Chabahar
Encyclopedia
Chah Bahar is a city in and capital of Chah Bahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran
. Chah Bahar is a free port
(Free Trade Zone
) on the coast of the Gulf of Oman
. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,070, in 13,837 families. Chah Bahar is Iran's southernmost city.
Chabahar is situated on the Makran Coast
of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iran's government. Due to its free trade zone
status, the city has increased in significance in international trade. The overwhelming majority of the city's inhabitants are ethnic Baluch
who speak the Baluchi language.
. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iran for development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean
and Central Asia
. The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the area residents.
Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India
) and Middle East (Dubai
) to central Asian and Afghanistan
market. The government plan to link Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to central Asia and Afghanistan. This would provide more capability for Chabahar to foster faster logistics sector that is a basic to achieve better position comparing to its competitor (Pakistani port of Gwadar
)
ation through air, sea and roads. Its Konarak Airport
has twice daily flights to the capital Tehran
, thrice weekly flights to Zahedan
and twice weekly flights to Mashhad
, Shiraz
and Bandar Abbas
. It has also a weekly international flight to Doha
and Dubai
and a biweekly flight to Mascat. Chabahar has two jetties that connect it to international waterways. Iranian contractors are developing both jetties to provide port facilities for handling of 6 million tons of goods a year; this is expected to be completed by 2011. Chabahar is connected to national road networks. Chabahar-Bandar Abbas, Chabahar-Iranshahr
-Kerman
, Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak (on the Afghanistan border) are four main routes connecting Chabahar to national and international roads.
The government is pursuing a multi-billion dollar railway project which was named "Iran's eastern corridor" by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. It will connect Chabahar port to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Central Iran. This project would have three branches including Chabahar-Iranshahr Fahraj County, Chabahar-Iranshahre-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak. Construction began in December 2010.
India is finalising a plan to construct a 900-km railway line that will connect Chabahar
port in Iran
, being built with Indian help, to the mineral-rich Hajigak
region of Afghanistan.
wrote in 584 A.H. about the Tiz Port and the commerce and trade that went on in it. Tis was formerly an active commercial port, and was destroyed by the Mongols. There are still some ruins in the village. The Portuguese
were the first colonial country to attack the Makran
(Oman) Sea. The Portuguese forces under Afonso de Albuquerque
gained control of Chabahar and Tis, staying there until 1031 A.H. The British, and later the Portuguese in the 17th century (year 1616) AC (1026 A.H.), entered this region.
Modern Chabahar dates back about 40 years, when it declared a municipality and large port projects started by order of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
. At that time, it had participation from foreign companies, especially from the United States. After 1979, revolution foreign companies left projects and Iranian public companies linked to the ministry of jahade sazandegi (or jihad for construction) took over them. The Iraq-Iran war caused Chabahar to gain in logistical and strategic importance. War brought insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz
and ships were unable to enter Persian Gulf; this situation urged Iranians to use Chabahar as a main port during the war. In the 1980s, Iranian government developed a new scheme named the Eastern Axis Development Scheme, which aimed to use Chabahar's geographical position as a regional development tool to stimulate economic growth in the eastern provinces. Establishment of Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
in 1992 was the result of that scheme, which brought more development and provoked immigration from other parts of the country to Chabahar.
Sunni faith and very close to the Deobandi
school in India. Their leader and main cleric is Maulana Abdul Rahman Mollazahi. He leads a big madrasa known as Arabia Islamia. Other faiths were also growing because of immigration. Shias linked to Ja'fari jurisprudence
are most important after Sunnis. Other minority faiths also can be found in Chabahar, including the Baha'i Faith, Zikri
s and kojas or Ismaili
.
are Hakom
es or superior tribes, independent influential tribes are in the middle, and other inferior weak tribes are at the bottom of the pyramid. Hakomes are Khan
s or Sardar
s, which in Chabahar refers to Sardarzahi
and Boledehi
tribes. Hoot and Mir (jadgal
s) are examples of independent, influential tribes which are at the next higher level in the hierarchy. There are many tribes in the upper and lower middle level, but at the bottom are former slaves from eastern Africa that have been brought by colonialists and Arab traders, especially Omanis, to the Makran Coastal area. These tribes are known as Darzada
, Nokar, Sheedi and Gholams.
