The main ethnic groups in the province are
Baloch,
Pashtuns and
Brahuis, and there are relatively smaller communities of
Iranians,
Hazarajats,
Kurds,
Sindhis, plus other
settlers, including
Punjabis,
Uzbeks,
Turkmens,
Sikhs and
Hindus. The name
Balochistan means the "
land of the Baloch" in many regional languages.
[edit]Etymology
Balochistan in
Pashto is known as
Godar which was hellenised by the Greeks in to
Gedrosia due to the fact that the Greeks derived the names of these
Iranian lands from the
Bactrian language. The Balochi people referred to their own land as
Moka or
Maka, a word which later became
Makran, following the decline of the nearby
Harappa-
Mohenjo-daro civilisation to the east.
[edit]History
Quetta cantonment in 1889
[edit]Early history
Forming the eastern portion of the
Iranian Plateau, the area of Balochistan is the site of the earliest known farming settlements in the pre-
Indus Valley Civilization era, the earliest of which was
Mehrgarh dated at 7000 BC. Balochistan, then famous for its lakes, was one of the first places
Zoroaster travelled to from
Bactria in order to seek converts to his religion. Some of the first proselytes of his religion lived here before its spread into western portions of the
Iranian plateau.
[citation needed]The
Baloch have
Persian and
Kurdish origins, all of whom populate portions of the
Iranian plateau.
[1] They are considered to be an Iranic group that has absorbed some
Dravidian genes and cultural traits, primarily from
Brahui people.
[citation needed] The northern point of Balochistan known in
Pashto as
Dzaranga was known as
Drangiana to the Greeks and came to be known to the Persians as
Saka. The
Persian epic of
Shahnamadoes record the Baloch in the
Qazvin-
Zanjan region of
old Iran in the 6th century AD, when they were engaged in battle by the Persian king
Chosroes I Anoshirvan, The
Shahnama also records its heroes, Rustom and Sohrab, as being
Saka (and not Persians) making
Sistan (or the old Sakistan) their origin. With time, Baloch tribes linguistically absorbed all the local people in
Makran, southern
Sistan and the
Brahui country, becoming a sizeable group to rival in size the other
Iranic group in the region .
In the 7th century, the region was divided into two parts; the south was made part of the
Kermān Province of the
Persian Empire and the north became part of the Persian province
Sistan. In early 644, the Islamic
Caliph,
Umar, sent Suhail ibn Adi from
Busra to conquer the Kerman region of Iran. He was then made governor of that region. From Kerman, he conquered the western
Balochistan region, near the Persian frontiers.
[2]South-western Balochistan was conquered during the campaign in Sistan the same year. During the reign of
Caliph Uthman in 652, Balochistan was reconquered during the counter-revolt in
Kerman, under the command of Majasha Ibn Masood. This was the first time western Balochistan became directly controlled by the
Caliphate and paid taxes on agriculture.
[3] In those days western Balochistan was included in the dominion of Kerman. In 654, Abdulrehman ibn Samrah, governor of Sistan, sent an Islamic army to crush a revolt in
Zaranj, which is now in southern
Afghanistan. After conquering Zaranj, a column of the army pushed north, conquering
Kabul and
Ghazni, in the
Hindu Kush mountain range, while another column moved through
North-western Balochistan and conquered the area up to the ancient city of
Dawar and
Qandabil (
Bolan).
[4] By 654, the whole of what is now the Balochistan province of
Pakistan was controlled by the
Rashidun Caliphate, except for the well-defended mountain town of
QaiQan which is now
Kalat. However, this town was later conquered during the reign of Caliph
Ali.
[5] Abdulrehman ibn Samrah made Zaranj his provincial capital and remained governor of these conquered areas from 654 to 656, until Uthman was murdered.
During the
Caliphate of
Ali, a region of Balochistan,
Makran, again revolted. Due to civil war in the
Islamic empire, Ali was unable to deal with these areas until 660, when he sent a large force, under the command of Haris ibn Marah Abdi, towards Makran and Sind. Haris ibn Marah Abdi arrived in Makran and conquered it by force, and then moved northward to
north-eastern Balochistan and reconquered
Qandabil (
Bolan). Finally, he moved south and conquered Kalat after a fierce battle.
[6] In 663, during the reign of
Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I, Muslims lost control of
North-easternBalochistan and
Kalat when Haris ibn Marah and large part of his army died in battle against a revolt in
Kalat.
[7] Muslim forces later regained control of the area during
Umayyad reign. It also remained a part of the
Abbasid Caliphate.
