Group: | Buzdar |
Related: | Baloch people, Saraiki people |
Religions: | Islam |
Buzdar is a clan of Baloch tribe of Rind, living in Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.They mostly live in the mountainous areas of Koh Suleiman.The estimated population of the tribe is 300,000 people. The word, literally meaning one who keeps or tends the goats, a shepherd, is a reference to the traditional occupation of Buzdars.[1] Usman Buzdar is current Tumandar of the tribe.[2] [3]
The Buzdar community in Rahra Sham and Andarpur divide Bozdar into two main clans:
They are usually ranchers, and the name Buzdars probably derived from Buz, the Persian name for goat. Within the limits of their mountainous home, on the outer spurs of the Sulaiman Mountains, they have always been a martial tribe and they were formerly constantly feuding with the neighboring Ustarana and Sherani tribes.[5]
In 1857, their raids into the Punjab drew upon them a punitive expedition under Brigadier-General Sir N. B. Chamberlain. The Sangarh pass was captured and the Buzdars/ Bozdar submitted.