Development of education and economic growth in the past two decades are gradually eliminating social gaps between different tribes, but certain gaps do remain; it is obvious in relationships among people, especially in marriages that are restricted within tribes and classes. Urbanization and growing immigration have encouraged cross-ethnic marriages between Baluchis and Persians; this trend shows that Chabahar is in transition from a traditionalist society to a modern city.
The dominant culture in Chabahar is similar to other parts of Makran and very close to Pakistan's south Baluchistan; clothes, music and cultural norms are the same as in other parts of Makran. Women often wear precious hand-woven needlework clothes known as Pashk with an embroidered chromatic and fine scarf named Sarig; Indian and Arabic ornaments and jewelry are popular. Men wear loose, long, white clothes with a turban or hat on the head, similar to South Asian Muslim
s (Indians and Pakistanis). Baluchi music
has centuries-old roots and is the most listened-to genre of music in Chabahar. Although Chabahar is not a music-producing center, music products are imported from Pakistan. It is usual for Chabahari people to invite Pakistani Baluchistan's singers
to perform at their celebrations, especially at wedding ceremonies. Mulla Kamal Khan
was a prominent singer who lived in Chabahar and died in 2010. Ghulam Rasool Dinar Zai, a once-famous but now marginalized Baluch musician and singer, also lives in Chabahar. After Baluchi music, Indian film music
is the next most popular form of music among the current generation; banned Persian music
is third in popularity.
Cultural norms are very affected by tribal and religious structure of the society. Relationships between men and women before marriage are limited and forms according to Islamic norms. Dance for high profile tribes for both men and women is a kind of stain. Clan chieftains have the last say even in voting and elections. Obligatory tribal marriages, polygamy
, tribal vengeance and chastity murder are common. Growing education is weakening old cultural norms in such a way that the newer generation no longer accept them and it seems Chabahar will be dramatically changed in coming years .
is helping develop the Chabahar Port, which will give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states. By so doing, India hopes to compete with the Chinese, who are building Gwadar Port
, in Pakistani Baluchistan
.
Iran plans to use Chabahar for transshipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia, while keeping the port of Bandar Abbas
as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.
India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.
Work on the Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj
-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. Iran is, with Indian aid, upgrading the Chabahar-Milak road and constructing a bridge on the route to Zaranj. India's BRO is laying the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road. It is a part of India's USD 750 million aid package to Afghanistan.
The Chabahar port project is Iran's chance to end its US-sponsored economic isolation and benefit form the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the North-South corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia is intended to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa.
India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea
to bypass Pakistan, using the Chabahar port. Both the countries are pondering the delivery of natural gas produced in Turkmenistan
with Indian assistance to north Iran while the Islamic Republic will send natural gas from its southern deposits to Indian consumers. This pipeline is conceived by India to replace the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the negotiations for which have dragged on due to the worsening of relations between India and Pakistan.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Chah Bahar is a free port
Free port
A free port or free zone , sometimes also called a bonded area is a port, port area or other area with relaxed jurisdiction with respect to the country of location...
(Free Trade Zone
Free trade zone
A free trade zone or export processing zone , also called foreign-trade zone, formerly free port is an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and reexported without the intervention of the customs authorities...
) on the coast of the Gulf of Oman
Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea. On the north coast is Pakistan and Iran...
. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,070, in 13,837 families. Chah Bahar is Iran's southernmost city.
