Baloch people in the United Arab Emirates comprise residents of the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

whose ancestral roots lie in

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. ...

. The Baloch are one of the oldest migrant groups in the country.

History

Outside Balochistan, the largest Baloch diaspora communities reside in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

region, particularly

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

and the UAE. Many of the Baloch have been settled in the region before the formation of Pakistan and the UAE, forming part of the local

Bedoon The Bedoon or Bidoon (fully Bidoon jinsiya, ar, بدون ''Bidūn'' ar, بدون جنسية, 'without nationality') are stateless people in several Middle Eastern countries, but particularly in Kuwait, where there is a large population of state ...

community. The

Balochistan region 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. ...

lies on the

Iranian plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...

, located across the Persian Gulf. Due to the proximity between both regions, Baloch settlers have been in contact with the Persian Gulf since centuries. The Baloch are mentioned in Arabic chronicles dating back to the 10th century. The majority of Baloch migrants originate from the southern Makran coast. Baloch who resided in the

Trucial States The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...

prior to 1925 or before the formation of the union were offered the Emirati citizenship as per Article 17 of the United Arab Emirates Citizenship and Passport Law of Year 1972.

Demographics

The number of Baloch in the UAE is estimated to be anywhere from 215,000 to 468,000. The population has grown since 2006 when it was around 100,000. A number of Baloch serve in the UAE's armed forces. The Baloch are divided into numerous

tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

. These tribal networks extend into typically large connected families. One Baloch-Emirati man, Daad Mohammed Al Balushi, has 93 children and ranks among the world's

list of people with the most children This is a list of mothers said to have given birth to 20 or more children and men said to have fathered more than 25 children. Mothers and couples This section lists mothers who gave birth to at least 20 children. Numbers in bold and ''italics'' ...

Culture

The Baloch speak Balochi. The Gulf dialect of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

is also natively spoken by those who have been settled in the region for generations. A Balochi literary society under the name Balochi Labzanki Sarchammag is active in the UAE. In Balochi folklore, the Gulf is frequently referenced as a land of opportunities and employment. Poetry, lullabies or songs sung by women at weddings for instance contain references to the economic prosperity offered in Dubai. The surname

Al Balushi Al Balushi ( ar, البلوشي; alternatively Baloushi, Balooshi, Bloushi, Blushi or Blooshi) is a tribal surname common in the Persian Gulf region, particularly Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. It is a '' n ...

denotes Baloch ancestry and is widely used among the local Baloch. Some Baloch speak Persian and Urdu as languages from countries such as Iran and Pakistan.

References

{{Arab tribes in the United Arab Emirates

Ethnic groups in the United Arab Emirates Pakistani diaspora in the United Arab Emirates Iranian diaspora in the United Arab Emirates

History

Demographics

Culture

See also

References