Punjabi Baloch
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (10-12 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
•  Pakistan
|
|
| Languages | |
| • Punjabi • Seraiki • Urdu • English | |
| Religion | |
•  Islam 100% • |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| • Baloch • Baloch diaspora • Sindhi Baloch • Baloch of India |
The Baloch of Punjab are 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, which adjoins Balochistan, speak Saraiki.
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. 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. The Baloch of the Punjab plains are now altogether separated from the Baloch tribes of Balochistan and the Derajat, although the same tribal names are still found among them; some tribes and families still are in contact with the tribes in Balochistan. Due to the extenstive residence in Punjab and the inter-marriage with the local Jat and Rajput Muslims has deprived them of many of their characteristics due to assimilation, and they have now forgotten the Baloch language and have abandoned the Baloch dress. Yet Baloch traditions can be seen in some parts (where Baloch families and tribes reside) of south-Punjab mainly in Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur. In Bhakkar, they speak Saraiki as Zarrani Baloch, Niwani, Shahani, Lashari etc. but those tribes who migrated to Punjab recently as some tribes like Marri, Bozdar etc. speak both Saraiki and Punjabi. The Hooth and Sandi tribes living in Bhakkar mainly speak Seraiki and thay are main tribes in the region. They mostly speak Seraiki or Punjabi in the south of Punjab, while those in the districts of Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Jhang, Sargodha, Bhakkar and Khushab speak Punjabi.Long before Mir Chakar's time, Mir Jalal Khan was one of the Baloch historical rulers, and from his four sons— Rind, Lashar, Hooth and Korai Baloch— spring the five main Baloch tribes. The Jatoi are the children of Jatoi, Jalal Khan's daughter. These main sections are now divided into innumerable septs. The Balochistan region is divided among Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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