Editing Baloch people (section)

==Baloch communities==
=== Pakistan ===
{{Main|Baloch people in Punjab|Baloch people in Sindh|||||}}
[[File:Major_ethnic_groups_of_Pakistan_in_1980_borders_removed.jpg|thumb|Baloch-inhabited areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran (pink) in 1980]]
About 50% of the total Baloch population live in the Pakistani province of Balochistan while 40% are settled in Sindh and a significant albeit smaller number reside in the Pakistani Punjab.

In 2008, there were 180,000 [[Bugti]] based in [[Dera Bugti District]]. They are divided between the Rahija Bugti, Masori Bugti, Kalpar Bugti, Marehta Bugti and other sub-tribes.<ref name="Tahir20082">{{cite journal |last=Tahir |first=Muhammad |date=3 April 2008 |title=Tribes and Rebels: The Players in the Balochistan Insurgency |url=https://jamestown.org/program/tribes-and-rebels-the-players-in-the-balochistan-insurgency/#.VnssNfFRZ2I |journal=Terrorism Monitor |publisher=Jamestown Foundation |volume=6 |issue=7 |access-date=6 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="piia20062">{{cite book |title=Pakistan Horizon, Volume 59, Issues 3–4 |publisher=Pakistan Institute of International Affairs |year=2006}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=January 2016}} led the Bugti as Tumandar until his death in 2006. Talal Akbar Bugti was the tribal leader and President of the [[Jamhoori Watan Party]] from 2006 until his death in 2015.<ref name="pktrib201504272">{{cite news |date=27 April 2015 |title=JWP leader Talal Bugti passes away in Quetta |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/876591/talal-bugti-passes-away-in-quetta/ |newspaper=The Express Tribune}}</ref>

There are 98,000 [[Marri (tribe)|Marri]] based in [[Kohlo]] district in 2008,<ref name="Tahir20082" /> who further divide themselves into Gazni Marri, Bejarani Marri, and Zarkon Marri.<ref name="Tahir20082" />{{update after|2024|1|18}}

As of 2008 it was estimated that there were between eight and nine million Baloch people living in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. They were subdivided between over 130 tribes.<ref name="Tahir20082" /> Some estimates put the figure at over 150 tribes, though estimates vary depending on how subtribes are counted.<ref>{{cite book |last=Baloch |first=Muhammad Amin |title=Inside Ormara |publisher=Muhammad Amin Baloch |year=1999 |page=83}}</ref> The tribes, known as ''taman'', are led by a tribal chief, the [[tumandar]]. Subtribes, known as paras, are led by a muqaddam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bonarjee |first=P. D. |url=https://archive.org/details/ahandbookfighti00bonagoog |title=A handbook of the fighting races of India |publisher=Thacker, Spink & Co. |year=1899 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ahandbookfighti00bonagoog/page/n71 47]}}</ref>

The Baloch holds a significant place in the [[history of Sindh]]. The Talpur, originally a Baloch tribe, ruled Sindh from 1783 to 1843. A significant population in sindh have Baloch root according unofficial estimates at about 4 million.<ref>{{cite book |last=Al Nahyan, Hussain, Ghafoor |first=Mansoor Bin Tahnoon, Jamal, Asad ul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IICXDwAAQBAJ |title=Tribes of Pakistan |date=2019 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=9781527534391 |page=112 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=John |first=Wilson |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfI-hEI8a9wC |title=PakistanThe Struggle Within |publisher=Pearson Longman |year=2009 |isbn=9788131725047 |page=28}}</ref>

