Baloch people in Sindh

According to the 2023 Pakistan census, the total population of Sindh is 57,931,907.

Up to 40% of the Sindhis have ethnically Baloch ancestry, the Baloch tribes having settled in Sindh mainly in the 16th century.[4]

This gives an approximate number of 11.8 million of Sindhis with some Baloch ancestry.

The Talpur dynasty (Sindhi: تالپردور, Balochi: تالپرء اۏبادگ) was a Sindhi speaking Baloch tribe settled in Sindh and Balochistan who ruled the region. The Talpurs were ethnically Baloch and Shia Muslims by faith. They ruled from 1783 until 1843, when they were defeated by the British at the Battle of Miani and Battle of Dubbo. The northern Khairpur branch of the Talpur dynasty however, continued to maintain a degree of sovereignty during British rule as the princely state of Khairpur.[5] Its ruler joined the new Dominion of Pakistan in October 1947 as an autonomous region in Pakistan.

It is believed that the Balochs migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age.[6] The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries,[7][8][9] or alternatively, from about 1300[10] to about 1850.[11][12][13] Although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions.

According to Dr Akhtar Baloch of the University of Karachi, the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was uninhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in Sindh and Punjab.[14]

Balochs of Sindh mostly migrated from Balochistan to Sindh from 16th to 19th century.[6] Majority of Balochs in Sindh historically speak Siraiki as their mother tongue, that was the reason that in old times "Balochki" term was used interchangeably for Siraiki dialect by Sindhis.[15][16] even today many balochs speak Siraiki as their first language, however many balochs of urban Sindh only speak Sindhi as first language. Today most balochs speak Sindhi and Siraiki as their first languages. Nomad Balochs of border areas of Balochistan and Sindh speak a mixed dialect of Sindhi and Balochi.

Recent migrated Sindhi Balochs are divided into two dialect speakers. Baloch of upper districts of Sindh speak Sulemani (eastern balochi) dialect of Balochi and lower districts like Karachi and in other districts, Baloch speak Makrani (Southern balochi) dialect. A small number of Brahuis also speak Brahui. This language is also spoken in central districts of Balochistan.

• Bhagnari