Chah Bahar

For the administrative subdivision, see Chah Bahar County.

Chah Bahar چابهار
—  city  —
Chah Bahar
Coordinates: 25°17′31″N 60°38′35″E / 25.29194°N 60.64306°E / 25.29194; 60.64306Coordinates: 25°17′31″N 60°38′35″E / 25.29194°N 60.64306°E / 25.29194; 60.64306
Country	Iran
Province	Sistan and Baluchestan
County	Chah Bahar
Bakhsh	Central
Population (2006)
- Total	71,070
Time zone	IRST (UTC+3:30)
- Summer (DST)	IRDT (UTC+4:30)

Chah Bahar (Persian: چابهار, also Romanized as Chāh Bahār, Chābahār, Chāhbār, and Chāh-e-Bahār; formerly, Bandar Beheshtī)^[1] is a city in and capital of Chah Bahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. Chah Bahar is a a free port (Free Trade Zone) on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,070, in 13,837 families.^[2] Chah Bahar is Iran's southernmost city.

Chabahar is situated on the Makran Coast of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iran's government. Due to its free trade zone status, the city has increased in significance in international trade. The overwhelming majority^{[citation needed]} of the city's inhabitants are ethnic Baluch who speak the Baluchi language.

Etymology

Name roots from Persian char that means four and bahar that means Spring. Hence, it means a place that all four seasons of the year are Spring time.

Economic significance

Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iran for development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.^[3] The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the area residents.

Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India) and Middle East (Dubai) to central Asian and Afghanistan market. The government plan to link Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to central Asia and Afghanistan. This would provide more capability for Chabahar to foster faster logistics sector that is a basic to achieve better position comparing to its competitor (Pakistani port of Gwadar)

Transportation

Chabahar is connected to multimodal transportation through air, sea and roads. Its Konarak Airport has twice daily flights to the capital Tehran, thrice weekly flights to Zahedan and twice weekly flights to Mashhad, Shiraz and Bandar Abbas. It has also a weekly international flight to Doha and Dubai and a biweekly flight to Mascat. Chabahar has two jetties that connect it to international waterways. Iranian contractors are developing both jetties to provide port facilities for handling of 6 million tons of goods a year; this is expected to be completed by 2011. Chabahar is connected to national road networks. Chabahar-Bandar Abbas, Chabahar-Iranshahr-Kerman, Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak (on the Afghanistan border) are four main routes connecting Chabahar to national and international roads.

The government is pursuing a multi-billion dollar railway project which was named "Iran's eastern corridor" by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. It will connect Chabahar port to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Central Iran. This project would have three branches including Chabahar-Iranshahr Fahraj County, Chabahar-Iranshahre-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak. Construction began in December 2010.^[4]

India is finalising a plan to construct a 900-km railway line that will connect Chabahar port in Iran, being built with Indian help, to the mineral-rich Hajigak region of Afghanistan.^[5]

History

The city of Chabahar does not have a long history. There is a fishing village named Tis in its neighborhood, which dates from 2500 BC, known in Alexander the Great's conquests as Tiz, eventually renamed Tis. In addition, in his book Aqd al-Ala lel-Moghefe al Ahla, Afdhal al-Din abu Hamid Kermani wrote in 584 A.H. about the Tiz Port and the commerce and trade that went on in it. Tis was formerly an active commercial port, and was destroyed by the Mongols. There are still some ruins in the village. The Portuguese were the first colonial country to attack the Makran (Oman) Sea. The Portuguese forces under Afonso de Albuquerque gained control of Chabahar and Tis, staying there until 1031 A.H. The British, and later the Portuguese in the 17th century (year 1616) AC (1026 A.H.), entered this region.

Modern Chabahar dates back about 40 years, when it declared a municipality and large port projects started by order of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. At that time, it had participation from foreign companies, especially from the United States. After 1979, revolution foreign companies left projects and Iranian public companies linked to the ministry of jahade sazandegi (or jihad for construction) took over them. The Iraq-Iran war caused Chabahar to gain in logistical and strategic importance. War brought insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz and ships were unable to enter Persian Gulf; this situation urged Iranians to use Chabahar as a main port during the war. In the 1980s, Iranian government developed a new scheme named the Eastern Axis Development Scheme, which aimed to use Chabahar's geographical position as a regional development tool to stimulate economic growth in the eastern provinces. Establishment of Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone in 1992 was the result of that scheme, which brought more development and provoked immigration from other parts of the country to Chabahar.

Religions and sects

A majority of Chabahar's people are Baluchs linked to the Hanafi Sunni faith and very close to the Deobandi school in India. Their leader and main cleric is Maulana Abdul Rahman Mollazahi. He leads a big madrasa known as Arabia Islamia. Other faiths were also growing because of immigration. Shias linked to Ja'fari jurisprudence are most important after Sunnis. Other minority faiths also can be found in Chabahar, including the Baha'i Faith, Zikris and kojas or Ismaili.

Society and culture

Society and culture in Chabahar gained its characteristics from the classified tribal community of the Makran region. In this classification, Chabahar society is divided into superior and inferior tribes. Social structure is hierarchical; at the top of the pyramid are Hakomes or superior tribes, independent influential tribes are in the middle, and other inferior weak tribes are at the bottom of the pyramid. Hakomes are Khans or Sardars, which in Chabahar refers to Sardarzahi and Boledehi tribes. Hoot and Mir (jadgals) are examples of independent, influential tribes which are at the next higher level in the hierarchy. There are many tribes in the upper and lower middle level, but at the bottom are former slaves from eastern Africa that have been brought by colonialists and Arab traders, especially Omanis, to the Makran Coastal area. These tribes are known as Darzada, Nokar, Sheedi and Gholams.

