Khanate of Kalat

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Khanate of Kalat
کلاتءِ ھانات ، خانات کلات
1512–1955
Flag of Kalat
Flag
Territory of Kalat state under Mehrab II of Kalat
Territory of Kalat state under Mehrab II of Kalat
CapitalKalat
Common languagesPersian (administration)[1]
GovernmentMonarchy
Emir 
History 
• Established
1512
• Disestablished
1955
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Principality of Kalmat
Balochistan States Union
Today part ofPakistan
State emblem of Pakistan
This article is part of the series
Former administrative units of Pakistan
Original provinces
Princely states
One-unit provinces
Other subdivisions

The Khanate of Kalat (Balochi: کلاتءِ ھانات) was a Baloch Khanate[5] that existed from 1512 to 1955 in the centre of the modern-day province of Balochistan, Pakistan. Its rulers were Brahui speakers.[6][7] Prior to that they were subjects of Mughal King Akbar.[8][3] Ahmedzai Khan ruled the state independently until 1839, when it became a self-governing state in a subsidiary alliance with British India. After the signature of the Treaty of Kalat by the Khan of Kalat and the Baloch Sardars in 1875, Kalat became part of the Baluchistan Agency.[9] It was briefly independent from 12 August 1947 until 27 March 1948, until it acceded to Pakistan. The Khanate, a political centralization of the Baloch people, failed to survive through the colonial era and did not lead to standardization of the Baloch language.[10]

Geography

The Khanate of Kalat occupied the central part of the territory of modern-day Balochistan province in Pakistan. To the north was Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province).

The principal mountains are the Central Baloch, Kirthar, Pab, Siahan, Central Makran and Makran Coast Ranges, which descend in elevation from about 10,000 to 1,200 feet (370 m). The drainage of the country is almost all carried off to the south by the Nari, Mula, Hab, Porali, Hingol and Dasht rivers. The only large river draining northwards is the Rakhshan. The coast line includes Gawadar, Pasni, Sonmiani and Geewani, modern-day Pakistani Balochistan.

Subdivisions

  • Jhalawan, an ethnic Brahui subdivision, headed by the chief nawab of the Zarakzai tribe, known as Chief of Jhalawan
  • Kacchi, an ethnic Sindhi subdivision, in which various tribes had their own tribal lands under the Khan of Kalat
  • Sarawan, an ethnic Baloch subdivision, headed by chief nawab of Raisani tribe, called chief of Sarawan[11]

Princely states under British Raj

  • Makran, a Baloch state led by the Chief Nawab of Gichki Tribe, known as Nawab of Makran
  • Las Bela, ruled by a hereditary Jam Sahib. The Aliani family took the title of Jam, the local equivalent of "King" or "Sultan".
  • Kharan, a Baloch state led by the Chief Nawab of Nausherwani tribe, known as Nawab of Kharan
  • Enclave of Gwadar, a Makrani coastal state consisting of Baloch people headed by an appointed Arab governor under the direct rule of Sultanate of Muscat and Oman.

Origin

Its commonly believed that the Khans of Kalat are Brahui.[12][13] The Arabic title "Amir", also called "Mir" in Balochi comes from the Balochi Karmatians. The Kalat Khans also gave equal rights to the Brahui leaders. According to the Asiatic Society of Bengal 1843, the Kalat Khans considered themselves the descendants of Hamza (the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad) information from Mehrab II of Kalat himself that he could trace his lineage for twenty-three generations, and that his ancestors emigrated from Halab (Aleppo).

