Kalat, Pakistan

and is known locally as Kalat-e Baluch.

Kalat, formerly Kilat, is located roughly in the center of Balochistan, Pakistan, south and slightly west of the provincial capital Quetta. It was the capital of the Kalat Khanate. The population is almost completely muslim.

History

The town of Kalat is said to have been founded by and named Kalat-e Sewa, after Sewa, a legendary hero of the Brahui people.

The origins of the Brahui speaking tribes are uncertain, but their language indicates they are a Northern Dravidian people whose language has been modified by residence in the proximity of largely Iranian peoples, most notably the Baloch with whom the Brahui have been greatly mixed. The Brahui people had already long been resident in the Kalat area when the Balochi speaking tribes arrived from the west. The Balochis established a large kingdom in the 15th century, but it soon declined and the region fell to Afghan and Iranian invaders. The Brahui Khans of Kalat were dominant from the 16th century onwards until the arrival of the British in the 19th century. A treaty was signed in 1876 to make Kalat part of the British Empire. In 1947, Kalat became part of Pakistan when the British withdrew. The last Khan of Kalat was formally removed from power in 1955, but the title is still claimed by his descendents. The current Khan of Kalat is Mir Suleman Dawood Khan.

External links and references

* [http://www.bdd.sdnpk.org/kalat.htm Kalat district - The Planning and Development Department of the Government of Balochistan]
* [http://www.geocities.com/pak_history/baluchistan.html The Land and People of Baluchistan]

In 1947, the Khan of Kalat, Mir Ahmad Yar Khan, declared independence, and the Khanate of Kalat remained independent for nine months until forcibly incorporated into Pakistan.