Balochistan Agency | |||||||
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Agencies of British India (1877–1947) Colony of the United Kingdom (1947) | |||||||
1877–1947 | |||||||
Flag | |||||||
Administrative map of Baluchistan Agency 1931 | |||||||
Baluchistan Agency in British India 1940 | |||||||
Capital | Quetta | ||||||
Area | |||||||
• 1941 | 347,064 [1] km2 (134,002 sq mi) | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• 1941 | 857,835 [1] | ||||||
History | |||||||
• Signature of the Treaty of Mastung by the Khan of Kalat and the Baloch Sardars | 1877 | ||||||
• Balochistan Made Separate British Colony (British Balochistan) | 1947 | ||||||
1947 | |||||||
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"A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds relating to India and neighbouring countries" |
The Baluchistan Agency (also spelt Balochistan Agency) was one of the agencies of British India during the colonial era. It was located in the present-day Balochistan province of Pakistan. [2]
Princely state |
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Individual residencies |
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Lists |
The territories of the agency covered an area of 347,064 km2 (134,002 sq mi) [1] and included areas which had been acquired by lease or otherwise brought under direct British control, as well as the princely states.
This political agency was established in 1877, following the 1876 treaty signed in Mastung by Baloch leaders by means of which they accepted the mediation of the British authorities in their disputes. [3]
Colonel Sir Robert Groves Sandeman introduced an innovative system of tribal pacification in Balochistan that was in effect from 1877 to 1947. However the Government of India generally opposed his Methods and refused to allow it to operate in India's North West Frontier. Historians have long debated its scope and effectiveness in the peaceful spread of Imperial influence. [4]
Religious group | 1901 [5] : 5 | 1911 [6] : 9–13 | 1921 [7] : 47–52 | 1931 [8] : 149 | 1941 [1] : 13–18 | |||||
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Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 765,368 | 94.4% | 782,648 | 93.76% | 733,477 | 91.73% | 798,093 | 91.88% | 785,181 | 91.53% |
Hinduism | 38,158 | 4.71% | 38,326 | 4.59% | 51,348 | 6.42% | 53,681 | 6.18% | 54,394 | 6.34% |
Sikhism | 2,972 | 0.37% | 8,390 | 1.01% | 7,741 | 0.97% | 8,425 | 0.97% | 12,044 | 1.4% |
Christianity | 4,026 | 0.5% | 5,085 | 0.61% | 6,693 | 0.84% | 8,059 | 0.93% | 6,056 | 0.71% |
Zoroastrianism | 166 | 0.02% | 170 | 0.02% | 165 | 0.02% | 167 | 0.02% | 76 | 0.01% |
Judaism | 48 | 0.01% | 57 | 0.01% | 19 | 0% | 17 | 0% | 20 | 0% |
Jainism | 8 | 0% | 10 | 0% | 17 | 0% | 17 | 0% | 7 | 0% |
Buddhism | 0 | 0% | 16 | 0% | 160 | 0.02% | 68 | 0.01% | 43 | 0.01% |
Others | 0 | 0% | 1 | 0% | 5 | 0% | 75 | 0.01% | 14 | 0% |
Total Population | 810,746 | 100% | 834,703 | 100% | 799,625 | 100% | 868,617 | 100% | 857,835 | 100% |
District | Islam | Hinduism | Sikhism | Christianity | Others [a] | Total | ||||||
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Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Sibi District | 157,706 | 95.64% | 6,425 | 3.9% | 566 | 0.34% | 200 | 0.12% | 2 | 0% | 164,899 | 100% |
| 99,875 | 93.53% | 6,144 | 5.75% | 566 | 0.53% | 200 | 0.19% | 2 | 0% | 106,787 | 100% |
57,831 | 99.52% | 281 | 0.48% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 58,112 | 100% | |
Quetta–Pishin District | 113,288 | 72.49% | 28,629 | 18.32% | 8,787 | 5.62% | 5,441 | 3.48% | 144 | 0.09% | 156,289 | 100% |
Loralai District | 79,273 | 94.73% | 3,129 | 3.74% | 1,124 | 1.34% | 159 | 0.19% | 0 | 0% | 83,685 | 100% |
Zhob District | 55,987 | 91.04% | 4,286 | 6.97% | 1,076 | 1.75% | 146 | 0.24% | 4 | 0.01% | 61,499 | 100% |
Chaghai District | 27,864 | 93.04% | 1,204 | 4.02% | 181 | 0.6% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 29,950 | 100% |
Bolan District | 4,812 | 80.08% | 950 | 15.81% | 184 | 3.06% | 55 | 0.92% | 8 | 0.13% | 6,009 | 100% |
Total | 438,980 | 87.51% | 44,623 | 8.9% | 11,918 | 2.38% | 6,002 | 1.2% | 158 | 0.03% | 501,631 | 100% |
