Jats of Balochistan
Ethnic group in southern Pakistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jats of Balochistan, also spelt Jath,[1] are tribes of Sindhi origin, usually from Lari Sindhi Jats,[2] Jadgals,[3] and Jamotes,[4] found in Pakistani Balochistan, specifically in the Kacchi Plains, Las Bela, and Makran.[5][6] They are also found in lower Sindh and Kutch.[1] However, regardless of their origins, they are generally seen as Baloch.[7] They are estimated to be around 10% of the total population of Balochistan, making up the fourth largest ethnic group in the area. Most of these Jats are nomadic pastoralists who specialize in raising camels.[8]
Map of Sindhi dialects; the Jats of Balochistan live and work in the Lasi, Lari, Kutchi, and Nummari regions | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab | |
| Languages | |
| Balochi, Sindhi, Saraiki and Jadgali | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Baloch people • Sindhi Sammats |
The Sindhi word for Jaths (جت, pronounced with a soft 't') is different than the word used as a transliteration for Jats (جاٽ, pronounced with a hard 't').[9]
History
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By the time of the Umayyad conquest of Sind in the 8th century, Arab writers described agglomerations of native tribes throughout the newly conquered lands of Sind[10] and Makran. The Arabs referred to these tribes as "Zutts", an Arabic word derived from the word Jat, although this term was also applied to several other groups—such as the Sāyabija, Andāghar, and Qufs—not all of whom were necessarily ethnic Jats.[11] The Jats of Makran (with their name being synonymous with cameleers there)[12] reportedly reared fine-quality camels which were in demand as far as Khurasan; these camels were also presented to Caliph Mu'awiya.[13] These cameleers were included under the Zutt label.
The Jats were present in Makran and Lasbela before the migration of the Baloch from Kerman, Khorasan, and Sistan and Baluchistan in present-day Iran.[citation needed]
The major Jat (or Jath) tribes include: