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Balochistan
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The final major ethnic group in Pakistan is the Baloch. A comparatively small group, the Baloch, like the Pakhtuns, are a tribal population whose original territory extends beyond the national borders. Over 70 percent of the Baloch live in Pakistan, with the remainder in Iran and Afghanistan. The Baloch trace their roots to tribes migrating eastward from around Aleppo, in Syria, before the Christian era. Sometime between the sixth century and the fourteenth century, they migrated to the region of present-day Balochistan.
Baloch speak Balochi, part of the Iranian group of Indo- European languages. Linguistic evidence indicates the origin of Balochi to be in the pre-Christian Medean or Parthian civilizations. The modern form has incorporated elements from Persian, Sindhi, Arabic, and a number of other languages. Beginning in the early nineteenth century, Baloch intellectuals used Persian and Urdu scripts to transcribe Balochi into written form. Since Pakistan's independence and with the rise of Baloch nationalism, Baloch have favored the Nastaliq script, an adaptation of Arabic script.
The land of Balochistan is exceedingly inhospitable; geologists have even compared the landscape with Mars. A Pakhtu expression, reflecting on ethnic relations as well as on geography, describes Balochistan as "the dump where Allah shot the rubbish of creation." Subsistence is hard in this environment and is achieved by pastoral nomadism, dryland and irrigated agriculture, and fishing. Dryland farming is marginal, although it is a mainstay for many seminomadic herders. The Baloch plant drought-resistant grains in earthen embankments where scanty rainfall has accumulated.
Irrigated farming is concentrated near oases in two kinds of systems: open channels that bring water from a few riverbeds, and subsurface drains (karez) that channel groundwater downward to planted fields. However, such irrigation and cultivation are extremely limited, forcing most Baloch to eke out a living by herding or farming in the marginal hinterland.
Sheep and goats are the main herd animals. The herder typically consumes the dairy products these animals produce and sells the meat and wool. Pastoralists organize themselves around water sources; wells are the property of specific camps.
Kinship and social relations reflect the exigencies of dealing with the harsh physical environment. Like other Pakistanis, Baloch reckon descent patrilineally. Lineages, however, play a minimal role in the lives of most Baloch. They are notably flexible in arrangements with both family and friends. Ideally, a man should maintain close ties with relatives in his father's line, but in practice most relations are left to the discretion of the individual, and there is wide variation. It is typical for lineages to split and fragment, often because of disputes with close kin over matters such as inheritance and bad relations within marriages. Most Baloch treat both mother's and father's kin as a pool of potential assistance to be called on as the occasion demands. Again, the precariousness of subsistence favors having the widest possible circle of friends and relatives.
Marriage patterns embody this kind of flexibility. As in many parts of West Asia, Baloch say that they prefer to marry their cousins. Actually, however, marriage choices are dictated by pragmatic considerations. Residence, the complex means of access to agricultural land, and the centrality of water rights, coupled with uncertain water supply, all favor flexibility in the choice of in-laws. The plethora of land tenure arrangements tends to limit the value of marrying one's cousin, a marriage pattern that functions to keep land in the family in other parts of Pakistan.
The majority of Baloch are Hanafi Sunnis, but there is a community of an estimated 500,000 to 700,000 Zikri Baloch, who live in the coastal Makran area and in Karachi. The Zikris believe in the Messiah Nur Pak, whose teaching supersede those of the Prophet Muhammad. Their beliefs, considered heretical, have led to intermittent Sunni repression of their community since its founding in the fifteenth century.
Only among the coastal Baloch is marriage between cousins common; there, nearly two-thirds of married couples are first cousins. The coastal Baloch are in greater contact with non- Baloch and manifest a concomitantly greater sense of group solidarity. For them, being "unified amongst ourselves" is a particularly potent cultural ideal. Because they are Zikris, they have a limited pool of eligible mates and do not generally marry outside of the group of Zikri Baloch.
Baloch society is stratified and has been characterized as "feudal militarism." The significant social tie is that between a leader, the hakim, and his retinue, consisting of pastoralists, agriculturists, lower-level leaders, and lower- level tenant farmers and descendants of former slaves (hizmatkar). Suprafamily groups formed through patrilineal descent are significant mostly for the elite hakim, whose concern for rivalry and politics is not shared by other groups.