=== Iran ===
{{Main|Baloch people in Iran|Khorasani Baloch|}}
[[File:Bazaar_of_Zahedan_-_18_March_2013_21.jpg|right|thumb|260x260px|Two Baloch men in the Zahedan market]]
Baloch in Iran are the majority ethnic inhabitants of the region of [[Sistan and Baluchestan Province]] in [[Iran]].The town of [[Jask]] in neighbouring [[Hormozgan Province]] is also inhabited by Baloch people. Baloch people also make up a minority in the eastern parts of [[Kerman]], [[Razavi Khorasan province|Razavi Khorasan]] and [[South Khorasan province|South Khorasan]] ([[Khorasani Baloch]]) and are scattered throughout other provinces of Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Khorasan i. Ethnic Groups |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/khorasan-1-ethnic-groups |website=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 May 2024 |title=The Balochi Language Project |url=https://www.lingfil.uu.se/research/the-balochi-language-project/ |website=[[Uppsala University]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=[[Sir Charles Yate, 1st Baronet]] |title=A travelogue of Khorasan and Sistan |url=http://library.sharif.ir/parvan/resource/260027/%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%88-%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86 |access-date=19 January 2024 |work=[[Sharif University of Technology]] |location=Iran}}</ref> They speak the Rakhshani and Sarawani dialects of [[Balochi language|Balochi]], an [[Indo-Iranian languages|Iranian language]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Frawley |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sl_dDVctycgC&q=iran+Rakhshani&pg=RA1-PA308 |title=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-19-513977-8 |pages=308 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:1986_"World_Handicrafts_Day_10th_June"_stamp_of_Iran_(3).jpg|thumb|Baloch needlework highlighted on a stamp of Iran, 1986]]
Sistan and Balochestan is one of the poorest and least developed provinces in Iran. Basic infrastructure, such as roads, schools, and hospitals, is lacking compared to other regions. The unemployment rate is disproportionately high, especially among Baloch youth.<ref name=":baloch in iran2">{{cite book |last1=Taheri |first1=Ahmad Reza |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lfpBgAAQBAJ&dq=baloch++khorasan&pg=PA13 |title=A Sociopolitical Study of Iranian Baloch Elites (1979–2013) |date=2014 |isbn=9781312349681 |language=en}}</ref> The majority of Iranian Baloch are Sunni Muslims, which distinguishes them from the predominantly Shia Muslim population of Iran. This religious difference has often contributed to tensions between the Baloch and the central government.<ref name=":baloch in iran2" />

During the 1950s, tribal revolt led by a Baloch farmer [[Dad Shah|Mir Daad Shah]] struck south eastern  Iran. Elements of Baloch nationalism were present in this movement, he participated in a rebellion and [[Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency|armed insurgency]] against the Shah of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], in the 1950s.<ref name=":baloch in iran2" />

On September 30, 2022([[2022 Zahedan massacre|Bloody Friday]]) in Zahedan a large number of Baloch civilians gathered for Friday prayers at the [[Jameh Mosque of Makki|Grand Makki Mosque]], the largest Sunni mosque in Iran, located in Zahedan. After the prayers, peaceful demonstrations began, demanding justice for the sexual assault case of the alleged rape of a 15-year-old Baloch girl in June that by a commander of the police force in [[Chabahar]]. Iranian security forces, including the [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] (IRGC) and riot police, surrounded the area and opened fire on the protesters.<ref>{{cite book |last=Anderson |first=Kevin B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyMREQAAQBAJ |title=A Political Sociology of Twenty-First Century Revolutions and Resistances |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2024 |isbn=9781040107423}}</ref><ref name="amnesty international baluchi2">{{cite news |date=6 October 2022 |title=Iran: At least 82 Baluchi protesters and bystanders killed in bloody crackdown |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/10/iran-at-least-82-baluchi-protesters-and-bystanders-killed-in-bloody-crackdown/ |access-date=13 October 2022 |work=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref> According to human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International|Amnesty]] International and Baloch activist groups, at least 96 people were killed on the day of the massacre, and hundreds were injured.<ref name="amnesty international baluchi2" /> [[Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi|Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi]] called the incident a "catastrophe" and demanded "trial and punishment for those responsible for those who have killed people", adding that worshipers were shot in head and heart by snipers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-02 |title="جمعه خونین" زاهدان؛ مولوی عبدالحمید: تیرها به سر و قلب نمازگزاران شلیک شده |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/articles/cgx9xvwvl49o |access-date=2022-10-03 |website=BBC News فارسی |language=fa}}</ref> From this event, a picture of [[Killing of Khodanur Lojei|Khodanur Lojei]], a Baloch protester whose hands were tied to a flagpole, with a cup of water put in front of him (but out of his reach) became a symbol in the ongoing protests.<ref>{{cite book |last=Azizi |first=Arash |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N6avEAAAQBAJ |title=What Iranians Want |publisher=Oneworld Publications |year=2024 |isbn=9780861547128}}</ref>