In the 15th century,
Mir Chakar Khan Rind became the first king of Balochistan. Subsequently, Balochistan was dominated by the
Timurids, who controlled all of Persia and Afghanistan. The
Mughal Empire also controlled some parts of the area. When Nadir Shah won the allegiance of the rulers of Balochistan, he ceded
Kalhora, one of the
Sindh territories of
Sibi-Kachi to the Khan of Kalat.
[8][9][10] The successor of Nadir Shah and founder of the Afghan Empire,
Ahmad Shah Durrani, also won the allegiance of that area's rulers. Most of the area would eventually revert to local Baloch control.
[edit]British Rule
During the period of the
British Raj, there were four
Princely States in Balochistan:
Makran,
Kharan,
Las Bela and
Kalat. In 1876, Sir
Robert Sandeman made a treaty with the Khan of Kalat and brought his territories (including Kharan, Makran, and Las Bela) under
British suzerainty. After the
Second Afghan War was ended by the
Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879, the
Afghan Emir ceded the districts of
Quetta,
Pishin,
Harnai,
Sibi and
Thal Chotiali to the British. In 1883, the British took control of the
Bolan Pass, southeast of Quetta, from the
Khan of Kalat. In 1887, some of the areas of Balochistan were declared British territory. In 1893, Sir
Mortimer Durand negotiated an agreement with the
Amir of Afghanistan,
Abdur Rahman Khan, to fix the
Durand Line running from
Chitral to Balochistan as the boundary between the
Emirate of Afghanistan and the
British. Two devastating earthquakes occurred in Balochistan during the British colonial rule: The
1935 Balochistan Earthquake, which devastated
Quetta, and the
1945 Balochistan Earthquake with its epicentre in the
Makran region.
[edit]After independence
In 1947-48, the Khan of
Kalat reportedly tried to accede to the dominion of India. But his accession papers were returned by
Jawaharlal Nehru, the
Prime Minister of India obviously not wanting to extend India's dominion areas that were separated by Pakistan, so as to be able to concentrate on the local development work.
[11][12][13] As a result, Kalat joined Pakistan on the agreement that defence, currency, foreign office and finance will be controlled by the federal govt but that the rest the province will control by itself. However, after death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, formation of one unit changed this situation and Kalat along with other princely states of Baluchistan were merged into Pakistan as elsewhere in the South Asian sub continent.
Since Pakistan's independence, a small group of Baloch nationalist, groups and Provincial governments have been in conflict with the Federal Government.
[edit]Geography
Balochistan is situated on the southwest of Pakistan and covers an area of 347,190 square kilometres (134,050 sq mi), constituting 44% of Pakistan's total land mass and making it Pakistan's largest province by area. The province is bordered by
Afghanistan to the north and northwest,
Iran to the southwest,
Punjab and
Sindh to the east, and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the northeast. To the south lies the
Arabian Sea. Balochistan is located on the south-eastern part of the
Iranian plateau. It borders the geopolitical regions of the Middle East and Southwest Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. Besides sitting at the mouth of
Hormuz Straits it can provide the shortest route from port to Central Asia. These facts have placed the otherwise desolate region constantly it in the scopes of competing global interests like Afghanistan for all of recorded history.
The capital, Quetta, is located in a densely populated portion of the mountainous northeast. It is situated in a river valley near the
Bolan Pass which has been used as the route of choice from the coast to Central Asia, entering through Afghanistan's
Kandahar region. The British and countless other historic empires have crossed the region to invade Afghanistan by this route.
[14] The
Sulaiman Mountains are located in Balochistan's northeast area. Local inhabitants have chosen to live in towns and rely on sustainable water sources for thousands of years.
Balochistan is rich in exhaustible and renewable resources; it is the second major supplier of natural gas in Pakistan, however its renewable and human resource potential has not been systematically measured nor exploited due to pressures from within and without Pakistan.
[edit]Climate
Very cold winters and hot summers characterise the climate of the upper highlands. Winters of the lower highlands vary from extremely cold in
Ziarat,
Quetta,
Kalat, Muslim Baagh and Khanozai the northern districts to mild conditions closer to the Makran coast. Summers are hot and dry, especially the arid zones of Chaghai and Kharan districts. The plain areas are also very hot in summer with temperatures rising as high as
50 °C (122 °F).The highest record breaking temperature of
53 °C (127 °F) has been recorded in
Sibi, it was on 26 May 2010.
[15] Previously,
52 °C (126 °F) was recorded in Sibi. Other hot areas includes,
Turbat, and
Dalbandin. Winters are mild on the plains with the temperature never falling below the freezing point. The desert climate is characterised by hot and very arid conditions. Occasionally strong windstorms make these areas very inhospitable.
