A century in India, but Baloch are still not at home

Even as the Balochis of Mumbai rally for an OBC status, not much has changed for this community of migrant stonebreakers in over a century

By Anju Maskeri | mid-day 20-Nov-2016

In 1901, when the British Government brought approximately 5,000 people from Balochistan to Mumbai via Karachi to work as stone quarrying labourers, Anis Sohrab’s grandfather was one of them. “He was just 18 then. His engagement had broken off and he was looking to get away from home. So, he came to Mumbai on a steamer and started working as a labourer here,” says the 50-year-old. Back in the day, the grandfather built the Gaondevi temple near Sohrab’s Andheri (East) residence. “The then Viceroy, John Gilbert employed him to work on the Khandala railway tracks and tunnel,” he reveals.

The Perils of Pakistani Migrants Heading to Europe

In violation of the terms of the Geneva Convention, European authorities appear to be judging asylum claims based on nationality, not individual cases. Pakistanis are generally being categorized as “economic migrants” and not refugees. Simultaneously, Turkey has worked out a readmission agreement with Pakistan in order to deport Pakistanis back to their homeland.

At an asylum office in Athens, Qadeer Sagar Baloch, 27, and his friends tried to explain their situation to an asylum officer. They carried with them a letter written by one Faiz Mohammed Baloch who runs the International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (IVBMP) from an office in London.