Chabahar is situated on the Makran Coast
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iran's government. Due to its free trade zone
Free trade zone
A free trade zone or export processing zone , also called foreign-trade zone, formerly free port is an area within which goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and reexported without the intervention of the customs authorities...
status, the city has increased in significance in international trade. The overwhelming majority of the city's inhabitants are ethnic Baluch
Baloch people
The Baloch or Baluch are an ethnic group that belong to the larger Iranian peoples. Baluch people mainly inhabit the Balochistan region and Sistan and Baluchestan Province in the southeast corner of the Iranian plateau in Western Asia....
who speak the Baluchi language.
Etymology
Name roots from Persian char that means four and bahar that means Spring. Hence, it means a place that all four seasons of the year are Spring time.Economic significance
Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iran for development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the area residents.
Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone is an Iranian free trade zone formed according to the law on the establishment and administration of free trade–industrial zones ....
. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) and Middle East (Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
) to central Asian and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
market. The government plan to link Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to central Asia and Afghanistan. This would provide more capability for Chabahar to foster faster logistics sector that is a basic to achieve better position comparing to its competitor (Pakistani port of Gwadar
Gwadar
Gwadar also known as Godar is a developing port city on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. It is the district headquarters of Gwadar District in Balochistan province and has a population of approximately 50,000.Gwadar is strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the...
)
Transportation
Chabahar is connected to multimodal transportMultimodal transport
Multimodal transport is the transportation of goods under a single contract, but performed with at least two different means of transport; the carrier is liable for the entire carriage, even though it is performed by several different modes of transport...
ation through air, sea and roads. Its Konarak Airport
Konarak Airport
Konarak Airport is an airport in Chabahar, Iran .-Airlines and destinations:...
has twice daily flights to the capital Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, thrice weekly flights to Zahedan
Zahedan
Zahedan is a city in and the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 552,706, in 109,488 families.-Geography:...
and twice weekly flights to Mashhad
Mashhad
Mashhad , is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world. It is also the only major Iranian city with an Arabic name. It is located east of Tehran, at the center of the Razavi Khorasan Province close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its...
, Shiraz
Shiraz
Shiraz may refer to:* Shiraz, Iran, a city in Iran* Shiraz County, an administrative subdivision of Iran* Vosketap, Armenia, formerly called ShirazPeople:* Hovhannes Shiraz, Armenian poet* Ara Shiraz, Armenian sculptor...
and Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas
Bandar-Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās , also Romanized as Bandar ‘Abbās, Bandar ‘Abbāsī, and Bandar-e ‘Abbās; formerly known as Cambarão and Port Comorão to Portuguese traders, as Gombroon to English traders and as Gamrun or Gumrun to Dutch merchants) is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on...
. It has also a weekly international flight to Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
and Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and a biweekly flight to Mascat. Chabahar has two jetties that connect it to international waterways. Iranian contractors are developing both jetties to provide port facilities for handling of 6 million tons of goods a year; this is expected to be completed by 2011. Chabahar is connected to national road networks. Chabahar-Bandar Abbas, Chabahar-Iranshahr
Iranshahr
Iranshahr is a city in and capital of Iranshahr County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 99,496, in 17,698 families. The city is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Baloch speaking the Balochi language....
-Kerman
Kerman
- Geological characteristics :For the Iranian paleontologists, Kerman has always been considered a fossil paradise. Finding new dinosaur footprints in 2005 has now revealed new hopes for paleontologists to better understand the history of this area.- Economy :...
, Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak (on the Afghanistan border) are four main routes connecting Chabahar to national and international roads.
The government is pursuing a multi-billion dollar railway project which was named "Iran's eastern corridor" by President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. It will connect Chabahar port to Central Asia, Afghanistan and Central Iran. This project would have three branches including Chabahar-Iranshahr Fahraj County, Chabahar-Iranshahre-Zahedan-Mashahd and Chabahar-Iranshahr-Zahedan-Milak. Construction began in December 2010.
India is finalising a plan to construct a 900-km railway line that will connect Chabahar
Chabahar
Chah Bahar is a city in and capital of Chah Bahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. Chah Bahar is a free port on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. At the 2006 census, its population was 71,070, in 13,837 families...
port in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, being built with Indian help, to the mineral-rich Hajigak
Hajigak
The Hajigak Pass is situated at a height of above sea-level and is one of the two main routes from Kabul to Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, leading across the Koh-i Baba range....
region of Afghanistan.