Princely state | Islam | Hinduism | Sikhism | Christianity | Others [a] | Total | ||||||
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Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Kalat State | 245,208 | 96.8% | 7,971 | 3.15% | 79 | 0.03% | 45 | 0.02% | 2 | 0% | 253,305 | 100% |
86,406 | 99.72% | 206 | 0.24% | 17 | 0.02% | 20 | 0.02% | 2 | 0% | 86,651 | 100% | |
79,016 | 91.76% | 7,095 | 8.24% | 1 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 86,112 | 100% | |
52,194 | 99.85% | 78 | 0.15% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 52,272 | 100% | |
27,592 | 97.6% | 592 | 2.09% | 61 | 0.22% | 25 | 0.09% | 0 | 0% | 28,270 | 100% | |
Las Bela State | 67,310 | 97.46% | 1,701 | 2.46% | 47 | 0.07% | 9 | 0.01% | 0 | 0% | 69,067 | 100% |
Kharan State | 33,733 | 99.71% | 99 | 0.29% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 33,832 | 100% |
Total | 346,251 | 97.21% | 9,771 | 2.74% | 126 | 0.04% | 54 | 0.02% | 2 | 0% | 356,204 | 100% |
City/Urban Area | Islam | Hinduism | Sikhism | Christianity | Others [a] | Total | ||||||
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Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Quetta [b] | 27,935 | 43.33% | 24,010 | 37.24% | 7,364 | 11.42% | 5,024 | 7.79% | 143 | 0.22% | 64,476 | 100% |
Fort Sandeman [b] | 5,232 | 55.94% | 2,992 | 31.99% | 1,004 | 10.73% | 121 | 1.29% | 4 | 0.04% | 9,353 | 100% |
Sibi | 5,505 | 62.18% | 2,814 | 31.78% | 362 | 4.09% | 171 | 1.93% | 2 | 0.02% | 8,854 | 100% |
Chaman [b] | 2,812 | 42.29% | 2,898 | 43.58% | 697 | 10.48% | 242 | 3.64% | 1 | 0.02% | 6,650 | 100% |
Loralai [b] | 2,327 | 45.67% | 1,536 | 30.15% | 1,116 | 21.9% | 116 | 2.28% | 0 | 0% | 5,095 | 100% |
Bela | 3,389 | 86.79% | 469 | 12.01% | 47 | 1.2% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3,905 | 100% |
Pasni | 3,547 | 98.09% | 69 | 1.91% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3,616 | 100% |
Mastung | 2,963 | 94.36% | 124 | 3.95% | 28 | 0.89% | 25 | 0.8% | 0 | 0% | 3,140 | 100% |
Kalat | 2,049 | 83.19% | 381 | 15.47% | 33 | 1.34% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 2,463 | 100% |
Machh | 1,632 | 73.51% | 421 | 18.96% | 121 | 5.45% | 38 | 1.71% | 8 | 0.36% | 2,220 | 100% |
Usta | 1,154 | 59.95% | 688 | 35.74% | 77 | 4% | 6 | 0.31% | 0 | 0% | 1,925 | 100% |
Pishin | 1,245 | 65.87% | 447 | 23.65% | 183 | 9.68% | 15 | 0.79% | 0 | 0% | 1,890 | 100% |
Panjgur | 416 | 87.95% | 45 | 9.51% | 9 | 1.9% | 3 | 0.63% | 0 | 0% | 473 | 100% |
Total Urban Population | 60,206 | 52.78% | 36,894 | 32.35% | 11,041 | 9.68% | 5,751 | 5.04% | 158 | 0.14% | 114,060 | 100% |
Caste or Tribe | 1931 [1] : 22 | 1941 [1] : 22 | ||
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Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Baluch | 227,846 | 26.23% | 237,526 | 27.69% |
Pathan | 193,025 | 22.22% | 190,074 | 22.16% |
Brahui | 152,588 | 17.57% | 128,336 | 14.96% |
Jatt | 77,157 | 8.88% | 67,317 | 7.85% |
Other Muslims | 60,690 | 6.99% | 68,032 | 7.93% |
Lasi | 31,812 | 3.66% | 34,066 | 3.97% |
Sayyid | 21,976 | 2.53% | 23,327 | 2.72% |
Other Hindus | 16,905 | 1.95% | 12,765 | 1.49% |
Other Sikhs | 48 | 0.01% | 51 | 0.01% |
Others | 86,570 | 9.97% | 96,341 | 11.23% |
Total | 868,617 | 100% | 857,835 | 100% |
The Baluchistan Agency consisted of three princely states:
The Government of India maintained its relations with the states through its political agent in Kalat. The first agent in Balochistan was Robert Groves Sandeman (1835–1892), Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India, who was appointed by Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India. [3]
In addition to the princely states, the north of the agency was administered as the Chief Commissioner's Province. This consisted of the following districts:
Balochistan is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-east, Punjab to the east and Sindh to the south-east; shares international borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north; and is bound by the Arabian Sea to the south. Balochistan is an extensive plateau of rough terrain divided into basins by ranges of sufficient heights and ruggedness. It has the world's largest deep sea port, the Port of Gwadar lying in the Arabian Sea.
