Page 11 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

In Tehsil Kot Addu, Rajputs are mostly settled in the city area as well as
Chowk Sarwar Shaheed and Daira Din Panah.

Arains
The Arains have primarily settled in the district after partition, and came
from Jalandhar and other districts of central Punjab. Most of them have been
introduced by the Thal Development Authority, and started as occupancy
tenants only.
As cultivators they are more skillful and industrious than the Jats, but they
do not own or manage large estates. They have small holdings instead, out
of which they make the most. In fact, they are unrivalled as market-
gardeners.

Balochs
Balochs are found generally throughout the district, and are second only to
the Jats in numbers. As per the above-mentioned projection, they make up
to 30% of the total population of Muzaffargarh. The Balochs differ little from
the Jats, with whom they have freely intermarried and mixed. A Baloch can
in fact hardly be distinguished from a Jat. In this district, they cannot even
boast that they excel in the standard Baloch virtues of hospitality, sturdiness
and bravery. They don’t speak or understand Balochi language either. They
have simple living, and even otherwise too they are not shrewd or clever.
The Balochs are more numerous on the bank of the Indus, particularly in
Alipur and Jatoi tehsils, and decrease in number as one moves from south
to north in the district.
There are many Baloch tribes, but they have not arranged themselves into
Tumman like the Balochs inhabiting the tribal belt of the neighbouring Dera
Ghazi Khan. No tribe is pre-eminent on account of descent; and the only
common bond is the name Baloch. Their chief tribes are the Chandias, who
were the first ones to arrive in the district from the barren hills of Balochistan
and settled here; the Gurmanis; the Gopangs; the Jatois; the Legharis; the
Mastois; the Lasharis; the Pitafis; the Rinds; the Dastis; and the Dareshaks.
Amongst them, the Jatois and Legahris mostly inhabit Tehsil Jatoi. The
Gopangs call the shots in Tehsil Alipur. As far as Tehsil Muzaffargarh is
concerned, Qalandranis reside in the town of Baseera; and that is why it is
also known as Baseera Qalandrani. Mauza Wan Pitafi is populated by the
Pitafis. The Sanjranis mostly live in Mauza Sabzo Jat. Karam Dad Qureshi is
populated by a large number of Sohranis. The Dastis are settled in Baseera
and some other areas of Tehsil Muzaffargarh.
In Kot Addu, at least 6-7 mauzas have been named after the Gurmanis,
owing to their presence in large numbers there, such as Gurmani Sharqi,
Gurmani Gharbi, Kacha Gurmani, and Thatta Gurmani. They own big land
holdings. The Rinds are mostly settled towards the Taunsa Barrage area. The

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