lawang Khan to Nauroz Khan, the martyred leader of the 1958 uprising.". Mir Lawang Khan's younger brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan (a retired colonel in the Pakistan Army) was arrested the day he returned to Quetta after his brother's burial.
. The way he laid down his life for his motherland has earned him a lot of admiration and respect. He is mentioned wherever there is talk of Baloch Martyrs. A few lines from a poem in brahui
about Mir Lawang Khan.
SHER ATAULLAH THO NANA LASHKAR
BASH KARE DUSHMAN KE ZIRAB o KHAKHAR
WA SAFAR KHAN O MIR LAWANG KHAN E
SHAHEED KARER PULLAAR O ASAD JAAN E
TRANSLATION:-
We the public, with the Lion Ataullah (Mengal)
Raised Hell for the enemy
Again Safar Khan & Mir Lawang Khan
Are being martyred & Asad is being snatched from us
On the tombstone of Mir Lawang Khan is a poem in Balochi which was written by his brother Mir Gul Khan Naseer
in Mach Jail when he heard about Mir Lawang Khan's death. The poem is as follows:
IDAA WAPTHAG HAMAA MARD SARMACHAARAIN
VATHAN DOSTH O HABAR PAAL O MAZAARAIN
LAWANG KHAN NAAM, MENGAL ZAAT PULAIN
HABIB KHAN MEER AE BACH ETH NAAM DAARAIN
AUGUST NONZDA SAD O HAFTHAAD O SEY AE
SABAA AA HAFTHAMEE ROCH AE GHUBARAIN
VATHI NANG O MAYAAR AA PA BALOCHAIN
GO PAKISTAN AE FAUJ AA SAR SAWAARAIN
MIRAAN AA CHO YALAAN QAUM AE SHAHEED BOOTH
JAHEE JANAT BIBAAT DAAIM BAHAARAIN
TRANSLATION:-
Here sleeps the man brave and bold
Patriotic, true to his word, the lion
His Name is Lawang Khan, Mengal is his tribe
The famous son of Mir Habib Khan
On August 1973
The seventh day in the morning
For his Balochi honour & dignity
He fought with the army of Pakistan
For the freedom of his nation he became a martyr
Making a place for himself in paradise, ever green
Mengal
Mengal is a Brahui / Baloch tribe in Balochistan, Pakistan- Demographics :The Mengal tribe is one of the largest Baloch tribe. Mengal people speak Brahui, a Dravidian language that has been heavily influenced by other Iranian languages spoken in the area, especially Balochi...
Tribe. Born in Killi Mengal Noshki, he was the elder brother of the National Awami Party
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party was a leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups. It advocated provincial autonomy, rights on the basis of ethnicity, recognition of ethinicities...
leader and Balochi
Balochi language
Balochi is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken as a second language by some Brahui. It is designated as one of nine official languages of Pakistan.-Vowels:The Balochi vowel...
National Poet Mir Gul Khan Nasir and the First Commander of the Balochistan Reserve Police (BRP), Col.Sultan Mohammad Khan.
Education
Mir Lawang Khan got his early education in his native town of Noshki. After that he got involved in and played quite an important role in the tribal politics of that region and earned the reputation of being an important figure of the area.Personal life
The date or year of Mir Lawang Khan's marriage is unknown. He married three times. From his first wife he had two sons (Akil Khan & Shaista Khan) and one daughter. No child survived from his second marriage. He had two sons (Asghar Khan & Qambar Khan) and three daughters from his third marriage. His eldest son, Mir Akil Khan, grew up to be recognized amongst the top literatiLiterati
Literati may refer to:*Intellectuals or those who read and comment on literature*The scholar-bureaucrats or literati of imperial China**Literati painting, also known as the Southern School of painting, developed by Chinese literati...
of Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
. It is said that Mir Lawang Khan liked to hunt a lot in his spare time.
Exile
Mir Lawang Khan and his siblings had ancestral property in Dasht-e-Goran (a small town in Kalat DistrictKalat District
Kalat or Qalat is a district in Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of 26 in that province, and encompasses an area of 6,621 km². The population of the district is estimated to be over 400,000 in 2005. The district is governed from the city of Kalat....
). After the Independence of Pakistan in 1947 and the annexation of Balochistan into Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1948, Mir Lawang Khan was bothered and harassed a lot in Noshki by the Pakistani Agencies. This forced him to leave his home town and get settled in Dasht-e-Goran.
Death
Mir Lawang Khan's brother, Mir Gul Khan NaseerMir Gul Khan Naseer
Mir Gul Khan Nasir, also widely regarded as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan was a prominent politician, poet, historian, and journalist of Balochistan, Pakistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki, Gul Khan Nasir was at the forefront of the Baloch Nationalist Movement and was most active between 1935 to 1980...
, was quite a prominent figure in the National Awami Party
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party was a leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups. It advocated provincial autonomy, rights on the basis of ethnicity, recognition of ethinicities...
(NAP) and was the Education Minister of Balochistan during his party's government in 7th of aug in 1973. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (the Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
at that time) already had grievances with the NAP Leadership and after Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....