History
The city of Chabahar does not have a long history. There is a fishing village named Tis in its neighborhood, which dates from 2500 BC, known in Alexander the Great's conquests as Tiz, eventually renamed Tis. In addition, in his book Aqd al-Ala lel-Moghefe al Ahla, Afdhal al-Din abu Hamid KermaniAfdhal al-Din abu Hamid Kermani
Afdhal al-Din Abu Hamid Kermani lived: 1136-1218, historian, author, poet and philosopher, and Iranian doctor contemporary to Seljuk king Malik Dinar...
wrote in 584 A.H. about the Tiz Port and the commerce and trade that went on in it. Tis was formerly an active commercial port, and was destroyed by the Mongols. There are still some ruins in the village. The Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
were the first colonial country to attack the Makran
Makran
The present day Makran is a semi-desert coastal strip in the south of Sindh, Balochistan, in Iran and Pakistan, along the coast of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The present day Makran derived its name from Maka, a satrap of Achaemenid Empire....
(Oman) Sea. The Portuguese forces under Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque[p][n] was a Portuguese fidalgo, or nobleman, an admiral whose military and administrative activities as second governor of Portuguese India conquered and established the Portuguese colonial empire in the Indian Ocean...
gained control of Chabahar and Tis, staying there until 1031 A.H. The British, and later the Portuguese in the 17th century (year 1616) AC (1026 A.H.), entered this region.
Modern Chabahar dates back about 40 years, when it declared a municipality and large port projects started by order of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
. At that time, it had participation from foreign companies, especially from the United States. After 1979, revolution foreign companies left projects and Iranian public companies linked to the ministry of jahade sazandegi (or jihad for construction) took over them. The Iraq-Iran war caused Chabahar to gain in logistical and strategic importance. War brought insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman....
and ships were unable to enter Persian Gulf; this situation urged Iranians to use Chabahar as a main port during the war. In the 1980s, Iranian government developed a new scheme named the Eastern Axis Development Scheme, which aimed to use Chabahar's geographical position as a regional development tool to stimulate economic growth in the eastern provinces. Establishment of Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone
Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone is an Iranian free trade zone formed according to the law on the establishment and administration of free trade–industrial zones ....
in 1992 was the result of that scheme, which brought more development and provoked immigration from other parts of the country to Chabahar.
Religions and sects
A majority of Chabahar's people are Baluchs linked to the HanafiHanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
Sunni faith and very close to the Deobandi
Deobandi
Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
school in India. Their leader and main cleric is Maulana Abdul Rahman Mollazahi. He leads a big madrasa known as Arabia Islamia. Other faiths were also growing because of immigration. Shias linked to Ja'fari jurisprudence
Ja'fari jurisprudence
Jaʿfarī school of thought, Ja`farite School, Jaʿfarī jurisprudence or Jaʿfarī Fiqh is the school of jurisprudence of most Shi'a Muslims, derived from the name of Jaʿfar as-Ṣādiq, the 6th Shi'a Imam...
are most important after Sunnis. Other minority faiths also can be found in Chabahar, including the Baha'i Faith, Zikri
Zikri
The Zikris are a branch of Islam settled in Balochistan region of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. They are followers of Imam e Akhar Zama . The name Zikri comes from the Arabic word dhikr . The Zikri sect developed within Sunni Hanafi during the 18th century Mahdi movement as a reaction to British...
s and kojas or Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
.