=== Afghanistan ===
{{Main|Baloch of Afghanistan|Balochistan, Afghanistan|Partisans of National Liberation of Afghanistan|}}
Baloch constitute approximately 2% of Afghanistan's population. They are the majority in [[Nimruz Province|Nimroz Province]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baloch Tribal Council |url=https://www.afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=2741&task=view&total=5083&start=867&Itemid=2 |access-date=May 8, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Baloch also have a presence in [[Helmand Province|Helmand]], [[Faryab Province|Faryab]], [[Takhar Province|Takhar]], [[Herat]], [[Kandahar]], [[Badakhshan]] and other parts of Afghanistan.<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours2" /><ref name=":Under the Drones2">{{cite book |last=Crews, Bashir |first=Robert, Shahzad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNwCEAAAQBAJ |title=Under the Drones |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=212 |isbn=9780674064768 |page=139,147,150,151}}</ref>
[[File:Naeem_Baloch.jpg|right|thumb|270x270px|Naeem Baloch, Former governor of Helmand province]]
Rug weaving is a common profession among the Baloch tribes of Afghanistan. Balochi rugs, floor coverings made by the Baloch, are often sold in the Herat local market and global market.<ref name=":Baluchi rug2">{{Cite web |title=Baluchi rug |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/Baluchi-rug |website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]}}</ref> Needlework and handicrafts are the art of Baloch women in Afghanistan. Baloch women wear clothes called "Za Asteen Guptan", which are designed on Baloch needlework and embroidery. Keeping and breeding camels, as well as holding [[Camel racing|camel riding]] competitions in Nimroz province, is popular among the Baloch.<ref>{{cite book |last=Amiri |first=Ghulam Rahman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGr60AEACAAJ |title=The Helmand Baluch |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2024 |isbn=9781836950592 |pages=124–125}}</ref>

In the fall of 1978, Balochi was recognized as an official language of Afghanistan, alongside Pashto and Dari. A weekly newspaper in Balochi began publication in September 1978.<ref name="Breseeg2" /> The Baloch Council of Afghanistan is a Baloch socio-cultural organization that celebrates Baloch Culture Day every year.

The government of Afghanistan(Before the Taliban came to power) has never employed the same level of brutality against its own Baloch like Pakistan, but it has always been implacably opposed to any suggestion of Baloch separatism.

[[Ghulam Mohammad Lalzad Baloch]], [[Naeem Baloch|Mohammad Naeem Baloch]],  are some of the notable Baloch people in Afghanistan.

===Oman===
{{Main|Omani Baloch|Al-Balushi|}}
Baloch account for 20% of Oman's population, a total of around 1 million people and the largest non-Arab community in Oman. The first modern army of Oman was exclusively Baloch,<ref name="Peterson2" /> and even today around 40% of [[Sultan of Oman's Armed Forces|Omani Army]] consists of Baloch people.<ref name="AlSalhi 2021 248–249">{{cite book |last=AlSalhi |first=Ahmad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H1M3EAAAQBAJ |title=Music in Arabia |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2021 |isbn=9780253057525 |pages=248–249}}</ref>

the Baloch have been well integrated in  political  life in Oman. the Baloch hold positions in many high-ranking jobs and have played a significant role in the progress and development of Oman.<ref name="AlSalhi 2021 248–249"/>