Akbar Bugti "revealed" in an address at Mochi Gate
Mochi Gate
The Mochi Gate locally known as Mochi Darwaza is located within the Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Mochi Gate is a historical gate built by the Mughals. It is at the site of one of the thirteen gates of the old walled city of Lahore.The Darwaza used to exist next to the...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
that Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo (Governor of Balochistan at the time) and Sardar
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
Ataullah Mengal
Ataullah Mengal
Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal , popularly known as Sardar Ataullah Mengal, is a well-known political and feudal figure of Pakistan hailing from Balochistan. He has been campaigning a nationalist and separatist movement in Pakistan for over four decades. He is the head of the Shahizai Mangal tribe...
(Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...
at the time) planned to separate Balochistan from Pakistan, Bhutto got his chance to persecute the leaders and workers of NAP. The NAP Governments in North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
and Balochistan were toppled, its leadership was thrown in jail and a Military Operation was launched in Balochistan. During this time a mass scale armed resistance movement started against the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
in Balochistan.
When the Pakistani Troops entered Dasht-e-Goran to arrest Mir Lawang Khan, he chose to fight them rather than surrender. After that a long battle ensued between the Pakistan Army which was laced with State of The Art Weaponry and a handful of Baloch Locals (who opted to fight alongside Mir Lawang Khan) and were using outdated and obsolete rifles. After almost a whole day of fighting and a loss of 29 soldiers, the Pakistan Army was able to kill the 1 Locals who took a stand against them. Author Selig Harrison in his book In Afghanistan's Shadow: Baluch Nationalism and Soviet Temptations describes the incident as, "72 years old Mir Lawang Khan, elder brother of the Baluch poet and political leader Gul Khan Naseer,hobbed out of his hut on crutches to the centre of the square shouting that he would die before permitting the troops to violate Baluch honour by intruding on the female members of his family,he picked up his out-modeled muzzle loader and started to fire at the soldiers from their fortified huts.
Soon most of the able bodied men in the village had joined him in hand to hand fighting that lasted for four hours. Army soldiers/sources concede that reinforcements had to be called in before the village could be subdued but deny baloch eye witnesses claiming that 28 Pakistani soldiers were killed before Mir Lawang Khan got martyred . Thirty Five villagers were killed by Pakistani MG'S and ARTY fire. Many Baluch compare Mir Lawang Khan to Nauroz Khan, the martyred leader of the 1958 uprising.". Mir Lawang Khan's younger brother, Sultan Mohammad Khan (a retired colonel in the Pakistan Army) was arrested the day he returned to Quetta after his brother's burial.
Legacy
Mir Lawang Khan has left a legacy that won't be forgotten soon, at least not by the people of Balochistan. He is compared, far and wide, to Shaheed Nawab Nowroz KhanNawab Nowroz Khan
Nawab Nauroz Khan, , respectfully known by Balochis as Babu Nowroz, was the head of the Zarakzai , a Brahui people subject to the Khan of Kalat in Balochistan, Pakistan...
. The way he laid down his life for his motherland has earned him a lot of admiration and respect. He is mentioned wherever there is talk of Baloch Martyrs. A few lines from a poem in brahui
Brahui
The name Brahui may refer to:*The Brahui language*The Brahui people...
about Mir Lawang Khan.
SHER ATAULLAH THO NANA LASHKAR
BASH KARE DUSHMAN KE ZIRAB o KHAKHAR
WA SAFAR KHAN O MIR LAWANG KHAN E
SHAHEED KARER PULLAAR O ASAD JAAN E
TRANSLATION:-
We the public, with the Lion Ataullah (Mengal)
Raised Hell for the enemy
Again Safar Khan & Mir Lawang Khan
Are being martyred & Asad is being snatched from us
On the tombstone of Mir Lawang Khan is a poem in Balochi which was written by his brother Mir Gul Khan Naseer
Mir Gul Khan Naseer
Mir Gul Khan Nasir, also widely regarded as Malek o-Sho'arā Balochistan was a prominent politician, poet, historian, and journalist of Balochistan, Pakistan. Born on 14 May 1914 in Noshki, Gul Khan Nasir was at the forefront of the Baloch Nationalist Movement and was most active between 1935 to 1980...
in Mach Jail when he heard about Mir Lawang Khan's death. The poem is as follows:
IDAA WAPTHAG HAMAA MARD SARMACHAARAIN
VATHAN DOSTH O HABAR PAAL O MAZAARAIN
LAWANG KHAN NAAM, MENGAL ZAAT PULAIN
HABIB KHAN MEER AE BACH ETH NAAM DAARAIN
AUGUST NONZDA SAD O HAFTHAAD O SEY AE
SABAA AA HAFTHAMEE ROCH AE GHUBARAIN
VATHI NANG O MAYAAR AA PA BALOCHAIN
GO PAKISTAN AE FAUJ AA SAR SAWAARAIN
MIRAAN AA CHO YALAAN QAUM AE SHAHEED BOOTH
JAHEE JANAT BIBAAT DAAIM BAHAARAIN
TRANSLATION:-
Here sleeps the man brave and bold
Patriotic, true to his word, the lion
His Name is Lawang Khan, Mengal is his tribe
The famous son of Mir Habib Khan
On August 1973
The seventh day in the morning
For his Balochi honour & dignity
He fought with the army of Pakistan
For the freedom of his nation he became a martyr
Making a place for himself in paradise, ever green