Jats of Balochistan

Ethnic group in Pakistan.

Ethnic group

Jats of BalochistanRegions with significant populations

Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab
Languages
Balochi, Sindhi, Saraiki and Jadgali
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Baloch people • Sindhi Sammats

The Jats of Balochistan are tribes of Indo-Aryan origin, usually from the Sindhi Jats,[1] Jadgals,[2] or Jamotes,[3] found in Balochistan, Pakistan, specifically in the Kacchi Plains, Las Bela, and Makran.[4][5] However, regardless of their origins, they are still generally seen as Baloch.[6] They are estimated to be around 10% of the total population of Balochistan, making up the fourth largest ethnic group in the area. Many of these Jats are camel herders by trade.[7]

## History

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Further information: Las Bela (princely state) and Makran (princely state)

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2025)

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A picture of a 'Beloch Jutt Mussalman'

By the time of the Umayyad conquest of Sind in the 8th century, Arab writers described agglomerations of Jats throughout the newly conquered lands of Sind[8] and Makran. The Arabs referred to these Jats as "Zutts" (Arabic: الزُّطِّ), although this term was also used for several other groups—such as the Sāyabija, Andāghar, and Qufs—not all of whom were necessarily ethnic Jats.[9] The Jats of Makran (with their name being synonymous with cameleers in that area)[10] reportedly reared fine-quality camels which were in demand as far as Khurasan; these camels were also presented to Caliph Mu'awiya.[11]

The Jats were present in Makran and Lasbela long before the migration of ancestors of the Baloch from Kerman, Khorasan and the Sistan and Baluchistan provinces of present-day Iran.[citation needed]

The major tribes include:

* Bizenjo[12]
* Dodai[13]
* Gurchani[14]
* Lanjwani[15]
* Mengal[12]
* Sajdi[12]
* Sardarzahi[16]
* Zehri[12]

## See also

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* Baloch people
* Sindhis of Balochistan
* Sindhi Sammat

## References

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1. ^ Khan, Sabir Badal (2013). Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore: Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore. Università di Napoli, "l'Orientale". p. 61.
2. ^ "Oman's Diverse Society: Northern Oman" (PDF). JE Peterson.
3. ^ 1998 District Census Report of Malir. Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1999. p. 11\. "Among Sindhis the tribes are Syed, Jokhia, Khaskheli , Palari , Bareja , Bhabra , Dhars , Sirhindi , Jamot and Mohanas."
4. ^ Baluchistan (Pakistan) (1979). Balochistan Through the Ages: Tribes (reprint ed.). Nisa Traders (sole distributors Gosha-e-Adab).
5. ^ Sir Richard Francis Burton (1898). William Henry Wilkins (ed.). The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam. H. S. Stone. p. 215.
6. ^ Spooner, Brian (1975). "Nomadism in Baluchistan". In Leshnik, Lawrence S.; Sontheime, Günther-Dietz (eds.). Pastoralists and Nomads in South Asia. Wiesbaden, Germany: O. Harrassowitz. pp. 171–182\. ISBN 3-447-01552-7.
7. ^ Westphal-Hellbusch, Sigrid; Westphal, Heinz (1986). The Jat of Pakistan. Lok Virsa.
8. ^ Mayaram, Shail (2003). Against history, against state : counterperspectives from the margins. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-12730-8. OCLC 52203150.
9. ^ Zakeri, Mohsen (1995). Sāsānid Soldiers in Early Muslim Society: The Origins of ʻAyyārān and Futuwwa. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-03652-8. Pg. 123, 195, 196.
10. ^ 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. Pg. 142.
11. ^ 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. Pg. 160, 172.
12. ^ a b c d Baluch, Muhammad Sardar Khan (1977). History of Baluch Race and Baluchistan. Gosha-e-Adab : distributors Nisa Trader. p. 268\. "...Bizanjo, Mengal, Sajdi and Zehri as Jadgal or Jats..."
13. ^ ʻAlī, Anṡārī ʻAlī Sher (1901). A Short Sketch, Historical and Traditional, of the Musalman Races Found in Sind, Baluchistan and Afghanistan, Their Genealogical Sub-divisions and Septs, Together with an Ethnological and Ethnographical Account. Printed at the Commissioner's Press.
14. ^ Sumra, Mahar Abdul Haq (1992). The Soomras. Beacon Books.
15. ^ Hafeez Tunio (30 December 2014). "Dastar bandi: Zardari takes over as chief of his own tribe". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 17 August 2021. "Other sub-castes of the Jat community living in Sindh include the Lasharis, Zuhranis, Malkanis, Lanjwanis, Pahores and Kalwars, among others."
16. ^ Breseeg, Taj Mohammad (2004). Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development. Royal Book Company. p. 106\. ISBN 978-969-407-309-5.