===India===
{{Main|Baloch people in India|}}
There are around 300 Baloch families living in [[Mumbai]], numbering about 1,500 individuals. They are scattered across the outer western suburbs and ghettos of Mumbai's metropolitan area. The vast majority of them belong to a [[working class]] background, having little formal education, and are employed as manual labourers or drivers.<ref>{{cite news |author=Roshni Nair |date=3 December 2016 |title=Mumbai's filmi daredevils with a cross-border history |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/mumbai-s-filmi-daredevils-with-a-cross-border-history/story-zZxj8hDGF0EiOahNCJmUTL.html |accessdate=9 July 2020 |work=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

===Turkmenistan===
{{Main|Baloch of Turkmenistan|}}
[[File:Baloch_in_Turkmenistan.jpg|thumb|170x170px|Baloch in Turkmenistan]]
Baloch are also found in  Turkmenistan mainly [[Merv]] and smaller numbers in other areas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barjasteh Delforooz |first=Behrooz |year=2010 |title=Discourse Features in Balochi of Sistan |url=http://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2:345413 |pages=17–18 |website=[[Uppsala University]]}}</ref> They immigrated into the Merv and the Murghab River inland delta from the areas west and north of Herat, Afghanistan, [[Chakhansur District]] in the province of Nimruz and Iran in the mid 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Axenov |first1=Serge |title=Balochi Language of Turkmenistan: A Corpus-based Grammatical Description (Studia Iranica Upsaliensia) |isbn=9155467660}}</ref> In 1926 the Baluch of Merv Oasis numbered 9,974. Their numbers fell to 7,842 in the official statistics by 1959 but then rose to 12,582 by 1970 and 18,997 by 1979.

===Diaspora===
====Persian Gulf Countries====
{{Main|Baloch people in the United Arab Emirates|Ajam of Bahrain|}}
The Baluch people have a notable presence in the  Persian Gulf countries, many of which are in [[Oman]], [[Kuwait]], [[UAE]], [[Qatar]], and [[Bahrain]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Potter |first1=Lawrence G. |url=http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/Peterson_Baluch_Presence_in_the_Gulf_2013.pdf |title=Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=229–244 |access-date=2024-09-04 |archive-url=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McCoy |first=Eric |url=https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/193398/azu_etd_10189_sip1_m.pdf |title=Iranians in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates: Migration, Minorities, and Identities in the Persian Gulf Arab States |publisher=The University of Arizona |year=2008 |isbn=9780549935070 |pages= |language=en |oclc=659750775 |archive-url=https://ia600600.us.archive.org/2/items/iranians-in-bahrain-and-the-united-arab-emirates-migration-minorities-and-identi/Iranians%20in%20Bahrain%20and%20the%20United%20Arab%20Emirates%20Migration%20Minorities%20and%20Identities%20in%20the%20Persian%20Gulf%20Arab%20States.pdf |archive-date=2024-08-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====North America====
{{Main|Baloch Americans|}}
There was substantial immigration of ethnic Baloch in  the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours2" /> who are mainly political refugees and immigrants seeking economic opportunity. A 2015 eight-part documentary by VSH News, the first Balochi language news channel, called Balochs in America, shows that Baloch Americans live in different parts of the United States, including [[Washington D.C.]], New York, Texas, North Carolina and Washington.<ref>{{cite web |title=Baloch in America |url=http://www.vshnews.tv/Documentary/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112084925/http://www.vshnews.tv/Documentary/ |archive-date=2016-11-12 |access-date=2016-12-18 |publisher=VSH News}}</ref>

