Baloch people in Punjab
The Baloch people in Punjab(Balochi: پنجاپءِ بلۏچ), is a community of Baloch people who have settled in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A significant number of Baloch tribes have over time settled in the Punjab. The Baloch of southern Punjab, including Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur, which adjoin Balochistan, speak Saraiki and Balochi.[1][2]
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~ 6 million (1974 estimation) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Punjab, Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Punjabi • Seraiki • Urdu • English | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Baloch • Baloch diaspora • Sindhi Baloch • Baloch of India |
History
According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi, the Baloch migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold during this epoch and the region was inhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in Sindh and Punjab. Baloch people form majority in Dera Ghazi Khan or Rajanpur districts and found significant numbers in Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan districts, and Multan district.[3]
Demographics
In his book Searchlights on Baloches and Balochistan, first published in 1974, Mir Khuda Bakhsh Marri, who served as Chief Justice, Governor and Chief Minister of Balochistan, estimated the Baloch population in Punjab to number around 6 million, constituting around one-fifth of Pakistan's Punjab province which at the time stood at roughly 30 million.[4]
Notable people
- Sardar Fateh Buzdar, politician
- Usman Buzdar, politician
- Sardar Nasrullah Khan Dreshak
- Sardar Ali Raza Khan Dreshak
- Sardar Hasnain Bahadar Dreshak
- Asif Saeed Khosa, ex Chief Justice of Pakistan
- Latif Khosa
- Zulfiqar Ali Khosa
- Dost Muhammad Khosa
- Shahnaz Laghari
- Bilal Lashari
- Kamran Lashari
- Awais Leghari
- Farooq Leghari
- Jamal Leghari
- Balakh Sher Mazari
- Dost Muhammad Mazari
- Muniba Mazari
- Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari
- Shaukat Hussein Mazari
- Shireen Mazari
References
- Schiffman, Harold (9 December 2011). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. BRILL. p. 332. ISBN 9789004201453.
- Anatol Lieven (28 April 2011). Pakistan: A Hard Country. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 340–. ISBN 978-0-14-196929-9.
- From Zardaris to Makranis: How the Baloch came to Sindh
- Marri, Mir Khuda Bakhsh (1997). Searchlights on Baloches and Balochistan. Ferozsons. p. 41. ISBN 9789690013736.