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Ethnic groups in Pakistan

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Pakistan is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country.[1][2] The major Pakistani ethnolinguistic groups include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Gujjars,[3] Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochs, Hindkowans, Brahuis, and Kohistanis[4][note 1] with significant numbers of Shina, Baltis, Kashmiris, Paharis, Chitralis, Torwalis, Hazaras, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis, Uzbeks, Nuristanis, Pamiris and various other smaller minorities.[6][7]

Major ethnic groups

See also: Indo-Aryan peoples, Iranic peoples, and Indo-Iranic peoples

Punjabis

Main articles: Punjabi Muslims; Punjab, Pakistan; and Punjabi language

Punjabis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Punjab region between India and Pakistan. They are the largest ethnic group of Pakistan. Punjabi Muslims are the third-largest Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, globally,[8] after Arabs[9] and Bengalis.[10]

Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity is independent of historical origin or religion and refers to those who reside in the Punjab region or associate with its population and those who consider the Punjabi language and its dialects as their mother tongue.[11][12] Integration and assimilation are important parts of Punjabi culture, since Punjabi identity is not based solely on tribal connections.[13]

Pashtuns

Main articles: Pashtuns, Pashtunistan, and Pashtuns in Punjab

Pashtuns are an Iranic ethnolinguistic group and are Pakistan's second largest ethnicity. They speak Pashto as their first language and are divided into multiple tribes such as Afridi, Durrani, Yousafzai and Khattak, which are notably the main Pashtun tribes in Pakistan. They make up an estimated 15.5% of Pakistan's total population[14] and are mostly adherent to Sunni Islam.

Sindhis

Main articles: Sindhis and Sindh

The Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak the Sindhi language and are native to the Sindh province of Pakistan. Sindhis are predominantly Muslim, but have a minority Hindu population, making up the largest Hindu minority population in Pakistan.[15] Sindhi Muslim culture is highly influenced by Sufi doctrines and principles and some of the popular cultural icons of Sindh are Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Jhulelal and Sachal Sarmast.[16]

Saraikis

Main article: Saraiki people

The Saraikis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group inhabiting parts of central and southeastern Pakistan, primarily in the southern part of the Pakistani province of Punjab.[17] They are mainly found in Derajat, a cultural region of central Pakistan, located in the region where the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan meet.[18][19][20] Derajat is bound by the Indus River and the Sulaiman Mountains to the west.

Muhajirs

Main article: Muhajir (Pakistan)

Muhajirs (meaning "migrants"), are a collective multiethnic group who emerged through the migration of Indian Muslims from various parts of India to Pakistan starting in 1947, as a result of the world's largest mass migration.[21][22] The majority of Muhajirs are settled in Sindh mainly in Karachi and Hyderabad. Sizable communities of Muhajirs are also present in cities including Lahore, Multan, Islamabad, Mirpur Khas, Sukkur and Peshawar. The term Muhajir is also used for descendants of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India.[23][24][25] Notable Muhajirs include Liaquat Ali Khan, Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pervez Musharraf, Hakeem Muhammad Saeed and Abdul Sattar Edhi.[26]

Baloch

Main article: Baloch people

The Baloch are an Iranian ethnolinguistic group, and are principally found in the south of Balochistan province of Pakistan.[27] Despite living in the southeastern side towards the Indian subcontinent for centuries, they are classified as a northwestern Iranian people in accordance to their language which belongs to the northwestern subgroup of Iranian languages.[28]

According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi, the Balochis migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries[29][30][31] or alternatively, from 1300[32] to 1850,[33][34][35] although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was uninhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in Sindh and Punjab.[36]

Hindkowans/Hazarewals

Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki,[37][38] is a contemporary designation for speakers of Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi, primarily living in the Hazara region of northern Pakistan.[39][40] The origins of the term refer merely to the speakers of Indo-Aryan languages rather than to any particular ethnic group.[39] However, the Hindko-speaking community belonging to the Hazara region of northern Pakistan are recognised collectively as Hazarewal.[41]

Brahuis

Main article: Brahui people

The Brahui, Brahvi or Brohi, are an ethnic group principally found in Balochistan, Pakistan. They speak the Brahui language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, although ethnically they tend to identify as Baloch.[42][43]

