The Sindhis of Balochistan

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The Sindhis of Balochistan are an indigenous Sindhi population living in Balochistan, Pakistan.[1]

History[edit]

According to the historical records of Arab, Persian and Indian the original indigenous population of Balochistan region were Jats (Zutt), Meds, Gurjars (Indo-huna) (all are Sindhis) in Makran, Khuzdar, Kalat (Turan), Kachhi Gandava plains and in Kohe Sulaiman mountains, the original Brahuis were in central Balochistan and Pashtuns in the north, before the migration of balochs from northwest of Iran, even today these native ethnic groups make more than half of the region's population. The true balochs along with Kurds were natives of northwestern Iran, near caspian sea,[2] their language also supports this, which is based on one of the Western Iranian languages,[3] the balochs first migrated to eastern Iran like Kerman, Khorasan during late Sasanian period, where they firstly interacted with Sindhi Jats. The Arab writers also mentioned them living in eastern regions of Iran around 9th century, from eastern Iran later migrated to southeast of Iran, while some also migrated to Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.[4]

The second migration of balochs took place in 971–972, when they were pushed eastwards by Persian, Turkic and Arab dynasties like Buyids, Ghaznavids and Seljuqs, who were fed up of baloch people's acts of plundering and looting of caravans in those routes.[5]

The balochs entered into modern Pakistani balochistan province through Makran region in 12th century, which at that time was part of Sindh and the region was inhabited by Jats, Meds, Sammat and Gurjar people (all Sindhis), the makran was ruled by a Jat tribe of Hoth.[6] The balochs called all the Indigenous Sindhis as "Jadgals" which is an umbrella term for all Sindhi communities, including Jats, Meds, Sammats and Gurjars. Historically Jadgal term was used by balochs to distinguish between a Sindhi and pure baloch.[7]

Over the time, Balochs started to call the local people by different names of their area of living or by the language they speak, for example, the Buledis of Buleda, and the Kolachis of Kulanch. The Buledi and Kolachi are now tribes of Balochistan, which probably can also be Jats originally.[8] For others, the Balochs called them by their language, like Jadgali for Sindhi-speaking people,[9] Jatki for Sindhi and Saraiki speaking, and Kurdgali for Brahui speaking.[10]

The fourth migration of balochs happened in 13th–14th into present day Sindh and south Punjab.[11][12]

In 635 or 636 CE, the Sindhi Hindu Brahman dynasty of Sindh ruled parts of balochistan under Chach of Aror. Later in the rule of Kalhoras, Arghuns, Sammas, Soomras, and Talpurs many areas of Balochistan were under Sindh province.[13]

Over the time, Sindhis of Balochistan divided into different regional communities, the Jadgals of Makran speak the Jadgali dialect of Sindhi language; the Lasis of Lasbela speak the Lasi dialect of Sindhi; the Jamotes and Jats of Kachhi Plain speak Firaqi Sindhi or Siraiki dialects, there are also other Jat/Jutt people scattered all over Balochistan. The Sindhi Jats were mentioned as "Zutts" in early Arab writings and "Jat-an" in Persian, In the 7th century, when Arabs came to Sindh,[14] they found Sindhi Jats living in the lower Indus valley and Makran region, which at that time were all part of Sindh.[15][16][17]

These regional Sindhi people of Balochistan have many tribes/Castes and clans of their own. Most of them are Sindhi Muslim Sammat/Jamote, Jats, Jadgals, Meds, Rajputs, Gurjar, Khojas etc,[18] Hindu/Muslim Lohana, Bhatia, Brahmins, Kshtriyas, Shudras, other trading Hindu tribes, Rabari, and other tribal Hindu Sindhi tribes like Bheel, Meghwar, etc. Many Hindu tribes converted to Islam, the remaining Hindus migrated first to Sindh and then after partition into India,[19] but there is still a small minority of Hindu Sindhis living in Balochistan, and there are also some Arab, Mughal and Sheedi origin Sindhi tribes of Balochistan.

List of Sindhi tribes in Balochistan[edit]

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Spooner, Brian. "Baluchistan – Geography, History and Ethnography". repository.upenn.edu/. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  2. ^ Kreyenbroek, Philip G (2010). Oral Literature of Iranian Languages: Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi, Ossetic, Persian and Tajik: Companion Volume II: History of Persian Literature A, Volume 18. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0857732651.
  3. ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  4. ^ Spooner, Brian (1988). Baluchistan: Geogr Baluchistan: Geography, History, and Ethnogr , and Ethnography.
  5. ^ Brian, Spooner. ""BALUCHISTAN i. Geography, History and Ethnography"". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  6. ^ "جت : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  7. ^ Central Asia: Belochistan. Barbican. 1995. p. 136.
  8. ^ Dames, Mansel Longworth (1904). The Baloch Race: A Historical and Ethnological Sketch. Royal Asiatic society.
  9. ^ Delforooz, Behrooz Barjasteh (2008). A sociolinguistic survey among the Jagdal in Iranian Balochistan". In Jahani, Carina; Korn, Agnes; Titus, Paul Brian (eds.). The Baloch and others: linguistic, historical and socio-political perspectives on pluralism in Balochistan. Wiesbaden. Reichert Verlag. pp. 23–44. ISBN 978-3-89500-591-6.
  10. ^ bkbaluch (2015-10-25). "Kurd and Baloch". Mankind. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  11. ^ Michael, Mann. "Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, Volume 1, The Earth System: Physical and Chemical Dimensions of Global Environmental Change" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  12. ^ "From Zardaris to Makranis: How the Baloch came to Sindh". The Express Tribune. 2014-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-04.
  13. ^ Skutsch, Carl, ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. New York: Routledge. p. 178. ISBN 1-57958-468-3.
  14. ^ Dashti, Naseer (October 2012). The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4669-5896-8.
  15. ^ Wikeley, Lt. Col. J.M. (1970). Punjabi Musalmans (Second ed.). Lahore: The Book House. pp. 8–9.
  16. ^ Wink, André (2002). Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. Brill. ISBN 978-0-391-04173-8.
  17. ^ Biladuri, Ahmad Bin Yahya Bin Jabir Al (2011-03-01). The Origins of the Islamic State: Being a Translation from the Arabic Accompanied With Annotations, Geographic and Historic Notes of the Kitab Futuh Al-buldan. Cosimo. ISBN 978-1-61640-534-2.
  18. ^ Tyagi, Vidya Prakash (2009). Martial races of undivided India. Gyan Publishing House. p. 225. ISBN 978-81-7835-775-1. The Jhalwan Gujjars speak both Balochi and Sindhi languages and claim to be natives of these regions without having ancestry of any foreign element in so far as their ethnic traditions are concerned. In the region the Zamindars (landlords) are called Baloch. The other Pakistani Blauch and adjoining Irani Bluches are of one ancestry but against this we hail from separate Gujjar community. As per one tradition they have come from Delhi to this area and speak Sindhi language. In Markan, near border of Iran, the Gujjars are Ziki by faith and claim to have come from Mewar during the time of Akbar, the elderly Gujjars added.
  19. ^ "Hindu Castes and Sects of Shahdadkot Sindh 2014 - (PDF)". vdocuments.mx. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
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