[edit]Economy
Fishing boats in
Gwadar East Bay with the Koh-e-Mehdi Hills in the background
The economy of Balochistan is largely based upon the production of natural gas, coal, and minerals. Other important economic sectors include fisheries, mining, manufacturing industries, trade and other services being rendered by public and private sector organizations in the province. Tourism remains limited but has increased due to the exotic appeal of the province. Limited farming in the east as well as fishing along the
Arabian Seacoastline are other forms of income and sustenance for the local populations. Due to the tribal lifestyle of many Baloch and Brahui, animal husbandry is important, as are trading bazaars found throughout the province.
Though the province remains largely underdeveloped, several major development projects are in progress in Balochistan including the construction of a new deep sea port at the strategically important town of
Gwadar.
[16] The port is projected to be the hub of an energy and trade corridor to and from China and the Central Asian republics.
Mirani Dam on
Dasht River, 50 kilometres (31 mi) west of
Turbat in the
Makran Division, is being built to provide water to expand agricultural land use by 35,000 km
2 (14,000 sq mi) where it would otherwise be unsustainable.
[17]Balochistan's share of the national income has historically ranged between 3.7% to 4.9%.
[18] Since 1972, Balochistan's gross income has grown in size by 2.7 times.
[19] Outside
Quetta, the resource extraction infrastructure of the province is gradually developing but still lags far behind other parts of Pakistan.
There is also Chinese involvement in the nearby
Saindak gold and copper mining project where large gold and copper deposits exist in the
Chagai District in
Reko Diq area. The main license is held jointly by the Government of Balochistan (25%) the rest is held by foreign interests Antofagasta Minerals (37.5%) and Barrick Gold (37.5%). These deposits are comparable in size to nationally-controlled deposits
Sarcheshmeh in Iran and
Escondida in Chile (which are the second and the third largest proven deposits of copper in the world).
[citation needed] Foreign multinationals BHP Billiton and Tethyan entered into a joint venture with the Balochistan government to develop these deposits. The potential annual copper production has been estimated to be 900,000 to 2.2 million tons.
[citation needed] The deposits seem to be largely of
porphyry rock nature.
[citation needed] The agreements for royalty rights and ownership of these immense exhaustible resources were reached during a period of unprecedented natural disasters, economic, social, political, and cultural unrest in the country. The negotiations were widely considered to be insufficiently transparent.
[20][edit]Government
In common with the other provinces of Pakistan, Balochistan has a parliamentary form of government. The ceremonial head of the province is the
Governor, who is appointed by the
President of Pakistan on the advice of the provincial
Chief Minister. The chief executive of the province is the Chief Minister who is normally the leader of the largest party or alliance in the provincial assembly.
[edit]Demographics
Main article:
Baloch people
| Historical populations |
|---|
| Census | Population | Urban |
|---|
|
| 1951 |
1,167,167 |
12.38% |
| 1961 |
1,353,484 |
16.87% |
| 1972 |
2,428,678 |
16.45% |
| 1981 |
4,332,376 |
15.62% |
| 1998 |
6,565,885 |
23.89% |
The population reached some 13,162,222, not including 3 districts of Khuzdar, Kech and Panjgur in 2012 Census preliminary figures, far more than 5,501,164 in 1998.
[22] The population density is very low due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of water. As of the 1998 census, Balochistan had a population of 8 million inhabitants, representing approximately 5% of the Pakistani population.
[23] Official estimates of Balochistan's population grew from approximately 7.45 million in 2003 to 7.8 million in 2005.
[24]According to the 2008 Pakistan Statistical Year Book, households whose primary language is
Balochi represent 10% of the population,
Pashto is also spoken by around 30% of the population, and 4% of households speak
Brahui. It makes Balochi and Pashto the two dominant languages in the region. Other languages include
Hazaragi (Persian),
Sindhi,
Punjabi[citation needed] and
Saraiki.
[25] Balochi-speaking people are concentrated in the sparsely populated west, east, south and southeast;
Brahui speakers dominate in the centre of the province, while the Pashtuns are the majority in the north.
The
Kalat and
Mastung areas speak Brahui.
Quetta, the capital of the province, is largely populated with Pashtun people. While the
Hazara have a sizeable presence in Mahrabad and Hazara town neighbourhood of Quetta and speak the Hazaragi language. They are mostly engaged in trade, coal mining and govt jobs. The present MNA from Quetta Sayd Nasir Ali Shah and Jan Ali Changazi MPA belong to Hazara tribe.