They are a small minority group in Afghanistan, where they are native, but they are also found in their diaspora in West Asian states.[44] They mainly occupy the area in Balochistan from Bolan Pass through the Bolan Hills to Ras Muari (Cape Monze) on the sea, separating the Baloch people living to the east and west.[45][46] The Brahuis are almost entirely Sunni Muslims.[47]

Meos

Meo, also spelled Mayo or occasionally, Mewati, are a Muslim ethnic group originating from the Mewat region of north-western India.[48][49] During the Partition of India, several Meo were displaced from Alwar and Bharatpur districts in India, mostly settling in Pakistani districts of Sialkot, Lahore, Karachi, Narowal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Multan, Haiderabad and Kasur, among others.[50]

Kohistanis

According to the 2023 census, speakers of the Kohistani languages accounted around 1 million of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province population.[51] Kohistani is an umbrella term encompassing several languages spoken in the north of the province, including Indus Kohistani, Bateri, Chilisso, Gawri, Gawro, Torwali, and Mankiyali.[52][53]

Ethnic languages

Compared to the previous census, the number of Urdu speaking people increased the most to nearly 9.3%. Balochi language increased slightly from 3% to 3.4%. However, Punjabi speaking population reduced to 37%. Sindhi, Pashto and Saraiki speaking population remained relatively stable.[54]

Languages of Pakistan (2023 Pakistani census)[55]

  Punjabi (36.98%)
  Pashto (18.15%)
  Sindhi (14.31%)
  Saraiki (12.00%)
  Urdu (9.25%)
  Balochi (3.38%)
  Hindko (2.32%)
  Brahui (1.16%)
  Mewati (0.46%)
  Kohistani (0.43%)
  Kashmiri (0.11%)
  Shina (0.05%)
  Balti (0.02%)
  Kalasha (0.003%)
  Others (1.38%)

The question asking for respondents mother tongue also saw its number of categories increase including Shina, Balti, Kalasha, Kohistani and Mewati.[56]

Refugees

Pakistan's census does not include the 1.4 million citizens of Afghanistan who are temporarily residing in Pakistan.[57][58][59] The majority of them were born in Pakistan within the last four decades and mostly belong to the Pashtun ethnic group. They also include Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazaras, and others.[60]

Part of a series on the
Culture of Pakistan
History
People
Languages
Traditions
folklore
Cuisine
Eastern
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Overseas and fusion
Festivals
Religion
Art
Literature
Music and performing arts
Media
Sport
Monuments
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See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ethnolinguistic groups with a population of more than a million each.[5]

