LASHARI HISTORY

by
ARYAN LASHARI

‫آريان الشاري‬

Circa 2024
Lashari.—One of the main original sections,
said to have settled in Gandava after the
war with the Rinds, and to be now
represented by the Magsis of Jhal in Kachhi.
Some Lasharis in Kachhi keep their own
name, and form the largest clan of the
Magsi tribe. Other are found in Mekran and
Sistan, where they are identified with
Magsis. The Jiskanis also are of Lashari
descent. There is a strong sub-tuman of
Lasharis in the Gorchani tribe, and other
Lasharis of Drigir in Dera Ghazi Khan are
apparently Jatts and Lasharis only in name.
Lasharis are found wherever the Balochs
settled in the Punjab, chiefly in Dera Ghazi
Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Muzafargarh, and
Multan.
_______________________________________________________
*Baloch race
Dames, M. Longworth
pg 1
 According to Baloch folklore,
Mir Jalal Khan, son of Jiand, is said to have
been ruler over all the Boloches. He left four
sons, named Rind, Lashari, Hoth, and Korai,
and a daughter named Jato, who was
married to his nephew Murad. These five are
the eponymous founders of the five great
divisions of the race, the Rinds, Lasharis,
Hoths, Korais, and Jatois. There are,
however, some tribe which cannot be
brought within any of these divisions, and
accordingly we find ancestors duly provided
for them in some genealogies. Two more
sons are added to the list—Ali and Bnlo.
From Bulo are descended the Bulerf/ns, and
from All’s two sons, Ghazan and 'Umar, are
derived the Ghazani Marris and the
'Umaranis (now scattered among several
tribes). I may here note that the genealogies
given in the ‘Tuhfatu'lKiram^ seem to be
apocryphal, and are not in accordance with
Baloch tradition. It is there asserted that
Jalal’uddin was one of fifty brothers, and
that he received one-half of the inheritance,
the rest taking half between them, and
 ^ See E. D., i 886. This is the tradition
alluded to by Colonel Mockler (J. A. S. B.,
1896, per. i., p. 84). The ‘ Tuhfatul-Kiram ’ is
a late eighteenth-century compilation.

that, while the descendants of the other

brothers mingled with the people of
Makuran, those of Jalalu’d-din came to Sindh
and Kachhi, and their descendants are
spread through the country. The actual
tradition of the Balochs, however,
represents that the tribal divisions
originated in the performance of Jalal Khan’s
funeral ceremonies. Kind had been
appointed by his father successor to the
Phagh or Royal Turban, and proposed to
perform the ceremonies and erect an
asrokh, or memorial canopy. His brother
Hoth, who was his rival, refused to join him,
where upon the others also refused; each
performed the ceremony separately, ‘ and
there were five asrokhs in Kech.’ Some of
the bolaks joined one and some another,
and so the five great tribes were formed. In
reality it seems probable that there were
five principal gatherings of clans under well-
known leaders, and that they became
known by some nickname or descriptive
epithet, such as the Rinds(cheats), the
 Hoths (warriors), the Lasharis (men of
Lashar), etc., and that these names were
afterwards transferred to their supposed
ancestors. The Buledha, or men of Boleda,*
probably joined the confederacy later, and
the same may be said of the Ghazans and
Umaranis.

_____________________________________________
__
Baloch race
by

Dames, M. Longworth
 LASHARI ORIGINS

Lasharis origins are from Sistan, they are

from a area called “Lashar”,
In this J. B. Fraser Esqr. this map of Persia

In this map the “Plain of Lushar” is the

Lashar tribe place of origin.
THE BALOCH CONFEDERACY IN
MAKURAN

The most famous of the Baloch tribal

confederacies was established in Makuran in
the thirteenth century; it was an alliance of
two tribal unions. The tribal unions of Rind
and Laashaar seemed to be in close alliance
while they were in Makuran. According to
Baloch legends, the tribal union headed by
Mir Jalal Khan Rind consisted of fortyfour
tribes. The other union headed by Mir
Nodbandag of Laashaar tribe also comprised
a large number of the Baloch tribes. The two
unions initially settled in Makuran—the
Laashaar union based in the Laashaar valley
in the west, while the Rinds were based in
eastern Makuran.