In the
Lasbela District, the majority of the population speaks Balochi, or
Lasi (
Sindhi).
Jamot tribes of Sibi Naseerabad and Kachhi region widely speak
Sindhi. In addition, the coastal region of Makran is home to communities such as the
Siddi and
Med, who speak Balochi but have distinct ethnic identies.
The
Lori, a gypsy people are found throughout Balochistan. A large number of approximately over 4 million Afghan refugees moved to Quetta and other cities of Balochistan after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Near the
Kalat region and other parts of the province there are significant numbers of Baloch Brahui speakers. Along the coast there are various
Makrani Balochi speakers who predominates. A large number of
Afghan refugees can also be found in the province, including Pashtun, but also
Uzbeks,
Tajiks and Hazara.
The large district and tribe of Belijan/Beluchan still exist in northwest Zagros, stretching from just east of
Sivas, south toward
Aleppo. The current inhabitants and the tribe identify themselves as
Kurds.
[edit]Languages
The main languages in the province are
Balochi spoken (in the very sparsely populated west, east, south and southeast),
Pashto (in the north and northwest) and
Brahui (in the center). In areas bordering Central western Punjab Seraiki is the local dialect, additionally, there is also a small number of speakers of
Hazaragi Persian Urdu and Punjabi, (in the capital Quetta) Farsi
Persianisalso spoken
Sindhi is spoken (in some parts of the southeast).
[26][edit]Society and culture
Balochistani culture is primarily tribal, deeply patriarchal and conservative. Baloch society is dominated by tribal chieftains called
Mirs,
Sardars and
Nawabs, who are the ruling elite of Balochistan and have been criticised for blocking the educational development and empowerment of the common baloch people, while their children get educated in best foreign Universities
[edit]Gallery
-
Princess of Hope along the
N10
-
-
[edit]References
- ^ M. Longworth Dames, Balochi Folklore, Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 3 (29 Sep. 1902), pp. 252–274
- ^ Ibn Aseer, Vol. 3, p. 17
- ^ Futuh al-Buldan, p. 384 incomplete citation, needs edition statement to identify the page
- ^ Tabqat ibn Saad, Vol. 8, p. 471
- ^ Futuh al-Buldan, p. 386 incomplete citation, needs edition statement to identify the page
- ^ Rashidun Caliphate and Hind, by Qazi Azher Mubarek Puri, published by Takhliqat , LahorePakistan
- ^ Tarikh al Khulfa, Vol. 1, pp. 214–215, 229
- ^ Dawn.com
- ^ Iranica.com
- ^ Panhwar.org
- ^ Mainstream. 28. N. Chakravartty. 1990. p. 9.
- ^ Rajinder Puri (1992). Recovery of India. Har-Anand Publications. p. 74.
- ^ Strategic Studies, Volume 26. Islamabad: Institute of Strategic Studies. 2006. p. 44.
- ^ Bolan Pass – Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
- ^ Pakmet.com.pk
- ^ "Gawader". Pakistan Board of Investment. Archived from the original on 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
- ^ "Mirani Dam Project". National Engineering Services Pakistan. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
- ^ "Provincial Accounts of Pakistan: Methodology and Estimates 1973–2000".
- ^ Siterresources.worldbank.org
- ^ "$260 billion gold mines going for a song, behind closed doors". Thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ "Districts". Government of Balochistan. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ "Population shoots up by 47 percent since 1998". Thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ "Population, Area and Density by Region/Province" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan. 1998. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
- ^ Pakistan Balochistan Economic Report: From Periphery to Core (In Two Volumes) – Volume II: Full Report. The World Bank. May 2008. "The Balochistan population totalled 4.5 million in 1981/82 and 7.8 million in 2004/05..." "NIPS estimates that Balochistan's population growth will slow down to 1.3 percent by 2025..."
- ^ "Percentage Distribution of Households by Language Usually Spoken and Region/Province, 1998 Census". Pakistan Statistical Year Book 2008. Federal Bureau of Statistics – Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
- ^ "Balochistān". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
[edit]Further reading
- Johnson, E.A. (1999). Lithofacies, depositional environments, and regional stratigraphy of the lower Eocene Ghazij Formation, Balochistan, Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1599. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Geological Survey.
[edit]External links
The Pakistan military and its state sponsored media reported on 10 August that the military has killed 6 ‘armed militants’ in an exchange of firing in Machh area of district Bolan in Balochistan. As the saying goes “A Lie has no legs to stand upon”– soon the misleading statements of Pakistan army and media were exposed as the families of previously abducted Baloch identified the bodies of their loved ones.
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