References

  1. ^ "A revealing map of the world's most and least ethnically diverse countries". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  2. ^ Morin, Rich (18 July 2013). "The most (and least) culturally diverse countries in the world". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  3. ^
    • Ahmed, Mukhtar (2016). The Arains: A Historical Perspective. Createspace. pp. 49 and 52. ISBN 978-1-5327-8117-9. Gujjars: Gujjars make up a significant part of Paki- stani population (upto 15% according to some sources) and enjoy a good status generally. The majority of the Gujjars are found in Pakistan, while India has the sec- ond largest Gujjar population. Now their population is about 33 million in Pakistan and 30 million in India.
    • Harriss-White, Barbara; Heyer, Judith (2009-12-21). The Comparative Political Economy of Development: Africa and South Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-17193-3. Gujjar: multi-religious, 'martial' ethnic group in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
    • Tyagi, Vidya Prakash (2009). Martial races of undivided India. Kalpaz Publisher. ISBN 978-81-7835-775-1. The Gujjar or Gurjar are an ethnic group in India and Pakistan. Alternative spellings include Gurjara, Gujjar and Goojar. The Gujjars follow Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. The Hindu Gujjars belong to the traditional Kshatriya Varna in Hinduism, while the Muslim Gujjars are considered to be a Potwari race in India and Pakistan
  4. ^ "Pakistan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2 August 2022
  5. ^ "POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE, SEX AND RURAL/ URBAN" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  6. ^ Qadeer, Mohammad (2006-11-22). Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation. Routledge. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-134-18617-4.
  7. ^ Ali, Shaheen Sardar; Rehman, Javaid (2013-02-01). Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities of Pakistan: Constitutional and Legal Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-77868-1.
  8. ^ Gandhi, Rajmohan (2013). Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten. New Delhi, India; Urbana, Illinois: Aleph Book Company. p. 2. ISBN 978-93-83064-41-0.
  9. ^ Margaret Kleffner Nydell Understanding Arabs: A Guide For Modern Times, Intercultural Press, 2005, ISBN 1-931930-25-2, page xxiii, 14
  10. ^ roughly 152 million Bengali Muslims in Bangladesh and 36.4 million Bengali Muslims in the Republic of India (CIA Factbook 2014 estimates, numbers subject to rapid population growth); about 10 million Bangladeshis in the Middle East, 1 million Bengalis in Pakistan, 5 million British Bangladeshi.
  11. ^ Pritam Singh; Shinder Singh Thandi, eds. (1999). Punjabi identity in a global context. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-564864-5.
  12. ^ Qadeer, Mohammad (2006-11-22). Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation. Routledge. pp. 70–72. ISBN 978-1-134-18617-4.
  13. ^ Singh, Prtiam (2012). "Globalisation and Punjabi Identity: Resistance, Relocation and Reinvention (Yet Again!)" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 19 (2): 153–72. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  14. ^ The World Factbook
  15. ^ "Population Census". May 19, 2017.".
  16. ^ "CIA Factbook Pakistan". 2 August 2022.
  17. ^ Minahan, James (2012). Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 283–284. ISBN 9781598846591.
  18. ^ "About Punjab: Geography". Tourism Development Corporation, Government of the Punjab. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  19. ^ "People & Culture". Government of the North-West Frontier Province. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  20. ^ Qadeer, Mohammad (2006-11-22). Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation. Routledge. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-134-18617-4. Punjab's diversity of dialects, Saraiki and Pothohari contrasting with the heartland Punjabi, was striking at the time of independence. Since then, the increased mobility of the population and the absorption of refugees from India have stimulated homogenizing tendencies both linguistically and ethnically. NWFP, although symbolically a Pashtoon is also a province of many ethnicities and languages, for example, Hindku-speaking people inhabit the Peshawar Valley and Hazara district, and Saraiki speakers are found in the Derajats.
  21. ^ "Rupture in South Asia" (PDF). UNHCR. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
  22. ^ Dr Crispin Bates (2011-03-03). "The Hidden Story of Partition and its Legacies". BBC. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
  23. ^ Nazir, P., 1993. Social structure, ideology and language: caste among Muslims. Economic and Political Weekly, pp. 2897-2900.
  24. ^ "Muhajirs in historical perspective". The Nation. 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  25. ^ Paracha, Nadeem F. (2014-04-20). "The evolution of Mohajir politics and identity". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  26. ^ "Urdu-speaking to Muhajir politics". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  27. ^ Blood, Peter, ed. "Baloch". Pakistan: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1995.
  28. ^ "Balochi and the Concept of North-Western Iranian" (PDF). Agnes Korn. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-08-23.
  29. ^ Mann, Michael (2003). "Little Ice Age". In Michael C MacCracken and John S Perry (ed.). Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change, Volume 1, The Earth System: Physical and Chemical Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (PDF). John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  30. ^ Lamb, HH (1972). "The cold Little Ice Age climate of about 1550 to 1800". Climate: present, past and future. London: Methuen. p. 107. ISBN 0-416-11530-6. (noted in Grove 2004:4).
  31. ^ "Earth observatory Glossary L-N". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2015..
  32. ^ Miller et al. 2012. "Abrupt onset of the Little Ice Age triggered by volcanism and sustained by sea-ice/ocean feedbacks" Geophysical Research Letters 39, 31 January: abstract (formerly on AGU website) (accessed via wayback machine 11 July 2015); see press release on AGU website (accessed 11 July 2015).
