Pakistan Geotagging: November 2020

Balochistan (also spelled Baluchistan during the British Raj) was the farthest corner of the British Empire in India in every sense of the word. It was sparsely populated, far from the main centres of population, and located on the extreme western borders of India. The British began taking an interest in this area in the late 1830s. At that time, the East India Company had already subdued almost all of present-day India, with only Sindh and Punjab remaining outside its direct influence.

In 1839, the EIC, in collaboration with the Punjab state under Maharaja Ranjit Singh, planned to install the deposed King Shah Shuja on the throne of Kabul, replacing Dost Muhammad Khan. According to the plan, the joint forces were to assemble at Shikarpur in Sindh and then march towards Kandahar via the Bolan Pass. During this campaign, British forces occupied the Bolan Pass and the surrounding areas, including Quetta and Chaman. Kandahar fell, and later Kabul was also captured.

This campaign marked the first time the strategic importance of Quetta was recognized by the British, and a cantonment was later established there, around which the city eventually developed. However, the invasion of 1839, known as the First Anglo-Afghan War, ended in a disastrous retreat three years later, in 1842. Shortly afterward, Afghanistan and the other occupied areas, including Quetta, were abandoned. Nonetheless, during this period, an expedition from Quetta conquered Kalat, and the state—which had hitherto been under Afghan suzerainty—was forced to recognize British India as the paramount power.

The 1840s brought dramatic changes to the political landscape of present-day Pakistan. Sindh was annexed by the East India Company in 1843, and soon after, in 1846, Punjab was defeated and fully annexed in 1849. By this time, all the major provinces were under British control, but the western frontiers of this vast empire were still not clearly defined, a process that would take several more decades to complete. In 1854, the treaty of 1839 was renewed, and Kalat once again accepted the suzerainty of the British government in Delhi. The next milestone came in 1876, when the British permanently occupied Quetta and extended their influence over the state of Kalat, assuming responsibility for both internal and external security.

During this period, the British steadily increased their control over the districts of Loralai, Zhob, and Sibi through a combination of force and diplomacy, gradually bringing the local tribes to recognize British paramountcy. The outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 further strengthened British control in the region. At the conclusion of the war, the Treaty of Gandamak was signed in May 1879, in which Yaqub Khan, the king of Afghanistan, formally ceded the districts of Pishin, Quetta, Loralai, Sibi, and Zhob to the British. Meanwhile, Balochistan’s western border with Iran was formally settled in 1871.

This is how the British gradually acquired the territories that today constitute the Pakistani province of Balochistan. I shall not delve further into its earlier history, as the focus of this post is the religious demographics of Balochistan in 1941, the last census conducted before the partition of India in 1947.

Balochistan - Administrative.

Balochistan - Political Map 1931.

Balochistan - Muslim Population, 1941.

Balochistan - Hindu Population, 1941.

Balochistan - Sikh Population, 1941.

Balochistan in British India.

Population Of Balochistan Province in 1941 (Administrative Units)
	Ar. Km²	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%	Christians	%

Baluchistan	347,064	857,835	785,181	91.53	54,394	6.34	12,044	1.40	6,056	0.71

Districts	141,040	501,631	438,980	87.51	44,623	8.90	11,918	2.38	6,002	1.20
Quetta-Pishin	13,753	156,289	113,288	72.49	28,629	18.32	9,787	6.26	5,441	3.48
Loralai	19,101	83,685	79,273	94.73	3,129	3.74	1,124	1.34	159	0.19
Zhob	27,138	61,499	55,987	91.04	4,286	6.97	1,076	1.75	146	0.24
Bolan	1,054	6,009	4,812	80.08	950	15.81	184	3.06	55	0.92
Chaghai	50,321	29,950	27,864	93.04	1,204	4.02	181	0.60	1	0.00
Sibi:	29,673	164,899	157,706	95.64	6,425	3.90	566	0.34	200	0.12
Administered Area	10,723	106,787	99,875	93.53	6,144	5.75	566	0.53	200	0.19
Marri-Bugti Country	18,951	58,112	57,831	99.52	281	0.48	-	-	-	-

States	206,023	356,204	346,251	97.21	9,771	2.74	126	0.04	54	0.02
Kalat State:	139,846	253,305	245,208	96.80	7,915	3.12	79	0.03	45	0.02
Sarawan	12,914	28,270	27,592	97.60	566	2.00	61	0.22	25	0.09
Jhalawan	53,051	52,272	52,194	99.85	77	0.15	-	-	-	-
Kacchis	13,805	86,112	79,016	91.76	7,095	8.24	1	0.00	-	-
Makran	60,077	86,651	86,406	99.72	177	0.20	17	0.02	20	0.02
Kharan State	47,935	33,832	33,733	99.71	99	0.29	-	-	-	-
Las Bela State	18,241	69,067	67,810	98.18	1,701	2.46	47	0.07	9	0.01

Population Of Balochistan Province in 1941 (Cities & Towns)
	Population	Muslims	%	Hindus	%	Sikhs	%	Christians	%

Quetta Town	36,430	19,056	52.31	12212	33.52	4,041	11.09	758	2.08
Quetta Cantt.	28,006	8,879	31.70	11768	42.02	3,323	11.87	1,182	4.22
Pishin	1,890	1,245	65.87	447	23.65	183	9.68	15	0.79
Chaman Town	4,064	2,396	58.96	1286	31.64	194	4.77	176	4.33
Chaman Cantt.	2,586	407	15.74	1616	62.49	503	19.45	24	0.93
Loralai Town	3,419	2,055	60.11	971	28.40	330	9.65	63	1.84
Loralai Cantt.	1,676	272	16.23	565	33.71	786	46.90	12	0.72
Ft. Sandeman Town	5,986	4,087	68.28	1419	23.71	485	8.10	49	0.82
Ft. Sandeman Cantt.	3,367	1,145	34.01	1573	46.72	601	17.85	12	0.36
Machh Town	2,220	1,632	73.51	421	18.96	121	5.45	10	0.45
Sibi	8,854	5,505	62.18	2814	31.78	362	4.09	95	1.07
Usta	1,925	1,154	59.95	688	35.74	77	4.00	1	0.05
Kalat	2,463	2,049	83.19	381	15.47	33	1.34	0	0.00
Mastung	3,137	2,963	94.45	124	3.95	28	0.89	23	0.73
Pasni	3,616	3,547	98.09	69	1.91	0	0.00	0	0.00
Panjgur	473	416	87.95	45	9.51	9	1.90	0	0.00
Bela Town	3,905	3,389	86.79	469	12.01	47	1.20	0	0.00