The basic exchange traditionally underlying this elaborate system was the hakim's offer of booty or property rights in return for support in battle. In more modern times, various favors are generally traded for votes, but the structure of the system--the participation of the lower-level leaders and the hizmatkar through patron-client ties--remains much the same.
In common with the neighboring Pakhtuns, Baloch are deeply committed to maintaining their personal honor, showing generous hospitality to guests, and giving protection to those who seek it of them. However, the prototypical relationship is that between the leader and his minions. A Baloch suffers no loss of status in submitting to another. Although competition for scarce water and land resources characterizes social relations between minor leaders and hizmatkar, competition coexists with a deeply held belief in the virtues of sharing and cooperation. Sharing creates networks of obligation among herders, mutual aid being an insurance policy in the face of a precarious livelihood.
Baloch tribal structure concentrates power in the hands of local tribal leaders. The British played local rivals against each other in a policy of indirect rule, as they did with the Pakhtun tribes to the north--and virtually throughout the subcontinent. In essence, the British offered local autonomy and subsidies to rulers in exchange for access to the border with Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, local leaders maintained this policy to a large extent, continuing to exploit the endemic anarchy, whether local, provincial, or national.
There have been sporadic separatist movements in Balochistan since independence. Baloch have long been accustomed to indirect rule, a policy that leaves local elites with a substantial measure of autonomy. The 1970s saw a precipitous deterioration in relations between Balochistan and the central government, however. The violent confrontation between Baloch insurgents and the Pakistani military in the mid-1970s was particularly brutal (see Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and A New Constitutional System , ch. 1). The conflict touched the lives of most Baloch and politicized those long accustomed to accepting the status quo. Original demands for greater regional autonomy escalated into a full-scale movement aimed at restructuring the government along confederal lines. By the mid-1980s, traditional cleavages among hakim, minor leaders, and hizmatkar had declined in importance as the Baloch increasingly thought of themselves as a unified group in opposition to Pakistani, or Punjabi, hegemony.
Zia ul-Haq's overthrow of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1977 was welcomed by many in Balochistan, in contrast to popular sentiment in the rest of the country, which was appalled by the extraconstitutional act. As relations with the central government began to smooth out, however, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, placing nearly the entire northern border of Balochistan on alert as a frontline area.
Balochistan's landscape in the 1980s changed markedly as Afghan refugee camps were established throughout the northern parts of the province. In many instances, temporary mud housing eventually became transformed into concrete structures. The refugees also caused the demographic balance to change as ethnic Pakhtuns--many refugees from Afghanistan--came to settle in Balochistan.
Although social conditions in rural areas have changed little for most Baloch, two scandals in the early 1990s caused the region to receive much attention. The first grew out of reports that some owners of brick kilns in remote parts of the province had labor practices that resembled slavery, complete with indenturing workers to loans that were passed down through generations. The second was the charge that young boys were being recruited from the most remote parts of the province to be "camel boys" in races in the Persian Gulf states. The screaming of the young boys, who are tied to the backs of racing camels, supposedly scares the animals into running faster. The young boys often are maimed or killed in the process. Impoverished parents unwittingly accepted payment on the promise that their son would be employed as an apprentice.
Because of the area's limited population and its low population density levels, there has been little development in Balochistan except in Quetta, the capital of the province. The rural programs that exist stem mostly from the efforts of the Agha Khan Rural Support Development Project, an NGO that has expanded into rural Balochistan on the basis of its successes in the mountains around Gilgit, in the far north of the country. This project works on organizing disparate communities into local support groups and has had particular success in reaching women in remote areas of Balochistan.
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BALOUCH HISTORY
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Balouch is a nation consisting of 500 tribes, their tradition and commonly values are similar. They have united civilaizal society and they speak common language which is called Balouchi. nited civilaizal society and they speak common language which is called Balouchi. This language was driven from ancient Indo-Iranian language. Balouchi language also known as an ancient spoken language. It is pronounceless language spoken in accordance with tribes areas.
This nation lives in a vast land called Balouchistan located in easter part of Asia north of Gulf penisala occupied by three modern countries Iran, Pakistan and Afghanstan. The part which is taken by Iran Known as Iranian Balouchisatan. Zaidan is capital of it measuring in miles 69,487 sq miles.The second is located in west of Pakistan is known as Balouchistan. The capital is Quetta and it has 34,000 sq miles. The population of Balouchistan lacks specified record here by give the approximate figure which is 1,50,000.