  33. ^ Grove, J.M., Little Ice Ages: Ancient and Modern, Routledge, London (2 volumes) 2004.
  34. ^ Matthews, J.A. and Briffa, K.R., "The 'Little Ice Age': re-evaluation of an evolving concept", Geogr. Ann., 87, A (1), pp. 17–36 (2005). Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  35. ^ "1.4.3 Solar Variability and the Total Solar Irradiance - AR4 WGI Chapter 1: Historical Overview of Climate Change Science". Ipcc.ch. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  36. ^ From Zardaris to Makranis: How the Baloch came to Sindh
  37. ^ Rensch, Calvin Ross; O'Leary, Clare F.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (1992). Hindko and Gujari. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University. p. 4. The term Hindki is often used to refer to a speaker of the Hindko language (Shackle 1980: 482), but in popular usage it may refer to the language as well. In older literature it was frequently used for the language--for example, in the Imperial Gazetteer of NWFP, which regularly calls it Hindki (1905: 130, 172, 186 ff.).
  38. ^ Rensch, Calvin Ross (1992). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan: Hindko and Gujari. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University. p. 4. The term Hindki is often used to refer to a speaker of the Hindko language (Shackle 1980: 482), but in popular usage it may refer to the language as well.
  39. ^ a b West, Barbara A. (2010). Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing. p. 285. ISBN 9781438119137. The term Hindko as used in Pakistan refers to speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the primarily Iranian Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The origins of the term refer merely to "Indian speaking" rather than to any particular ethnic group.
  40. ^ The rise and development of Urdu and the importance of regional languages in Pakistan. Christian Study Centre. p. 38. Shackle suggests Hindko simply means "Indian language' and describes it as a "collective label for the variety of Indo-Aryan dialects either alongside or in vicinity of Pushto in the northwest of the country'. Hindko is the most significant linguistic minority in the NWFP, represented in nearly one-fifth (18.7%) of the province's total households. ... The Influence of Pushto on Hazara appears to have become more pronounced, due in part to an Influx of Pashtuns replacing the Hindko-speaking Sikhs and Hindus who formerly held key trading positions and who departed at independence.
  41. ^ "Four years on, the voice of Hazara 'martyrs' still resonates". The Express Tribune. 2014-04-12.
  42. ^ Elfenbein, Josef (2019). Seever, Sanford B. (ed.). The Dravidian Languages (2 ed.). Routledge. p. 495. ISBN 978-1138853768. The main habitat of Brahui tribesmen, as well as the main area where the Brahui language is spoken, extends continuously over a narrow north-south belt in Pakistan from north of Quetta southwards through Mastung and Kalat (including Nushki to the west) as far south as Las Bela, just inland from the sea coast.
  43. ^ Elfenbein, Josef (1989). "BRAHUI". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 4. pp. 433–443. BRAHUI (Brāhūī, Brāhōī), the name of a tribal group living principally in Pakistani Baluchistan and of a Dravidian language spoken mainly by Brahui tribesmen.
  44. ^ James B. Minahan (30 August 2012). "Brahuis". Ethnic Groups of South Asia and the Pacific: An Encyclopedia. ISBN 9781598846607. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  45. ^ Shah, Mahmood Ali (1992), Sardari, jirga & local government systems in Balochistan, Qasim Printers, pp. 6–7
  46. ^ Minahan, James B. (31 August 2016), "Brahui", Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, 2nd Edition: Ethnic and National Groups around the World, ABC-CLIO, pp. 79–80, ISBN 978-1-61069-954-9
  47. ^ Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. Columbia University Press. 2004-03-01. ISBN 9780231115698. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  48. ^ Naqvi, Saba (30 March 2016). "Meet the Muslims who consider themselves descendants of Arjuna". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023.
  49. ^ Ghosh, Paramita (16 September 2016). "What you should know about the Meo Muslims of Mewat". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023.
  50. ^ Sardar Azeemullah Khan Meo. Meo Rajput. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
  51. ^ https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/kp/dcr/table_11.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  52. ^ "How to ignore a language". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  53. ^ "My Language, My Identity: The Census Form Will Include Torwali, Gawri And Gujari Languages". The Friday Times. 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  54. ^ Rana, Shahbaz (2024-07-19). "Pakistan 27th in global population growth". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2024-07-23. One of the questions in the population census was about the mother-tongue. The number of Urdu speaking people have increased to 9.3% by 2023. But Punjabi-origin people have reduced to 37%. There is also a reduction in the Sindh language speaking people from 14.6% to 14.3%. the Pashto speaking people reduced from 18.3% to 18.2% but Balochi-language people increased from 3% to 3.4%. The number of Saraiki-language people was reduced from 12.2% to 12%.
  55. ^ "2023 national census of Pakistan" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  56. ^ "Questionnaire – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics". Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  57. ^ Onward Movements of Afghan Refugees (PDF), UNHCR, March–April 2021, retrieved 2021-08-20
  58. ^ "Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees". May 25, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  59. ^ "Registered Afghan Refugees in Pakistan". UNHCR. December 31, 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  60. ^ "Voluntary Repatriation Update" (PDF). Pakistan: UNHCR. November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2017-11-26.

Works cited

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