It seems that their sojourn in Makuran did

not become permanent. Makuran was not
suitable to sustain a huge number of herds
due to
its climactic conditions, which brought these
tribes into perpetual conflicts with other
Baloch tribes who were settled in the area in
an earlier period. The second reason which
 compelled this huge mass of the Baloch
tribes to move further east was probably the
hostility of the Seljugs ruler of Kerman and
Makuran, Malik Dinar, whose high-
handedness made it impossible for these
pastoral nomads to sustain their presence in
Makuran.

However, the movement eastward of this

alliance of the Baloch tribes was also not
smooth. After their departure from Laashaar
and Kech valleys, they encountered the
fierce and bloody resistance from Bizenjo
tribe when they tried to settle in Kolwah
(which is the border region of Makuran and
Turan). After some unsuccessful attempts to
dominate the Bizenjo tribe, they marched
further east into better grazing fields of
northern Turan.
In Turan at this time, the confederacy of the
Brahui tribes under the leadership of
Mirwadi chiefs was a formidable force to be
reckoned with. It appears that, initially, the
new arrivals were welcomed, and they
scattered about with their herds in the
valleys of Surab and Mangocher; however,
hostilities soon broke out between the two
confederacies of the Baloch tribes over the
 domination of grazing fields. In the ensuing
conflicts, the chief of Mirwadi tribe, who was
controlling the Kalat region, was killed in a
battle, and the dominance of the Rind tribes
prevailed in Sarawan. However, for obvious
reasons, seeing their stay in Turan not
tenable, majority of the Rind tribes moved
toward Kachchi via Bolan Pass. The Laashaar
union followed them into Kachchi via Mola
Pass.

____________________________________
The Baloch And Balochistan By Naseer Dashti
by

Naseer Dashti
 BALOCH CONFEDERACIES IN
KACHHI & DERA JAT

While in Kachchi, the Rind and Laashaar

tribal unions grew in wealth and power;
however, soon, personality clash between
the Rind chief Mir Chakar and Laashaar chief
Mir Gowahram was converted into full-blown
conflicts between the two powerful unions of
the Baloch tribes. The alliance broke down,
and two distinct tribal unions of Rind and
Laashaar emerged. Bloody battles between
the two weakened them economically and
politically. In the prevailing anarchic
atmosphere of the region caused by the
long drawn-out struggle between the Suri
rulers of northern India and the Mughal
Emperor Humayun and his brothers, these
two groups of the Baloch tribes sided with
opposing forces, fighting in the armies of
one or the other, thereby weakening their
position further. After a few decades, both
tribal confederacies became insignificant in
the region with the migration of Laashaar
chief Mir Gowahram to Gujarat (India) and of
Rind chief Mir Chakar to Punjab. Some of the
tribes of these disbanded unions settled in
 Sibi and adjoining regions, while some went
further east into the heartland of Punjab and
Gujarat territories. Some of the Baloch tribes
settled into present day Derajat region
where they regained a semblance of
political prominence with the establishment
of another Baloch confederacy head by the
Dodai tribe.

According to Baloch (1987), in the middle of

the fifteenth century, several Baloch tribes
such as the Dodai, Meerani, Kolachi,
Gorchani, Hoth, and Jaskani clan of Laashaar
confederacy migrated into Derajat and laid
down the foundation of the Baloch
confederacy of Derajat. In time, the Baloch
in the region became relatively prosperous,
and they had a strong fighting force.
Gankovsky (1971) observed that the clan
aristocracy of the Baloch tribes was slowly
growing into a close-knit feudal estate as
they took possession of the best grazing
grounds and arable lands and brought into
subjection both the local farming population
and the impoverished nomadic population.
 For a short period, this Baloch confederacy
was also able to occupy the prosperous
region of Multan. As observed earlier, during
the confusion that followed the flight of
Mughal Emperor Humayun to Persia, the
Baloch tribal union headed by Fateh Khan
Dodai occupied Multan which was later
retook by the Mughals Army under the
command of General Hebat Khan on the
orders of Emperor Humayun (Latif, 1965).

