Mengal Explained

Mengal (Balochi: مینگل) are a Brahui speaking clan in Balochistan, Pakistan.[1] Mengal was originally one of the four Jat (Jadgal) tribes inhabiting Balochistan; the other three being Zehri, Bizenjo and Sajdi.[2] [3] [4]

Etymology

In the Balochi language, plurals of substantives and collective nouns are formed, generally, by adding the suffix "gal" to the noun itself, tribes like Jadgal, Kurdgal are formed in this manner, similarly the term Mengal (Meng-gal,) merely denotes the Meng (Ming, or Men, or Min) name of a tribe and the suffix "gal" means (Speech and group), thus meaning (the group of Mins). The well-known ancient city of Minnagara in Sindh (town of the Mins) have been also named from this tribe.[5]

Demographics

The Mengal tribe is one of the largest Brahui Speaking Baloch tribe. The tribe can be divided in two major branches:Zagar Mengal and Shahizai Mengal.

Notable clans of Mengal tribe are Shahizai, Lehri, Baranzai, Mahmudzai etc.

Tribal area

The Mengal tribal area is around 70000sqmi, stretching from the Helmand River in the North to Lasbela District in the south, and bordering on the province of Sindh to the east.[6]

Politics

For many years the Mengal tribe has been seeking greater autonomy from the Pakistan government.[7] [8] [9] The Pakistani government and the Mengals have been clashing for the past four decades, for various reasons.[10] [11] Large-scale military operations were carried out in the area of Khuzdar in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1973, the Pakistani government headed by the former Prime Minister Late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, with support of the Shah of Iran, carried out one of the bloodiest military operations in the history of Balochistan against the Mengal and Marri tribes which lasted for 5 years, during which around 8,000 Baloch fighters and 6,000 army soldiers were killed.

Prominent people

Notes and References

  1. Book: Nahyan. Mansoor Bin Tahnoon Al. Tribes of Pakistan. Hussain. Jamal. Ghafoor. Asad ul. 2019-05-09. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 978-1-5275-3439-1. en.
  2. Book: Baluch, Muhammad Sardar Khan . History of Baluch Race and Baluchistan . 1977 . Gosha-e-Adab : distributors Nisa Trader . 268 . en. ...Bizanjo, Mengal, Sajdi and Zehri as Jadgal or Jats....
  3. Web site: The Brahuis are not Brahuis. Araingang. 21 September 2022 .
  4. Book: The Encyclopaedia Britannica: Bisharin-Calgary . 1910 . At the University Press . 390 . en.
  5. Book: Tate, George Passman . Seistan: A Memoir on the History, Topography, Ruins, and People of the Country, in Four Parts . 1912 . Superintendent government printing . 291 . en.
  6. http://www.bdd.sdnpk.org/district_listing.htm Balochistan Administrative Districts database
  7. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DG25Df01.html Balochistan tribes threaten Pakistan's gas riches
  8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4195933.stm Explosive mix in Pakistan's gas province
  9. http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7855523 A quick death
  10. http://www.brooklynrail.org/2006/12/express/letter-from-baluchistan A Call to Resistance: The Khan of Kalat Gathers the Tribes
  11. http://www.chowk.com/articles/balochistan-militancy-an-insiders-view-Rafi-Bhatti.htm Balochistan Militancy - An Insider's View
  12. Web site: Daily Times - Latest Pakistan News, World, Business, Sports, Lifestyle .
  13. http://news.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/bnpm-leader-shot-dead-in-kalat-400
  14. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.page=2010\07\16\story_16-7-2010_pg1_4