A princely state was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a subsidiary alliance and the suzerainty or paramountcy of the British crown.
Quetta is a district in the northwestern part of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Quetta District is 2,272,290.
Mir is a Persian and Kurdish title with variable connotations.
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman, KCSI (1835–1892) was a British Indian Army officer and colonial administrator. He was known for his activities in Balochistan, where he introduced a system of "tribal pacification" that endured until the partition of India in 1947.
Pishin, IPA: pʂin/pçin, is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. District Pishin is located at a strategic point and is 45km² from the provincial headquarters, Quetta. In 1975, it was bifurcated from Quetta District, while in 1993 part of it was split off to form the new district of Killa Abdullah.
The history of Balochistan refers to the history of the Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Vague allusions to the region were found in Greek historical records of around 650 BCE. Prehistoric Balochistan dates to the Paleolithic.
Sibi is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The climate and topography of Sibi District is quite varied compared to the other districts of Balochistan. It is also known as the "hotspot" of Pakistan where the temperatures in the summer exceeded 52.6 °C (126.7 °F). Until 2002 the district had two sub-divisions, Sibi and Harnai, further organized into Tehsils and sub-tehsils: Sibi, Kutmandi and Sangan. Lehri was joined with Sibi district in 2002 and Harnai was made a separate district. Sibi tehsil is predominately inhabited by Pashtun tribes of Panni, Khajjaks and Tareens. Town of sibi is chiefly built upon lands of Marghazani and Dehpal.
Sibi is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name.
Zhob, formerly known as Mandokhail,Fort Sandeman is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.
The Chief Commissioner's Province of British Baluchistan was a province of British India established in 1876. Upon the creation of Pakistan it acceded to the newly formed state. It was part of the Baluchistan Agency. It was dissolved to form a united province of West Pakistan in 1955 upon the creation of One Unit Scheme.
The Khanate of Kalat was a Brahui Khanate that originated in the modern-day Kalat region of Pakistan. Formed in 1666 due to the threat of Mughal expansion in the region, it controlled the wider Balochistan at its greatest extent in the mid-18th century, extending from Kerman in the west to Sindh in the east and from Helmand River in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. The Khanate of Kalat lost considerable area to Qajar Iran and the Emirate of Afghanistan in the early 19th century, and the city of Kalat was itself sacked by the British in 1839.
Las Bela was a princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British India which existed until 1955. The state occupied an area of 18,254 km2 (7,048 sq mi) in the extreme southeast of the Balochistan region, with an extensive coastline on the Arabian Sea to the south. Las Bela was bordered by the princely states of Kalat and Makran to the north and west. To the east lay the province of Sind and to the southeast lay the Federal Capital Territory around the city of Karachi.
Makran was an autonomous princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British India until 1947, before being absorbed as an autonomous princely state of Pakistan. It ceased to exist in 1955. It was located in the extreme southwest of present-day Pakistan, an area now parts of the districts of Gwadar, Kech and Panjgur. The state did not include the enclave of Omani Gwadar, which was under Omani rule until 1958.
The four provinces, capital territory, and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 38 administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils, and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008.
Sarawan was a division of the former princely state of Kalat in Baluchistan, Pakistan, with an area 4,339 square miles (11,240 km2). To the north were Quetta, Pishin, Bolan Pass and Sibi District. On the south was the division of Jhalawan. The main mountain ranges are Nagau, Bhaur, Zamuri hills, Bangulzai hills with the peaks of Moro, Dilband and Harboi.
Jhalawan was an administrative division of the Khanate of Kalat, a princely state of Brahui that acceded to Pakistan in 1947. It was established in the 17th century and its boundary was fixed with Sindh in 1853. It was located in the southeastern part of Kalat State, north of Las Bela, west of the Kachi and Sindh and east of the Kharan and Makran.
Kacchi was a division of the former princely state of Kalat in Baluchistan, Pakistan, with an area 5,310 square miles (13,800 km2). It was located in the Kacchi Plain.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Balochistan followed by 0.41% of the population of the province. It is the largest minority religion in Balochistan. The Balochistan is home to the shrine of Shri Hinglaj Mata temple, which is one of the most sacred Hindu temples. The annual Hinglaj Yatra to the temple is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan.