BALOCH
The
Baloch or Baluch (romanized: Balòc) are an Iranian people
who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the south-eastern
most edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of
Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities
in neighbouring regions, including in India, Turkmenistan and the
Arabian Peninsula.
The
Baloch people mainly speak Balochi, a Northwestern Iranian language,
despite their contrasting location on the southeastern side of the
Persosphere. The majority of Baloch reside within Pakistan. About
50% of the total ethnic Baloch population live in the Pakistani
province of Balochistan, while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant
albeit smaller number reside in Pakistani Punjab. They make up nearly
3.6% of Pakistan's total population, and around 2% of the populations
of both Iran and Afghanistan.
Etymology
:
The exact origin of the word 'Baloch' is unclear.
•
Rawlinson (1873) believed that it is derived from the name of the
Babylonian king and god Belus.
• Dames (1904) believed that it is derived from the Persian
term for cockscomb, said to have been used as a crest on the helmets
of Baloch troops in 6th century BCE.
• Herzfeld (1968) proposed that it is derived from the Median
term brza-vaciya, which describes a loud or aggressive way of speaking.
• Naseer Dashti (2012) presents another possibility, that
of being derived from the name of the ethnic group 'Balaschik' living
in Balasagan, between the Caspian Sea and Lake Van in present-day
Turkey and Azerbaijan, who are believed to have migrated to Balochistan
during the Sasanian times. The remnants of the original name such
as 'Balochuk' and 'Balochiki' are said to be still used as ethnic
names in Balochistan.
Some writers suggest a derivation from Sanskrit words bal, meaning
strength, and och meaning high or magnificent. An earliest Sanskrit
reference to the Baloch might be the Gwalior inscription of the
Gurjar-Pratihar ruler Mihir Bhoj (r. 836–885), which says
that the dynasty's founder Nagbhat I repelled a powerful army of
Valach Malecchs, translated as "Baluch foreigners" by
D. R. Bhandarkar. The army in question is that of the Umayyad Caliphate
after the conquest of Sindh.
History
:

Sardar Ibrahim Khan Sanjrani, Baloch Sardar of Sistan, c.
1884

Palace
of the Baloch Emir of Sindh in 1808
According to Baloch lore, their ancestors hail from Aleppo in what
is now Syria. They claim to be descendants of Ameer Hamza, uncle
of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who settled in Halab (present-day
Aleppo). After the fight against second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I at
Karbala (in which Ameer Hamza's descendants supported and fought
alongside Husayn ibn Ali) in 680, descendants of Ameer Hamza migrated
to east or southeast of the central Caspian region, specially toward
Sistan, Iran, remaining there for nearly 500 years until they fled
to the Makran region following a deception against the Sistan leader
Badr-ud-Din. [citation needed]
Dayaram
Gidumal writes that a Balochi legend is backed up by the medieval
Qarmatians. The fact that the Karmatians were ethnic Baluchis is
also confirmed by the Persian historian in the 16th century Muhammad
Qasim Ferishta. According to another historian Ali Sher Kanei, the
author of Tuhfatul Kiram, in his history written in 1774 A.D, he
believes that only the Rind tribe from Jalal Khan, a descendant
of Muhammad ibn Harun, nicknamed Makurani, is a direct descendant
of Hamza. Based on an analysis of the linguistic connections of
the Balochi language, which is one of the Western Iranian languages,
the original homeland of the Balochi tribes was likely to the east
or southeast of the central Caspian region. The Baloch began migrating
towards the east in the late Sasanian period. The cause of the migration
is unknown but may have been as a result of the generally unstable
conditions in the Caspian area. The migrations occurred over several
centuries.
By
the 9th century, Arab writers refer to the Baloch as living in the
area between Kerman, Khorasan, Sistan, and Makran in what is now
eastern Iran. Although they kept flocks of sheep, the Baloches also
engaged in plundering travelers on the desert routes. This brought
them into conflict with the Buyids, and later the Ghaznavids and
the Seljuqs. Adud al-Dawla of the Buyid dynasty launched a punitive
campaign against them and defeated them in 971–972.
After this, the Baloch continued their eastward migration towards
what is now the Balochistan province of Pakistan, although some
remained behind and there are still Baloch in the eastern parts
of the Iranian Sistan-Baluchestan and Kerman provinces. By the 13th–14th
centuries, waves of Baloch were moving into Sindh, and by the 15th
century into the Punjab. According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, professor
at University of Karachi, the Balochis migrated from Balochistan
during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab.
The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending
from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, or alternatively,
from about 1300 to about 1850. although climatologists and historians
working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the
start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local
conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan
was very cold and the region was not inhabitable during the winter
so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in Sindh and
Punjab.
The area where the Baloch tribes settled was disputed between the
Persian Safavids and the Mughal emperors. Although the Mughals managed
to establish some control over the eastern parts of the area, by
the 17th century, a tribal leader named Mir Hasan established himself
as the first "Khan of the Baloch". In 1666, he was succeeded
by Mir Ahmad Khan Qambarani who established the Balochi Khanate
of Kalat under the Ahmadzai dynasty. [note 1] Originally in alliance
with the Mughals, the Khanate lost its autonomy in 1839 with the
signing of a treaty with the British colonial government and the
region effectively became part of the British Raj.
Baloch
culture :

