Brahui people

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The Brahui or Brohi (Urdu: بروہی) are an ethnic group of about 2.2 million people with the majority found in Kalat, Pakistan, but also found in smaller numbers in neighboring Afghanistan and Iran. They are closely linked to the Baloch with whom they have substantially intermingled and whose cultural traits they have absorbed. Linguistically, they speak the Brahui language, which is a North Dravidian language, but due to its isolation from the other Dravidian tongues it has considerable Balochi vocabulary and even counting begins with Balochi numbers. There is no distinct indigenous script for Brahui; like Balochi it is written in Perso-Arabic alphabet. Brahui is spoken in the following areas: Merv area of Turkmenistan, Sindh, Zahedan and Zabol in Iranian Balochistan, southern parts of Afghanistan, Pakistani Balochistan and with the bulk in the Jhalawan region.

Origins, geography, and demographics

There are two main theories regarding the Brahui that have been proposed by academics. One theory is that they are an ancient hold-over of some sort of indeterminate Elamo-Dravidian origin that descended from the people of the Indus Valley civilization. Another theory is that they are migrants from northern India who arrived in the region either before the Aryan invasion or much later, but probably before the Baloch. Over the centuries, due to their location, the Brahui have mixed with Iranian peoples as well as the Sindhis and other groups and physically and culturally more closely resemble their neighbors rather than the Dravidian peoples of India. In addition, they are almost entirely Muslim, usually of the Sunni sect.

Generally dominated by various invaders during their history, including the Baloch, the Khans of Kalat, who were of Brahui origin, became rulers in their own right and dominated Balochistan for decades, while holding off the Persians until the coming of the British in the 19th century.

The Brahui language is mainly spoken in the Kalat areas of Balochistan, Pakistan, although there is a considerable amount of speakers in Southern Afghanistan and Iranian Balochistan. It includes three dialects including Sarawani (spoken in the north), Jhalawani (spoken in the southeast), and Chaghi (spoken in the northwest and west). According to a survey it has about 2,000,000 speakers in Pakistan (1998), 200,000 speakers in Afghanistan and 10,000 speakers in Iran, which would amount to 2,210,000 in the world. Due to its isolation, Brahui's vocabulary is only 15% Dravidian, while the remainder is dominated by Perso-Arabic, Balochi, and Indo-Aryan, while the grammar and overall morphology still resemble other Dravidian tongues. Brahui is generally written in the Perso-Arabic script and there is even a Roman alphabet that has been developed for use with Brahui. In Pakistan when doing a BA (bachelor of Arts) program, the Brahui Language can be taken as a compulsory subject.

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