"The history of the Baloch is, however, still in dark. Research scholars have different opinions. Some say they belong to the northern regions of Elburz, now inhabited by Ashkanis, originally Aryans. Some historians maintain that they came from Halab, Allepe, and are Semites. It is also believed that they from the old stock of Sumerians of Mesopotamia, while others regard the Baloch as the remnants of indigenous population of the area. The historians, however, mostly concern themselves in tracing the Baloch racical origin either from among the Indo-Europeans or the Semites. Neither should one object on these methods for historical research, nor doubt the fact that there had been an admixture of various people with Baloch like the Scythians, Pathians, Ashkanis, Sakas, Kushans, Huns, Turks and many others; nor contest the proposition that Baloch, culturally, were greatly influenced by Tigris-Euphrates civilization at different stages of history. " {Janmahmad}
"The origin of the word 'Baloch' is still unknown. E. Herzefeld believes that it is derived from brza-vaciya, which came from brza-vak, a Median word meaning a loud cry, in contrast to namravak, quiet, polite way of talking. Some writers maintain that the Baloch owe their name to Babyloian King 'Belus', also the name of their God. It is also believed that the word is anick-name meaning a `cock's comg`. As the Baloch forces who fought against Astyages (585-550 B.C.) wore distinctive helmets decorated with a cock's comb, the name `Baloch' is said to have been derived from the token of cock. Some writers believe that etymologically it is made of two Sankrit words, `Bal` and `Och`. `Bal` means strength or power, and `Och`, high or magnificent. The word `Baloch' therefore, means very powerful and magnificent. Yet another erroneous version is that Baloch mean `nomad` or `wanderer`. This has been presumed perhaps due to the innocent use of the word for nomadic people, and may be because of the fact that the term may be used by indigenous settlers for the Baloch nomads.
The first Baloch migration from the Caspian See region, most probably around 1200 B.C., must have been motivated by this general historical phenomenon. They first settled in northern Persia. We have the authority of Persion poet, Firdousi (935-1020 A.D.) and also strong historical evidences that the Baloch were a political and military force during the times of Cyrus and Combyses.
However, the Baloch movement from Kirman and Seisran to Makkuran and then Eastern Balochistan was not the only result of the lack of sufficient productive forces to meet their demands, or insufficient grazing fields for their flocks, because the area they migrated to was no better in natural resources than the area in which they had been settled for centuries. The main reason was their conflict with rulers and their own internal enmity which resulted in a weakening of their political position. yet another factor most probably was the Mongolian invasion of Central Asia and the subsequent political anarchy in the whole region.
From the evidences available, it is establiched that by the beginning of the Christian era, the Baloch were one of the major people inhabiting Iranian Balochistan, Seistan and Kirman. Their migration further east into Makkuran must also be the result of Anushervan's (531-578 A.D.) attack on them. But according to some Iegends, it was at a later stage and was the result of a quarrel between the Kirman ruler and the Baloch Chief who was the successor to the most powerful leader, Ismael Romi. The former demanded forty-four girls, one from each Baloch tribe, for his harem. The Baloch dressed up boys in girls' disguise and, fearing the wrath of the ruler, migrated from Kirman and took refuge in Makkuran.
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The Kurds
The Baloch have always been referred by the ancient chroniclers with Koch who appear to be the original inhabitants of Balochistan before the Baloch arrival and also with Kurds. Many ethnologists believe that the Kurds belong to the Median branch of Aryan tribes who were mixed up with many people of indigenous origin and later invaders including Semites, Armenians and Turkomans.
The Kurds have been living in Kurdish region and Zagros area since the Semitic conquest of Assyria. They are said to have posed a permanent nuisance for the weak rulers of Assyria by organizing raids on Tigris mainland. In a Sumerian inscription dated 2000 B.C. a country known as Kardala is mentioned; and afterwards the Assyrian King, Tiglath Pileser, (circa 745-724 B.C.) appears to have fought a tribe referred as Kur-ti-e. Xenophon (circa 434-355 B.C.) also speaks of Kardukai, a mountain-folk who harassed his march towards the sea. Some archaeological evidences tend to show a Kurdish kingdom which flourished in the second millennium B.C. on the borders of the Semitic empire in Babylonia. In a later period, the Kurds cavalry seved as the vanguard of Cyrus army in capturing Babylonia in 539 B.C.
