Kalāt or Qalāt ( Brahui/ Balochi: قلات), historically known as Qīqān, is a historic town located in Kalat District,

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, Pakistan. Kalat is the capital of Kalat District and is known locally as Kalat-e-Brahui and Kalat-e-Sewa. Qalat, formerly Qilat, is located roughly in the center of

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

, It was the capital of the Kalat Khanate. The current Khan of Kalat is a ceremonial title held by Mir Suleman Dawood Jan, and efforts have been made by the Pakistani government to reconcile with him; his son Prince Mohammed, who is next in line to be the Khan of Kalat, is pro-Pakistan.

Climate

Kalat features a

cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(''BWk'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

. The average temperature in Kalat is , while the annual precipitation averages . June is the driest month with of rainfall, while January, the wettest month, has an average precipitation of . July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of . The coldest month January has an average temperature of . The all-time lowest recorded temperature in Kalat was −17 °C on 20 January 1978, while the highest temperature ever recorded was 38 °C on 19 Jun
1977

Demographics

The population is mostly

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, with a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

population of two percent. In addition, there are some Hindu

Hindkowan Hindkowans (lit. "Indian-speakers"), also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the neighbouring Pashtuns, particularly the speakers of various Hindko dialects of Lahnda. The ori ...

merchants who have settled in Kalat.

Kalat Kali Temple

There is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

devoted to

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

. On 21 December 2010, the 82 year old chief-priest was abducted in what was reported as part of increasingly routine targeting of minority Hindus in the province.

History

The town of Kalat is said to have been founded by and named Qalat-e Sewa (Sewa's

Fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

), after Sewa, a legendary hero of the

Brahui people The Brahui ( brh, ), Brahvi or Brohi, are an ethnic group of pastoralists principally found in Balochistan, Pakistan. A minority speaks the Brahui language, which belongs to the Dravidian language family, while the rest speaks Balochi and tend ...

. The Brahui Speaking tribes arrived from east in the Qalat area way before the arrival of Balochi speaking tribes from the west. The Brohis established a large kingdom in the 15th century, but it soon declined and the region fell to

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

for a short period. The brahui speaking Khans of Qalat were dominant from the 17th century onwards until the arrival of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the 19th century. A treaty was signed in 1876 to make Qalat part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. In 1947, the Khan of Kalat reportedly acceded to the dominion of Pakistan. In 1948, Qalat became part of Pakistan when the British withdrew. The last Khan of Qalat was formally removed from power in 1955, but the title is still claimed by his descendants. The current Khan of Qalat is Mir Suleman Dawood Khan Ahmadzai.

References

{{reflist
Kalat district - The Planning and Development Department of the Government of Balochistan

External links

Populated places in Kalat District sv:Kalat