Development of education and economic growth in the past two decades are gradually eliminating social gaps between different tribes, but certain gaps do remain; it is obvious in relationships among people, especially in marriages that are restricted within tribes and classes. Urbanization and growing immigration have encouraged cross-ethnic marriages between Baluchis and Persians; this trend shows that Chabahar is in transition from a traditionalist society to a modern city.

The dominant culture in Chabahar is similar to other parts of Makran and very close to Pakistan's south Baluchistan; clothes, music and cultural norms are the same as in other parts of Makran. Women often wear precious hand-woven needlework clothes known as Pashk with an embroidered chromatic and fine scarf named Sarig; Indian and Arabic ornaments and jewelry are popular. Men wear loose, long, white clothes with a turban or hat on the head, similar to South Asian Muslims (Indians and Pakistanis). Baluchi music has centuries-old roots and is the most listened-to genre of music in Chabahar. Although Chabahar is not a music-producing center, music products are imported from Pakistan. It is usual for Chabahari people to invite Pakistani Baluchistan's singers to perform at their celebrations, especially at wedding ceremonies. Mulla Kamal Khan was a prominent singer who lived in Chabahar and died in 2010. Ghulam Rasool Dinar Zai, a once-famous but now marginalized Baluch musician and singer, also lives in Chabahar. After Baluchi music, Indian film music is the next most popular form of music among the current generation; banned Persian music is third in popularity.

Cultural norms are very affected by tribal and religious structure of the society. Relationships between men and women before marriage are limited and forms according to Islamic norms. Dance for high profile tribes for both men and women is a kind of stain. Clan chieftains have the last say even in voting and elections. Obligatory tribal marriages, polygamy, tribal vengeance and chastity murder are common^{[citation needed]}. Growing education is weakening old cultural norms in such a way that the newer generation no longer accept them and it seems Chabahar will be dramatically changed in coming years^{[citation needed]}.

Climate

The county of Chabahar has a warm humid weather in the summer and temperate weather in the winter. The monsoon winds in the summer and the western winds in the winter bring about scattered rainfalls in this region. The monsoon winds from the Indian subcontinent (in the monsoon season) make Chabahar the coolest southern port in the summer and the warmest part of Iran in the winter. It has an average maximum temperature of 34 ˚C and an average minimum temperature of 10.5 ˚C. It has the same latitude as Miami in Florida, USA, and weather conditions are very similar to those in Miami.

Chabahar
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     29   24 15     38   25 16     15   28 19     6.1   31 22     0.1   34 25     0.5   35 28     6.2   34 28     2.1   32 27     1.2   32 25     0   32 23     4.4   30 19     14   26 16 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: Weather Underground
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     1.2   75 59     1.5   77 61     0.6   82 66     0.2   88 72     0   93 77     0   95 82     0.2   93 82     0.1   90 81     0   90 77     0   90 73     0.2   86 66     0.5   79 61 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Chabahar Port

India is helping develop the Chabahar Port, which will give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states. By so doing, India hopes to compete with the Chinese, who are building Gwadar Port, in Pakistani Baluchistan.

Iran plans to use Chabahar for transshipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia, while keeping the port of Bandar Abbas as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.

India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.

Work on the Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. Iran is with Indian aid upgrading the Chabahar-Milak road and constructing a bridge on the route to Zaranj. India's BRO is laying the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road. It is a part of its USD 750 million aid package to Afghanistan by India.

The Chabahar port project is Iran's chance to end its US-sponsored economic isolation and benefit form the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the North-South corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia is intended to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa.

India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea to bypass Pakistan, using the Chabahar port. Both the countries are pondering the delivery of natural gas produced in Turkmenistan with Indian assistance to north Iran while the Islamic Republic will send natural gas from its southern deposits to Indian consumers. This pipeline is conceived by India to replace the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the negotiations for which have dragged on due to the worsening of relations between India and Pakistan.^[6]

See also

• International University of Chabahar
• Free Trade Zones in Iran

References

1. ^ Chah Bahar can be found at GEOnet Names Server, at this link, by opening the Advanced Search box, entering "-3055106" in the "Unique Feature Id" form, and clicking on "Search Database".
2. ^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Islamic Republic of Iran. http://www.amar.org.ir/DesktopModules/FTPManager/upload/upload2360/newjkh/newjkh/11.xls. 
3. ^ "India, China's rivalry and a tale of two ports". Reuters 2011-3-25. Retrieved 2011-5-12
4. ^ "NEW CHABAHAR –ZAHEDAN LINE IN IRAN". 2010-12-11. http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2010/12/new-chabahar-%e2%80%93zahedan-line-in-iran/. Retrieved 2010-12-11. 
5. ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/India-s-Track-3-Afghan-Iran-rail-link/Article1-763448.aspx
6. ^ "Iran, India discuss building underwater gas pipeline". Tehran Times. http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=220189. Retrieved 25 December 2010. 

External links

• http://www.sb-ostan.ir/DesktopModules/OrgAmar/OrgAmar_813_64.pdf
• http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/cultural_anthropology_of_baluchis.php