Cultural
man of Bugti tribe
Gold
ornaments such as necklaces and bracelets are an important aspect
of Baloch women's traditions and among their most favoured items
of jewellery are dorr, heavy earrings that are fastened to the head
with gold chains so that the heavy weight will not cause harm to
the ears. They usually wear a gold brooch (tasni) that is made by
local jewellers in different shapes and sizes and is used to fasten
the two parts of the dress together over the chest. In ancient times,
especially during the pre-Islamic era, it was common for Baloch
women to perform dances and sing folk songs at different events.
The tradition of a Baloch mother singing lullabies to her children
has played an important role in the transfer of knowledge from generation
to generation since ancient times. Apart from the dressing style
of the Baloch, indigenous and local traditions and customs are also
of great importance to the Baloch.
Baloch
Culture Day is celebrated by the Balochi people annually on 2 March
with festivities to celebrate their rich culture and history.
Baloch
tribes :

Baloch-inhabited areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran
(pink) in 1980
Tradition :

Baloch Man in Sindhi traditional pantaloon style
Traditionally, Jalal Khan was the ruler and founder of the first
Balochi confederacy in 12th century. (He may be the same as Jalal
ad-Din Mingburnu the last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire.) Jalal
Khan left four sons – Rind Khan, Lashar Khan, Hoth Khan, Kora
Khan and a daughter, Bibi Jato, who married his nephew Murad.
Divisions
:
As of 2008 it was estimated that there were between eight and nine
million Baloch people living in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
They were subdivided between over 130 tribes. Some estimates put
the figure at over 150 tribes, though estimates vary depending on
how subtribes are counted. The tribes, known as taman, are led by
a tribal chief, the tumandar. Subtribes, known as paras, are led
by a muquaddam.
Five
Baloch tribes derive their eponymous names from Khan's children.
Many, if not all, Baloch tribes can be categorized as either Rind
or Lashari based on their actual descent or historical tribal allegiances
that developed into cross-generational relationships. [citation
needed] This basic division was accentuated by a war lasting 30
years between the Rind and Lashari tribes in the 15th century.
Pakistan
:
There are 180,000 Bugti based in Dera Bugti District. They are divided
between the Rahija Bugti, Masori Bugti, Kalpar Bugti, Marehta Bugti
and other sub-tribes. [full citation needed]
Nawab
Akbar Khan Bugti led the Bugti as Tumandar until his death in 2006.
Talal Akbar Bugti was the tribal leader and President of the Jamhoori
Watan Party from 2006 until his death in 2015.
There
are 98,000 Marri based in Kohlo district, who further divide themselves
into Gazni Marri, Bejarani Marri, and Zarkon Marri. Hyrbyair Marri
has led the Balochistan Liberation Army since his brother's death
in 2007.
Tribalism
:
Violent intertribal competition has prevented any credible attempt
at creating a nation-state. A myriad of militant secessionist movements,
each loyal to their own tribal leader, threatens regional security
and political stability. Nationalist groups like the Baloch Students
Organization, composed of armed rebels, and the Baloch Council of
North America, made up of educated expatriates living in the United
States, have simultaneously denounced Balochistan's traditional
rulers and Pakistan's national government. In 2020, a separatist
movement attacked but failed to gain entry to the Pakistan Stock
Exchange, which was 40% owned by China.
Baloch
tribes are markedly less egalitarian, as are the Pashtun tribes.
Genetics
:
For most Balochs, haplogroup R1a is the most common paternal clade,
while haplogroup L-M20 is the most common paternal clade in Makran.
Religion
:
_(14782067294).jpg)
A zigri (a type of religious dance) in Gwarjak in 1891
The majority of the Baloch people in Pakistan are Sunni Muslims,
with 64.78% belonging to the Deobandi movement, 33.38% to the Barelvi
movement, and 1.25% to the Ahl-i Hadith movement. Shia Muslims comprise
0.59% of Balochs. 800,000 Pakistani Balochis are estimated to follow
the Zikri sect. Although Baloch leaders, backed by traditional scholarship,
have held that the Baloch people are secular, Christine Fair and
Ali Hamza found during their recent (2017) empirical study that,
when it comes to Islamism, "contrary to the conventional wisdom,
Baloch are generally indistinguishable from other Pakistanis in
Balochistan or the rest of Pakistan". There are virtually no
statistically significant or substantive differences between Balochi
Muslims and other Muslims in Pakistan in terms of religiosity, support
for a sharia-compliant Pakistan state, liberating Muslims from oppression,
etc.
A
small number of Balochs are non-Muslims, particularly in the Bugti
clan which has Hindu and Sikh members. There are a few Hindus in
the Bugti, Bezenjo, Marri, Rind and other Baloch tribes. The Bhagnaris
are a Hindu Baloch community living in India who trace their origin
to southern Balochistan but migrated to India during the Partition.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Baloch_people