Baloch (1987) observed that the Dodai

confederacy was divided into four Niabats
(administrative districts) namely, Dera
Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Fateh
Khan, and Niabat of BakharLiaya. The tribal
chiefs ruled their niabats independently, and
Dodai were only the nominal heads of the
confederacy. The attempts by the
confederacy to acquire an independent
status or making the confederacy into a
Baloch state were crushed by the Mughals.
However, during the declining phase of the
Mughal Empire after the death of
Aurangzeb, the confederacy gained a
semblance of independence from Delhi for a
short period. Their sovereignty, however,
did not last long, and the confederacy came
 under the control of the Khanate of Kalat
from 1717 to 1795 (Naseer, 1979). As the
Khanate was experiencing a state of turmoil
after the death of Mir Naseer Khan I, the
confederacy collapsed under the Afghan
push toward Sindh and Punjab. The Afghan
king Zaman Shah finally defeated the
Baloch forces and annexed Derajat into
Afghanistan in 1795. The Baloch resistance
against the Afghan rule and the occupation
of Derajat by the Sikh rulers of Punjab were
unsuccessful as the tribes were not united
under a single command, and the Khan of
the Baloch was unable to help their fellow
Baloch as the Khanate was itself facing a
phase of decline
____________________________________
The Baloch And Balochistan By Naseer Dashti
by

Naseer Dashti

RIND O LASHAR UNION.

During medieval period, the Baloch

migrated from Kerman, northern Sistan, and
many areas of Fars, where some of the
Baloch tribes had been deported by the
 Arabs and the Buyids. It appears that the
deported tribes, which include Sia Pads of
General Siah Sawar along with their allied
Jats, came to settle in Kerman soon after the
Arab grip on power loosened after the fall of
the Umayyad Dynasty.

From Kerman, they migrated toward

Makuran during the Baloch conflicts with
Buyids and Seljugs Turks. It appears that the
Baloch tribal confederacy, which was later
known as Rind o Laashaar Union primarily,
consisted of these returning tribes from
Syria. The Bradazhui or Barezui tribes seem
to have abandoned the Barez Mountain
region altogether after the genocide of the
Baloch by the Buyids and Seljugs. Their
migration appears to be through Sistan
before settling into modern-day Sarawan
and Jhalawan regions of Balochistan where
they became known as Brahui. Other Baloch
tribes migrated into southern Sistan that is
modern-day Sarhad, Nemroz, Chagai, and
Kharan regions.

During the long and tortuous struggles for

survival, the Baloch faced some of the worst
atrocities, acts of genocide, and forced
 migrations; however, during middle ages,
they emerged from all traumas of
psychological, social, economical, and
political nature. During this period, their
tribal structures consolidated, and they
grouped themselves in different tribal
confederacies. One of the important
developments was the appearance of the
Baloch tribal confederacy that was later
known as Rind o Laashaar Union. This union,
although, for obvious reasons, could not
play a major political role, yet it was the
dominating cultural and linguistic influences
of this union that later formed the basis of
the Baloch national identity. Various tribal
unions in Sistan and western Balochistan
played important roles in the subsequent
Baloch struggle for sovereignty. The
abandoning of Barez Mountain in Kerman by
a group of powerful Baloch tribes during the
reigns of Buyids and Seljuqs and finally
settling in the Turan region of Balochistan
was one of the most important happenings.
The union of these tribes, who became
known as Barezui or Brahui, into a
confederacy paved the way for the
establishment of the first Baloch state.