The Kurds are from the same origin as that of Baloch. The period of their migration from the Caspian region may be a few centuries earlier than the Baloch who followed at a later period; but instead of going to their people in Zagros mountainous region, outskirts of Mesopotamia, they headed towards east. Linguistically and culturally they must have been from the same stock." [ Janmahmad; The Baloch Cultural Heritage, 1982]
BALOCHI LANGUAGE
Balochi, a north-western Iranian language, is the principal language of Balochistan. There are several other minor languages which are spoken at the ethnic borders of united or Greater Balochistan. The speakers of minor languages (Brahui, Saraiki, Sindhi, and Persian (Dehwari dialect)) are bilingual. Persian and English were used as official languages in western Balochistan (Iran-Afghanistan), the Khanate of Balochistan, and British Balochistan. In 1947 the independent Khanate of Balochistan announced Balochi as an official and national language, a policy which was continued until March, 1948.
In 1948, with the incorporation of Balochistan into Pakistan, Balochi was replaced as the official language and Urdu as the national language. The official language in the areas of Gwadar (occupied by Sultanate of Oman until 1958) was Arabic.
Balochi has several dialects. Linguists agree on the following two major dialects: Eastern Balochi and Western Balochi
Eastern Balochi
The eastern Balochi dialect is spoken from Karachi northwards up to Dera Ismail Khan and to the Suleman Mountains, including the Marri Bugti areas. And amongst the Baloch of Sindh, Derajat and Punjab, and the north west frontier province of Pakistan. This dialect has borrowed several Sindhi (including Saraiki) and Pashto words and has also contributed to the vocabulary of the said languages.
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WESTRAN BALOCH
The western Balochi dialect is spoken between Karachi (Pakistan) and Kerman (Iran), among the Baloch of Turkmenistan, the Sultanate of Oman, the Khorasan province of Iran and Sistan (Iran-Afghanistan). The dialect has borrowed several words from neighboring languages such as Turkmen, Persian, Pustho and Arabic.
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History
Balochi has a different historical background and has no affinity with any Indian language. The memorandum of independent Khanate of Balochistan submitted by M. A. Jinnnah to the cabinet mission in 1946 declares: On the point of view of language, there is very little affinity between India and Kalat. The Balochi language belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family.
The Brahui language was said in the same memorandum, to be a Dravidian language having no affinity with any Indian language except the Gond dialects in central India. Discussing the relation of the Balochi language with Persian or Pashto (the national language of Iran and Afghanistan), Harrison writes: 'Balochi is a distinct language and is closely related only to one of the members of Iranian language, Kurdish, but it retains striking peculiarities of its own.'
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Origin
The Balochi language originated in a lost language, related to those of the Parthian and Median civilizations. It is classified as a branch of the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family like Kurdish, Persian, Pashto, and Ossetic. Historically, Balochi was believed to have originated between 200 B.C.E. and 700 C.E. J. Elfenbein, a scholar of Balochi, compared Balochi with Parthian and Persian of middle stage and concluded that: ? ancestor of Balochi was neither Parthian nor middle Persian but a lost language, which, sharing a number of characteristic features with either, and some with both, had pronounced (characteristics) of its own.
Referring to the affinity of Balochi language with Kurdish, having an ancient Medean background, this author has stressed that Balochi has its own unique features. The same view presented by L. Dames in his book Baloch Race, in which author reported that Balochi resembles the Zand or old Bactrian rather than old Persian. This special position of the Balochi language, having no real affinity with the Indian subcontinent and being a distinctive language along the Iranian group of Indo-European language family, has strengthened the consciousness of the Baloch people in their demand for the right of self-determination.
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Script and Ethnic Borders
Before the 19th century Balochi was a unwritten language, used in conversation in the Baloch courts. The official written language was Persian, as in India and central Asian kingdoms. It was British linguists and political historians who introduced Balochi in a written form with Roman script. In the late 19th century and later, the Baloch scholars who were influenced either by their geographical or historical environments or by their political thoughts, adopted Nasta'liq (Persian script) and Naskh (Arabic script). The Naskh script became popular among the Baloch scholar, intellectual, and journalists. A smaller group of Baloch linguists and scholars favoured the Roman script, but the didn't have a popular and powerful voice until 1948
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