====Australia====
{{main|Australian Baloch}}
There is a considerable number of [[Australian Baloch|Baloch]] who settled in [[Australia]] for education and employment opportunities.<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours2" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Westrip |first1=J. |title=Colonial Cousins: a surprising history of connections between India and Australia |last2=Holroyde |first2=P. |date=2010 |publisher=[[Wakefield Press (Australia)|Wakefield Press]] |isbn=978-1862548411 |page=193}}</ref> Small Baloch groups of cameleers were shipped in and out of Australia at three-year intervals, to service the Australian inland pastoral industry by carting goods and transporting wool bales by camel trains. Baloch cameleers who worked the [[Western Australian Goldfields]] in the late 1890s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Philip G. |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34934991?selectedversion=NBD42302474 |title=Australia's Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland, 1860s–1930s |last2=Jones |first2=Anna |date=2007 |publisher=Wakefield Press |isbn=9781862547780 |edition=Pbk |page=39,172}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Afghan camelmen |url=http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/afghans.htm |access-date=2 June 2019 |website=South Australian History: Flinders Ranges Research}}</ref>

====Europe====
{{main|Swedish Baloch|Baloch in the United Kingdom}}
[[File:Nation's_Evolution.jpg|right|thumb|232x232px|A Baloch Girl in [[Switzerland]]]]
There are also significant populations in [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], and other [[European countries]].<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours2" />

Most [[Swedish Baloch|Baloch people in Sweden]]<ref name=":Tyagi2">{{cite book |last=Tyagi |first= Vidya Prakash |year=2009 |title=Martial races of undivided India |publisher= Kalpaz Publications |page=12|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRwS6FmS2g0C|isbn=9788178357751}}</ref> live in the capital [[Stockholm]] or in [[Uppsala]]. A majority of Baloch political refugees<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2024 |title=Iranian Baloch Activist In Danger Of Deportation From Sweden |url=https://www.iranintl.com/en/202403078522 |access-date=2 January 2025 |website=Iran International |language=en}}</ref> and students choose Sweden as their host country and therefore they have a cultural presence in Sweden.<ref name=":carina2">{{cite book |last=Korn, Jahani, Titus |first=Agnes , Carina , Paul Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNoRAQAAMAAJ |title=The Baloch and Others Linguistic, Historical and Socio-political Perspectives on Pluralism in Balochistan |date=2008 |publisher=Reichert Verlag |isbn=9783895005916 |page=19,223 |language=en}}</ref> [[Uppsala University]] offers a course titled Balochi A, which provides basic knowledge of the phonetics and syntax of the [[Balochi language]]. This course also includes a brief overview of the history of the Baloch people. The course is conducted in [[English language|English]] and is available as a distance learning option, making it accessible to a broader audience interested in learning about the Balochi language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Balochi A |url=https://www.uu.se/en/study/course?query=5BA001 |access-date=December 17, 2024 |website=[[Uppsala University]]}}</ref>

There is a Baloch community in the [[United Kingdom|UK]], originating from the Balochistan province of southwestern Pakistan and neighbouring and other parts where Baloch populations reside. Estimates suggest that the Baloch community in [[London]] numbers in the thousands, though an exact figure is not available. There are many Baloch associations and groups active in the UK, including the Baloch Students and Youth Association (BSYA), Baloch Cultural Society, Baloch Human Rights Council (UK) and others.<ref>{{cite web |date=15 February 2013 |title=Balochistan: Important London Meeting For UK Baloch |url=http://www.unpo.org/article/15513 |access-date=1 June 2014 |work=[[Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization]]}}</ref>

====East Africa====
There is also a small but historic Baloch community in [[East Africa]], left over from when the [[Muscat and Oman|Sultanate of Muscat]] ruled over [[Zanzibar]] and the [[Swahili Coast]].<ref>Lodhi, Abdulaziz Y. 2000. A note on the Baloch in East Africa. In: Language in society: eight sociolinguistic essays on Balochi, Studia iranica upsaliensia, no 3, pp 91–95. Edited by Carina Jahani. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis</ref><ref>[http://www.baluchii.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=2 Baluchis from East Africa: In Search of Our Roots], Retrieved 27 June 2010</ref>