The River Basin and Partition

(Landlord) Theory from the South: Empire and estates on a Punjabi Frontier

“…Incorporating the Frontier tribes into the Raj's sphere of influence therefore hinged, in large part, on transforming tribesmen from pastoralists to settled cultivators on the plains, who would then be categorized as either proprietors or tenants (Bhattacharya, 2019, p. 152). One key way the British sought to do this was by encouraging tribal chiefs to invest and participate in the development of canals, promising them revenue‐grants ( jagirs ) and even proprietary rights to some of the newly irrigated land (Gilmartin, 2015). Through this process, the Raj aimed to subvert Baloch tribal identity entirely: to transform the Baloch “hill man”—“filthy,” “hungry,” and “wild”—into the “plain Baloch,” who has a “suit of English cotton cloth, a good mare to ride, and is prosperous and free from anxiety” (Fryer, 1876, p. 74).…”

“…With his rivals jockeying for the tumandar title, Jamal Khan realized an alternative route to securing the loyalty of his tribesmen: collaborating with the Raj in their Indus irrigation projects. In the 1850s, he proposed to the British a plan for widening and extending the Manka tail, as long as the government agreed to pay half the costs, grant him ownership over newly irrigated and previously unclaimed “waste” land, and recognize his right to collect revenue from his tribesmen in jagir (Gilmartin, 2015, pp. 47–48).…”

“…The British Raj came to see his growing influence as a threat, as did rival Frontier tribes like the Mazaris. To balance out the Legharis influence, the Raj and the de‐facto Mazari chief, Imam Baksh Mazari, began to collaborate on various canal development projects, including the Gamul project in 1867, which aimed to permanently settle Mazari tribesmen on the Indus plains (Gilmartin, 2015, p. 57). By propping up Imam Baksh in this way—he was eventually knighted in 1888 (Massy, 1890, p. 612)—the Raj also aimed to exert control over various rebellious tribes in the region, including the Mazaris themselves, who the British saw as a “very wild and nomadic tribe” (Fryer, 1876, p. 26), and the Bugtis in neighbouring Balochistan, with whom Mazaris had good relations.…”

“…In doing so, they also effectively consolidated a new racialization of the Baloch. With Baloch chiefly authority increasingly “embodied in new forms of landed property” (Gilmartin, 2015, p. 66), Balochiyat itself came to be rooted in the respect for, rather than the pillaging of, property.…”

“…He believed inter‐tribal warfare only weakened each tribe, and thus sought to negotiate between tribes peacefully and legally (S. K. Mazari, 1999, p. xxii). Not only did he swiftly resolve the land conflict with the Dreshaks through the intercession of the Deputy Commissioner (Massy, 1890, p. 636), Imam Baksh also joined Jamal Khan and other chiefs to establish a “joint‐stock company,” structured by British property laws, to re‐excavate the Dhundi canal (Gilmartin, 2015, p. 49). Because of his mediating acumen, Imam Baksh was even made an “Honorary Magistrate” by the Raj, for which he built himself a “fine courthouse” in his hometown (Fryer, 1876, p. 41).…”