Mir Chakar Rind is the son of Saheek and he was from the Baloch tribe of Rind. The Kalat's Khans are also reportedly considered by themselves to be the descendants of Rind and the Baloch Khan Leghari.[14]

History

Background

The State of Kalat as recognised by Pakistan (in red)

Kalat was a Baloch principality, having been conquered from the Siwas (the Scythians) by the early migrating Baloch arrivals. It was ruled by Mir Umar, son of Miro of the Mirwarri dynasty of the Brahu'i speaking Balochs. The Khans of Kalat had no imperial interests and was an economically poor country, but was however, quite formidable. In 12th century, Minhaj-i-Siraj mentions of the area in the eastern part of Seistan, which bore the name, Gumbaz-i-Baluch (Dome of the Baluch). This dome was the border of the Kalat-emirs (Tabakat-i-Nasiri).[15] The Paratarajas Kingdom was founded here before the Islamic era, and the Baluchis, according to researchers, are their descendants. According to Tarikh-i Harat and Tarikh-i Sistan, a major uprising of the Baloch tribes took place in south Afghanistan, which was destroyed by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi.[16]

In the 12th and 13th century, Tarikh-i-Masumi records the presence of Balochis during the reign of Muhammad Tughlaq (1326–1327).[17] According to Ta'rikh-i Ihya' al-Muluk, at the end of the 16th century, the Kalat region (former Turan) was under the control of the Safavids. But at the beginning of the 17th century, the Baluch tribe of Lashari stood up against the Sistan Khan and the Kermanian Beglar-Begi, and took control of Turan and Makran, until the Kalat Khanate appeared.[18]

Establishment

The Khanate of Kalat was founded in 1666 by Mir Ahmad Khan. Soon after, a Mughal force fled Kandahar and occupied Quetta, Mastung, and Mangocher. In 1667, this force was decisively defeated in the Quetta valley and the khanate managed to regain the occupied districts along with Chagai. Samandar Khan was summoned to Multan by the Mughals and Kerman by the Safavids. The Mughal prince paid tribute to Samandar Khan whereas Safavid Beglar Begi presented Samandar Khan with a robe of gold, and paid tribute.[19] The Khanate reached its peak during the reign of Khan Mir Noori Naseer Khan in 1758, who had unified the Kalat region.[20] During this period, the Kalat was under the Suzerainty of the Durrani Empire, and did not achieve Independence until 1818.[21]

British province

Palace of Mir Khudadad, Khan of Kalat.

The territories controlled by the state fluctuated over the centuries but eventually were established by treaties with the British Agent Robert Sandeman in the late 19th century. Parts of the state to the north and northeast were leased or ceded to form the province of British Baluchistan which later gained the status of a Chief Commissioners province.

Accession

Mir Nasir Khan Baloch II with son of Gul Mohammad Daroga, Wali Mohammad Shah Ghasi and a Chief of the Khan's Household.

The province's Shahi Jirga and the non-official members of the Quetta Municipality, according to Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema agreed to join Pakistan on 29 June 1947;[22] however, according to political scientist Rafi Sheikh, the Shahi Jirga was stripped of its members from the Kalat State prior to the vote.[23] The then president of the Baluchistan Muslim League, Qazi Muhammad Isa, informed Muhammad Ali Jinnah that "Shahi Jirga in no way represents the popular wishes of the masses" and that members of the Kalat State were "excluded from voting; only representatives from the British part of the province voted and the British part included the leased areas of Quetta, Nasirabad Tehsil, Nushki and Bolan Agency."[23]

Following the referendum, the Khan of Kalat, on 22 June 1947, received a letter from members of the Shahi Jirga, as well as sardars from the leased areas of Baluchistan, stating that they, "as a part of the Baloch nation, were a part of the Kalat state too" and that if the question of Baluchistan's accession to Pakistan arise, "they should be deemed part of the Kalat state rather than (British) Balochistan".[23] This has brought into question whether an actual vote took place in the town hall "and that the announcement in favour of accession was secured through sheer manipulation."[23]

On the night of 27 March, All India Radio carried a story about Yar Khan approaching India with an unsuccessful request for accession in around February.[24][a] The next morning, Yar Khan would put out a public broadcast rejecting its veracity and declare an immediate accession to Pakistan — all remaining differences were to be placed before Jinnah, whose decision would be binding.[24]

