Qalat (Baloch tribe)
The Qalat, Qelat, Kalat, Kalaat, Kelat, (Persian: قلات), one meaning of which is fortified place, may refer to Qalat (fortress), is a Baloch tribe.
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Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Bugti. |
History
An expedition against the Qalat was organized by Sir Charles James Napier in 1845, but they weren't brought under control until Sir Robert Sandeman ruled Balochistan. Since the construction of the railway, made possible after a thorough negotiation, conditions have been peaceful.[1]
The region was largely under Iranian Royalty control and the autonomous principality of Kalat. The British wrested control away from the Khan of Kalat in the early 1840s and it became the staging ground for the various Afghan-British wars (the Great Game) in the later half of 19th century. The 1876 treaty between the Khan of Kalat and Robert Sandeman accepted the independence of the Kalat as an allied state with British military outposts in the region. After the 1878 Afghan War, the British established Baluchistan as a provincial entity centered on the municipality of Quetta - Kalat, Makran, and Lasbela continuing to exist as princely realms. The British interest in the region was largely to use it as a land-mass bulwark against Central Asian encroachments. Besides a train track, the development and settlement of British holdings excluded most of the tribal population. The administrative and legislative reforms of late 19th and early 20th century India overlooked Balochistan.
Around the 1930s, Balochi nationalist parties emerged to contest for freedom from British rule. They took the princely State of Kalat as the focal point of a free and united Balochistan. Allama Mohammad Iqbal's vision of autonomous federation of Muslim state included Balochistan but the Khan of Kalat never bought into the nationalist paradigm, arguing that the Kalat had special treaty powers. Baglar Begi Khan declared the independence of Kalat on August 15, 1947. He assured Pakistan that Kalat will participate in the defense and infrastructure but will be autonomous. That didn't go over well at all and the Pakistani army entered the region to occupy the area immediately.
On March 27, 1948, the Khan of Kalat gave in to the State of Pakistan and his old attorney Mohammad Ali Jinnah. His brother Prince Abdul Karim Khan refused to surrender and revolted until his arrest in 1950. Balochistan was put under Governor General control and no elective body formed in Balochistan 1973.
See also
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.