Kalat, Balochistan

Kalāt or Qalāt (Brahui/Balochi: کلات), historically known as Qīqān, is the historical capital of Kalat State in Kalat district, in Balochistan. The town of Kalat is the headquarter of Kalat District and was also known in the past by the historical names Kalat-e-Baloch and Kalat-e-Sewa.

Qalat, formerly Kalat, is located roughly in the center of the Balochistan province, ‌‌and in the past, the capital of Balochistan (in Kalat State). The Khan of Kalat is presently a ceremonial title held by Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, and the Pakistan government has made efforts to reconcile with him; his son, Prince Mohammed, who is next in line to be the Khan of Kalat, is pro-Pakistan.

Name

In the Balochi language word Kalat is applied to a fort in general and the town became known as Kalat-e Baloch after the formation of the first Baloch rule over Kalat in the 15th century to distinguish it from Kalāt-e Ghilzai in Afghanistan, and Kalat-e Sewa after its legendary founder. During the reign of Mir Nasir Khan, the royal castle Miri (Miri meaning, "place of the Mir"), which was a magnificent building in the center of the city and where the Khan resided, was known as Kalat-e-Nasseer, and appellation it at present retains.

History

It has been known in earlier times as Kalat-i-Seva (from a legendary Hindu king) and Kalat-i Nichari which connects it with the Brahui Speaking tribes of Nichari, which is generally accepted as belonging to the oldest branch of the indigenous Brahois

The town of Kalat is said to have been founded by the Hindu Sewa dynasty(Qalat-e Sewa) before the Brahuis rule in the 15th century.

Six battles of Kikan (Six battles of Kikanan/Kizkanan): The legendary battles of Kinan parallel the battle of Thermopylae, where a small contingent of pastoral Jat warriors defeated a massive Muslim army. Despite facing a vastly superior Muslim military in numbers, training, and weaponry, Jats inflicted a crushing defeat on Arabic invaders, a humiliation so profound it was taken personally by the Muslim Caliph. Chach Nama reports that during the Arab Muslim invasion of Sindh, the mountain-dwelling brave and agile Jats of Kikan or Kikanan or Kizkanan, likely present-day Kalat, near Bolan Pass in Balochistan summarily defeated invading Arabic Muslim forces of Haras and killed Haras in 662 CE, only a small portion of Muslim forces returned to Umayyad Caliphate. The impact of Muslim defeat was so significant that for next 20 years each successive caliph made Kikan a special target for attack and sent 6 expeditions of which 5 "failed miserably" and "failed to make any permanent impression" in Sindh.

"The Bolan Pass was protected by the brave Jats of Kikan or Kikanan. The long-drawn struggle of the Arabs with these powers [Jats] ... marks their [Muslim's] steady but fruitless endeavours to enter India ... The hardy mountaineers [Jats] of these regions, backed by the natural advantage of their hilly country, offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors of the world ... If there had been a history of India written without prejudices and predilections, the heroic deeds of these [Jat] people, who stemmed the tide of Islam for two centuries, would certainly have received the recognition they so richly deserve [emphasis added]".

In the 15th century Kalat was conquered by the Brahui Balochis (Mirwari) of the Hindu Sewa dynasty and they established a large kingdom, but it soon declined and the region fell to Mughals for a short period. The brahui speaking Khans of Qalat were dominant from the 17th century onwards until the arrival of the British in the 19th century. A treaty was signed in 1876 to make Qalat part of the British Empire.

In 1947, the Khan of Kalat reportedly acceded to the dominion of Pakistan. In 1948, Qalat became part of Pakistan when the British withdrew. The last Khan of Qalat was formally removed from power in 1955, but the title is still claimed by his descendants. The current Khan of Qalat is Mir Suleman Dawood Khan Ahmadzai.

Climate

Kalat features a cold desert climate (BWk) under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Kalat is Template:Cvt, while the annual precipitation averages Template:Cvt. June is the driest month with Template:Cvt of rainfall, while January, the wettest month, has an average precipitation of Template:Cvt.

July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of Template:Cvt. The coldest month January has an average temperature of Template:Cvt. The all-time lowest recorded temperature in Kalat was Template:Cvt on 20 January 1978, while the highest temperature ever recorded was Template:Cvt on 19 June 1977.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Kalat has population of 44,440.

Languages

The population is mostly Muslim (97 percent), with a Hindu population of three percent, out of which many are Hindkowan merchants who regard Kalat as their homeland.

"The Hindus of Kalat town — undoubtedly among the oldest in the community — claim to be offshoots of the mysterious Sewa dynasty that ruled in Kalat centuries before the Brahui Confederacy took shape. But though the Bhatia of Las Bela punctiliously refer their advent to the year 708 A.D., and the Hindus of Lahri tell in all good faith of their journeyings from Aleppo with Chakar the Rind, the early history of these old Hindu families is hopelessly befogged. Everything, however, seems to point to the western Panjab and Sind as the countries from which most of them came, though isolated families in Nushki may have immigrated by way of Afghanistan, and a few others may have wandered in from the far corners of India. Originally they may have been as diverse as the villages from which they came and the dates of their coming. Today the old Hindu families form a more or less homogeneous community. In particular customs no doubt they vary considerably; but common environment has set its common mark on them all. And it is in the effect of an alien environment on Hindus and Hindu caste that the main interest in these old trading families of Baluchistan is centred."

— Template:Comma separated entries

Religious groups in Kalat City (1941 & 2017)

Religious group	1941Template:Rp		2017
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam File:Star and Crescent.svg	2,049		35,547
Hinduism File:Om.svg	381		1,234
Sikhism File:Khanda.svg	33		—	—
Christianity File:Christian cross.svg	0		13
Ahmadiyya File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya 1-2.svg	—	—	2
Total population	2,463		36,796

Kalat Kali Temple

There is a Hindu temple devoted to Kali. On 21 December 2010, the 82 year old chief-priest was abducted in what was reported as part of increasingly routine targeting of minority Hindus in the province. The Kali Temple of Kalat is located at the foot of the ancient city fort of Kalat state. This temple was built before the arrival of Islam in South Asia.

References

• Kalat district - The Planning and Development Department of the Government of Balochistan

External links

• The Land and People of Baluchistan