The Baloch society was comprised of a

pastoralist nomadic people from the days of
Balashagan. However, at the end of the
medieval period when the majority of the
tribes began to adopt a settled lifestyle in
Sistan, Makuran, and Turan, the society had
both nomadic and settled components. The
adaption of a settled way of
life and involvement in the agricultural
activities by a section of the Baloch tribes
brought fundamental changes in the Baloch
society as well be discussed in later
sections.
Economic needs of the tribes had been
postulated as the main stimulating factors in
grouping together of tribes and formation of
Chiefdoms. Swidler (1972) viewed the
development of Khanate of Kalat as a
response to the transhumant patterns of
adaptation that required the use of highland
and the plain. She saw in it the need for the
large group of pastoralists to secure enough
grazing field for winter grazing. The
competition for the grazing fields of Kachchi
with Rind and Laashaar confederacies had,
perhaps, been the fundamental factor for
the tribes in Turan to forge stronger bonds.

____________________________________
The Baloch And Balochistan By Naseer Dashti
by
Naseer Dashti
 THIRTY YEAR WAR

The Rinds were under Mir Ch^ur, and the

LashaTla under Gwaharam, who were rivals
for the band of the fair Gohar, the owner of
large herds of camels. Gohar preferred Mir
Chakur, and this led to a quarrel. A horse-
race, in which the Rinds are stated to have
won by trickery, precipitated the out¬
break. Some Lasharis killed some of Gobar’s
young camels, and Chakur thereupon swore
revenge. A desperate war began, which
lasted for thirty years. At first the Rinds
were defeated, and they seem to have
called on the Turks for aid, but after various
fluctuations Chakur with most of his Rinds
left Sibi, and made for the Panjab. The
Lasharis remained at Gandava, and some
Rinds maintained their position at Shorun,
both places not far from Sibi in the plain of
Kachhi. These events constitute the Iliad of
the Baloch race, and form the subject of
numerous picturesque ballads which have
been handed down verbally to the present
day.*
It has been shown above how Mir Chakur
arrived at Multan, and how the rivalry arose
between the Rinds and the Dodals. The
legendary lore deals with this subject also,
and it is stated that Chakur joined Humtiyiin
after¬ wards on his march to Behll, and at
last settled down at Satgarha (in the
Montgomery District of the Panjub). His
tomb still exists there, and there is a
considerable Rind

* One ballad repreBema Chfilnir as taking

refuge with SolKln Shah Husain of Harev
Scltiln Husain of Herat).

* Some of these I poblished with a

translation in my ‘ Sketch of the Northern
Baloclii Language’ (/. A. S. B., extra number,
1881), and othera in ‘The Adventures of Mir
Chakur,’ included in Temple’s

Legends of the Punjab,* vol. iL Others have

been printed and translated by the Rev. T. J.
L. Mayer (Fort Munro and Agra, 1900 and
1901).
 The Rinds were in the first instance
unsuccessful in their encounters with the
Lasharis, but, obtaining the assistance of the
King of Persia, they were enabled in the end
to conquer their adversaries. After this, Mir
Chakar and his Rinds are said to have
received a grant of land in the Bari Doab, in
the Panjab, from Humayun Shah, the Mogul
Emperor of Hindustan, to whom he had
rendered assistance at a time when that
monarch was an exile, and seeking to
recover his lost throne. From this period the
tribe seems to have become divided, and to
have spread throughout Kalat, Sindh, and
the Derajat frontier, driving out the
inhabitants where they were able, and
taking possession of their lands.
_________________________
Country Of Balochistan
by

Hughes, A.w.

Mir Chakur and the chief of the Lasharis, Mir

Gwaharam Lashari, were both in love with
Gohar and after demonstrating their skill in
 spear-throwing and sword-fighting, decided
to let a horse-race decide which of them
should win the lady. Each Chieftain was to
choose a rider to represent him. A Rind
loosened the Lashiri rider Rawan’s saddle-
girths and he lost the race to the Rind
Chieftain; but in revenge the Lashari chief
stole Gohar’s camels, which seems
strangely ungallant. There are, in fact, many
different versions of this ballad, but all end
in a thirty years’ bitter conflict between the
Rinds and the Lasharis which was finally
won by the Lasharis.

__________________________________
Tigers Of Baluchistan
by

Muhammad Yusuf Mujahid