A Sherdil Khan with Balochs warriors

Dushka H Saiyid emphasizes that Yar Khan lost all of his bargaining chips with the accession of Kharan, Las Bela, and Mekran leaving Kalat islanded; he did not have any other way out.[24] Salman Rafi Sheikh largely concurs with Saiyid's assessment: multiple other Kalat sardars were preparing to secede to Pakistan and Yar Khan would have hardly any territory left, if he did not accede.[23]: 80 

Rulers of Kalat

Amir miro khan baluch.jpg

The rulers of Kalat at first held the title of Wali but in 1739 also took the title of (Begler Begi Khan), usually shortened to Khan. The last Khan of Kalat (Balochi: خان قلات) had the privilege of being the President of the Council of Rulers for the Baluchistan States Union. They also had the title of beylerbey.

Tenure Khan of Kalat [20]
1512–1530 Mir Bijar Khan Mirwani
1530–1535 Mir Zagar Khan Mirwani
1535–1547 Mir Ibrahim Khan Qambrani (Changed his Royal family name from Mirwani to Qambrani )
1547–1549 Mir Gwahram Khan Qambrani
1549–1569 Mir Hassan Khan Qambrani
1569–1581 Mir Sanjar Khan Qambrani
1581–1590 Mir Malook Khan Qambrani
1590–1601 Mir Qambar Sani Khan Qambrani
1601–1610 Mir Ahmad Khan Qambrani I
1610–1618 Mir Suri Khan Qambrani
1618–1629 Mir Qaisar Khan Qambrani
1629–1637 Mir Ahmad Sani Khan Qambrani II
1637–1647 Mir Altaz Khan Qambrani I
1647–1656 Mir Kachi Khan Qambrani
1656–1666 Mir Altaz Sani Khan Qambrani II
1666–1695 Mir Ahmad I Khan Qambrani III (Changed his Royal family name from Qambrani to Ahmadzai )
1695–1697 Mir Mehrab Khan Ahmadzai I
1697–1714 Mir Samandar Khan Ahmadzai (Amir al-Umara Amir of Amirs)
1714–1716 Mir Ahmad II Khan Ahmadzai
1716–1731 Mir Abdullah Khan Ahmadzai (Eagle of the Mountain and The Greatest )
1731–1749 Mir Muhabbat Khan Ahmadzai (Beglar Begi )
1749–1794 Mir Muhammad Nasir Khan I Ahmadzai (Noori, Ghazi, Wali and The Great )
1794–1817 Mir Mahmud Khan I Ahmadzai
1817 – 13 November 1839 Mir Mehrab Khan Ahmadzai II
1839–1841 Mir Shah Nawaz Khan Ahmadzai
1841–1857 Mir Nasir Khan II Ahmadzai
1857 – March 1863 Mir Khudadad Khan Ahmadzai (1st time); during his rule, there were seven major and many minor rebellions.
March 1863 – May 1864 Mir Sherdil Khan Ahmadzai (usurped throne)
May 1864 – 15 August 1893 Mir Khudadad Khan (2nd time)
10 November 1893 – 3 November 1931 Mir Mahmud Khan II Ahmadzai
3 November 1931 – 10 September 1933 Mir Mohammad Azam Jan Khan Ahmadzai
10 September 1933 – 14 October 1955 Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmadzai (1st time);
declared independent on 12 August 1947; agreed to accede to Pakistan on 27 March 1948
14 October 1955 State of Kalat merged into One Unit of West Pakistan[25]
20 June 1958 – 1979 Mir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmadzai
1979–1998 Mir Dawood Jan Ahmadzai
1998–2006 Mir Agha Sulaiman Jan Ahmadzai[dubious – discuss]
2006–present Prince Mir Mohammad Khan Ahmadzai[dubious – discuss]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, went on to categorically reject the report in the floors of the Parliament. However, there are not any reasons to believe that Yar Khan was not negotiating with India.

