Dehwar is a name of Baloch tribe in Balochistan. The tribe is settled primarily in Kalat, Khuzdar, Kharan, Noshkey, Sarlath, Dalbandin, and Mastung. The principal clans into which the tribe is divided are the Yusufzai dodaki Sanjarzai and Khwajakhail. The leader of each tribe is called Sardar/Arbab.
The word comes from Dehs, which are collective “mud” houses used in the area.[1][2]
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The Dehwar are one of the settled Persian tribes and urban dwellers, unlike other tribes in Balochistan, who are traditionally rural dwellers. They are known as ehgan/Parsiwans/Tajiks in Afghanistan and central Asia. Since the Dehwar reside in settled communities they traditionally tend to be better educated involved in skilled professions such as accounting and administration. They are also known as Agricultural landowners.
The tribe has intermarried with an admixture of local peoples. The two major communities of Dehwar are the Dehwar of Mastung and the Dehwar of Kalat.
The Dehwars appear to have been in Baluchistan before the Brahuis rose to power in the 15th century, and according to tradition assisted the latter in conjunction with the Raisanis and Zehris to conquer Kalat from the Baloch people. The other major Brahui tribes headed the major armies in support of the Khan of Kalat known as the Sarawan and Jhalawan Lashkars. The Dehwars were generally associated with the Khan of Kalat by helping them with the administration of the state in terms of revenue and tax collection, communications, record keeping,a nd general administration of the Darbar. There was extensive inter-marriage between the Ahmadzai Rulers of Kalat and the Dehwar. In addition the Dehwars sent armed soldiers to support the Brahui rulers, with the Dehwar of Mastung sending men to the lashar of Dasta-e-Khas which was in the personal command of the Khan-e-Azam, and the Dehwar of Kalat sending men to the lashkar of Dasta-e-Doem which was commanded by the Sarawan Sardar of the Raisani tribe.
Dehwar have made a significant part in the contemporary history of the Baloch, and they assisted in the organizational break with feudal and tribal politics in the late 1920s, due to the formation of the "Anjuman-e Ittehad-e Balochan" (Organisation for Unity of the Baloch) in Mastung. The bulk of its leadership and membership were largely drawn from the urban bourgeoisie, large and small, educated youth, and nationalist-minded members of the clergy and tribal aristocracy. In 1935, the Anjuman was replaced by the Kalat State National Party in 1937, in order to establish constitutional rule in the Khanate with the Khan of Kalat as the constitutional monarch of the Baloch.