Society and culture
Society and culture in Chabahar gained its characteristics from the classified tribal community of the Makran region. In this classification, Chabahar society is divided into superior and inferior tribes. Social structure is hierarchical; at the top of the pyramidPyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
are Hakom
Hakom
Hakom::refers to Sardars and khans in Iranian Baluchistan Makran region, system on which Hakom governs is called Hakomate, family of Hakoms named as Hakomzat...
es or superior tribes, independent influential tribes are in the middle, and other inferior weak tribes are at the bottom of the pyramid. Hakomes are Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
s or Sardar
Sardar
Sardar is a title of Indo-Aryan origin that was originally used to denote feudal princes, noblemen, and other aristocrats. It was later applied to indicate a Head of State, a Commander-in-chief, and an Army military rank...
s, which in Chabahar refers to Sardarzahi
Sardarzahi
Sardarzahi refers to sardars or rulers in south Baluchistan, Bahu district. Sardarzahis were originally from Jadgal ancestry who emigrated from the Indus river area to bahu district....
and Boledehi
Boledehi
Boledehirefers to khans and sardars in south Baluchistan, Sarbaz and Chabahar counties, boledehies for centuries were Hakoms of Dashtyari, Bahu and Rask, their Hakomate in Bahu were collapsed after emigration and attack of a sindhi aboriginal tribe called saddazahi or sardarzahi but they remained...
tribes. Hoot and Mir (jadgal
Jadgal
The Jadgal الزدجالي, جدجال is an Arab tribe origin, who are settled throughout the Sindh, Balochistan region of Pakistan, and Iran in the Sistan and Baluchistan region. They are also found in Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Iraq...
s) are examples of independent, influential tribes which are at the next higher level in the hierarchy. There are many tribes in the upper and lower middle level, but at the bottom are former slaves from eastern Africa that have been brought by colonialists and Arab traders, especially Omanis, to the Makran Coastal area. These tribes are known as Darzada
Darzada
The Darzada tribe, also known as Darzadag, is one of the tribes of Baloch people. The largest population lives in Makran.-Description:These people originally inhabited the Arabian Peninsula and other Gulf countries...
, Nokar, Sheedi and Gholams.
Development of education and economic growth in the past two decades are gradually eliminating social gaps between different tribes, but certain gaps do remain; it is obvious in relationships among people, especially in marriages that are restricted within tribes and classes. Urbanization and growing immigration have encouraged cross-ethnic marriages between Baluchis and Persians; this trend shows that Chabahar is in transition from a traditionalist society to a modern city.
The dominant culture in Chabahar is similar to other parts of Makran and very close to Pakistan's south Baluchistan; clothes, music and cultural norms are the same as in other parts of Makran. Women often wear precious hand-woven needlework clothes known as Pashk with an embroidered chromatic and fine scarf named Sarig; Indian and Arabic ornaments and jewelry are popular. Men wear loose, long, white clothes with a turban or hat on the head, similar to South Asian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s (Indians and Pakistanis). Baluchi music
Balochi music
Balochi music refers to music performed by the Baloch people in Sistan and Baluchestan Province an eastern province in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Balochistan, a western province in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, southern Oman, some parts of Afghanistan and Middle East. Baluchi music is very...
has centuries-old roots and is the most listened-to genre of music in Chabahar. Although Chabahar is not a music-producing center, music products are imported from Pakistan. It is usual for Chabahari people to invite Pakistani Baluchistan's singers
Music of Pakistan
The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from various parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian, Persian, Turkish, Arabic and modern day Western popular music influences...
to perform at their celebrations, especially at wedding ceremonies. Mulla Kamal Khan
Mulla Kamal Khan
Mulla Kamal Khan or Kamalan :Mulla Kamal Khan or Kamalan :Mulla Kamal Khan or Kamalan :(Persian: (ملا کمال خان یا کمالان ) Lived (1941 – February 21, 2010). Was a Baluch-Iranian folklore vocalist, he was born in 1941 in Latidan village, Dashtyari district, Chabahar County in the Sistan and...
was a prominent singer who lived in Chabahar and died in 2010. Ghulam Rasool Dinar Zai, a once-famous but now marginalized Baluch musician and singer, also lives in Chabahar. After Baluchi music, Indian film music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
is the next most popular form of music among the current generation; banned Persian music
Persian music
Persian traditional music is the traditional and indigenous music of Iran: mūsīqī, the science and art of music, and moosiqi, the sound and performance of music .-Origins:Archeological evidence reveals musical instruments that were...
is third in popularity.