References

  1. ^ Spooner, Brian (2011). "10. Balochi: Towards a Biography of the Language". In Schiffman, Harold F. (ed.). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors. Brill. p. 320. ISBN 978-9004201453. The medium of administration in this state, which became known as the Khanate of Kalat, was Persian, as was customary down to the 19th century throughout south and central Asia and beyond (see Spooner, this volume).
  2. ^ Treaty of Kalat between Balochistan and Afghanistan in 1758
  3. ^ a b "Baluchistan" Imperial Gazetteer of India Vol. 6, p. 277, from the Digital South Asia Library, accessed 15 January 2009
  4. ^ http://thebaluch.com/documents/Nasir%20Khan%20Noori.pdf[bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ Axmann, Martin (2 August 2012). Back to the Future: The Khanate of Kalat and the Genesis of Baluch Nationalism, 1915-1955. The study portrays the decline and disintegration of the Baluch Khanate of Kalat during the last decades of British rule and investigates the genesis of Baluch nationalism during the first half of the XX century.: OUP Pakistan. ISBN 978-0-19-906592-9.
  6. ^ "Profile: Khan of Kalat — king without a crown". Dawn. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Mastung > History of district". Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Treaty of Kalat between Balochistan and Afghanistan in 1758" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Balochistan Archives - Records of the Agent to the Governor General in Balochistan". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  10. ^ Spooner, Brian (2011). "10. Balochi: Towards a Biography of the Language". In Schiffman, Harold F. (ed.). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors. Brill. p. 320. ISBN 978-9004201453. Although a Baloch state was established at Kalat (located now in Pakistan) in 1638 (cf. Spooner 1984, 1989), under a dynastic Khan, this political centralization did not survive through the colonial period and did not lead to standardization of the [Baloch] language.
  11. ^ IDSA News Review on South Asia/Indian Ocean. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. 1987.
  12. ^ "Profile: Khan of Kalat — king without a crown". Dawn. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Mastung > History of district". Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  14. ^ Bengal, Asiatic Society of (1843). Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Soc.
  15. ^ Jūzjānī, Minhāj Sirāj (1881). Ṭabaḳāt-i Nāṣirī: A General History of the Muḥammadan Dynasties of Asia, Including Hindūstān, from A.H. 194 (810 A.D.) to A.H. 658 (1260 A.D.) and the Irruption of the Infidel Mughals Into Islām. Gilbert & Rivington.
  16. ^ Crone, Patricia (28 June 2012). The Nativist Prophets of Early Islamic Iran: Rural Revolt and Local Zoroastrianism. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-51076-9.
  17. ^ Middle East: Journal of Area Study Centre. Area Study Centre for Middle East & Arab Countries, University of Baluchistan. 1995.
  18. ^ "Восточная Литература - библиотека текстов Средневековья". www.vostlit.info. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  19. ^ Society, Pakistan Historical (1991). Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society. Pakistan Historical Society.
  20. ^ a b Naseer Dashti (8 October 2012). The Baloch and Balochistan: A Historical Account from the Beginning to the Fall of the Baloch State. Trafford Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-4669-5897-5. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  21. ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  22. ^ Pervaiz I Cheema; Manuel Riemer (22 August 1990). Pakistan's Defence Policy 1947-58. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 60–. ISBN 978-1-349-20942-2.
  23. ^ a b c d e Sheikh, Salman Rafi (2018). The Genesis of Baloch Nationalism: Politics and Ethnicity in Pakistan, 1947–1977. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-02068-8.
  24. ^ a b c Saiyid, Dushka H (2006). "The Accession of Kalat: Myth and Reality". Strategic Studies. 26 (3): 26–45. ISSN 1029-0990. JSTOR 45242356.
  25. ^ Siddiqi, Farhan Hanif (2012), The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Baloch, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements, Routledge, p. 62, ISBN 978-0-415-68614-3

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 29°01′33″N 66°35′24″E / 29.02583°N 66.59000°E / 29.02583; 66.59000

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