Cultural norms are very affected by tribal and religious structure of the society. Relationships between men and women before marriage are limited and forms according to Islamic norms. Dance for high profile tribes for both men and women is a kind of stain. Clan chieftains have the last say even in voting and elections. Obligatory tribal marriages, polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
, tribal vengeance and chastity murder are common. Growing education is weakening old cultural norms in such a way that the newer generation no longer accept them and it seems Chabahar will be dramatically changed in coming years .
Climate
The county of Chabahar has a warm humid weather in the summer and temperate weather in the winter. The monsoon winds in the summer and the western winds in the winter bring about scattered rainfalls in this region. The monsoon winds from the Indian subcontinent (in the monsoon season) make Chabahar the coolest southern port in the summer and the warmest part of Iran in the winter. It has an average maximum temperature of 34 ˚C and an average minimum temperature of 10.5 ˚C. It has the same latitude as Miami in Florida, USA, and weather conditions are very similar to those in Miami.Chabahar Port
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is helping develop the Chabahar Port, which will give it access to the oil and gas resources in Iran and the Central Asian states. By so doing, India hopes to compete with the Chinese, who are building Gwadar Port
Gwadar port
Gwadar Port is a developing warm-water, deep-sea port situated at Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460 km west of Karachi and approximately east of Pakistan's border with Iran...
, in Pakistani Baluchistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
.
Iran plans to use Chabahar for transshipment to Afghanistan and Central Asia, while keeping the port of Bandar Abbas
Bandar Abbas
Bandar-Abbas or Bandar-e ‘Abbās , also Romanized as Bandar ‘Abbās, Bandar ‘Abbāsī, and Bandar-e ‘Abbās; formerly known as Cambarão and Port Comorão to Portuguese traders, as Gombroon to English traders and as Gamrun or Gumrun to Dutch merchants) is a port city and capital of Hormozgān Province on...
as a major hub mainly for trade with Russia and Europe.
India, Iran and Afghanistan have signed an agreement to give Indian goods, heading for Central Asia and Afghanistan, preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar.
Work on the Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj
Zaranj
Zaranj or Zarang is a border town in south-western Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 49,851 people as of 2004. It is the capital of Nimruz province and is situated next to Milak, Iran. It is linked by highways with Lashkar Gah to the east, Farah to the north and Zabol in Iran to the...
-Dilaram route from Iran to Afghanistan is in progress. Iran is, with Indian aid, upgrading the Chabahar-Milak road and constructing a bridge on the route to Zaranj. India's BRO is laying the 213-kilometer Zaranj-Dilaram road. It is a part of India's USD 750 million aid package to Afghanistan.
The Chabahar port project is Iran's chance to end its US-sponsored economic isolation and benefit form the resurgent Indian economy. Along with Bandar Abbas, Chabahar is the Iranian entrepot on the North-South corridor. A strategic partnership between India, Iran and Russia is intended to establish a multi-modal transport link connecting Mumbai with St. Petersburg, providing Europe and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia access to Asia and vice versa.
India and Iran are discussing building a gas pipeline between the two countries along the bed of the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
to bypass Pakistan, using the Chabahar port. Both the countries are pondering the delivery of natural gas produced in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
with Indian assistance to north Iran while the Islamic Republic will send natural gas from its southern deposits to Indian consumers. This pipeline is conceived by India to replace the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, the negotiations for which have dragged on due to the worsening of relations between India and Pakistan.
See also
- International University of ChabaharInternational University of ChabaharInternational University of Chabahar , is located in the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone, in the city of Chabahar, part of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in Iran.-Affiliates:...
- Free Trade Zones in Iran
External links
- http://www.sb-ostan.ir/DesktopModules/OrgAmar/OrgAmar_813_64.pdf
- http://www.iranchamber.com/people/articles/cultural_anthropology_of_baluchis.php