Kalāt or Qalāt (), historically known as Qīqān or Kaikan is the historical capital of Kalat State and Kalat-e-Sewa.

Qalat, formerly Kalat, is located roughly in the center of the Balochistan province, ‌‌and in the past, the capital of Balochistan (in Kalat State

Name

In the Balochi language word Kalat is applied to a fort in general to distinguish it from Kalāt-e Ghilzai in Afghanistan, and Kalat-e Sewa after its legendary founder.

Six battles of Kikan (Six battles of Kikanan/Kizkanan): The legendary battles of Kinan parallel the battle of Thermopylae, where a small contingent of pastoral Jat warriors defeated a massive Muslim army. Despite facing a vastly superior Muslim military in numbers, training, and weaponry, Jats inflicted a crushing defeat on Arabic invaders, a humiliation so profound it was taken personally by the Muslim Caliph. Chach Nama reports that during the Arab Muslim invasion of Sindh, the mountain-dwelling brave and agile Jats of Kikan or Kikanan or Kizkanan,likely present-day Kalat, near Bolan Pass in Balochistan summarily defeated invading Arabic Muslim forces of Haras and killed Haras in 662 CE, only a small portion of Muslim forces returned to Umayyad Caliphate. The impact of Muslim defeat was so significant that for next 20 years each successive caliph made Kikan a special target for attack and sent 6 expeditions of which 5 "failed miserably" and "failed to make any permanent impression" in Sindh.

In the 15th century Kalat was conquered by the Brahui Balochis (Mirwari) of the Hindu Sewa dynasty and they established a large kingdom, while the highest temperature ever recorded was on 19 June 1977.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Kalat has population of 44,440.

Languages

The population is mostly Muslim (97 percent), with a Hindu population of three percent, out of which many are Hindkowan merchants who regard Kalat as their homeland.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Religious groups in Kalat City (1941 & 2017)

! rowspan="2" |Religious<br>group

! colspan="2" |1941

! colspan="2" |2017

|-

!Population (human biology)|

!

!

!

|-

| Islam 15px

| 2,049

|

| 35,547

|

|-

| Hinduism 15px

| 381

|

| 1,234

|

|-

| Sikhism 15px

| 33

|

|

|

|-

| Christianity 15px

| 0

|

| 13

|

|-

| Ahmadiyya 15px

|

|

| 2

|

|-

! Total population

! 2,463

!

! 36,796

!

|}

Kalat Kali Temple

There is a Hindu temple devoted to Kali. On 21 December 2010, the 82 year old chief-priest was abducted in what was reported as part of increasingly routine targeting of minority Hindus in the province. The Kali Temple of Kalat is located at the foot of the ancient city fort of Kalat state. This temple was built before the arrival of Islam in South Asia.

See also

  • Mu'awiya I's Campaigns in Qiqan (Kalat)

References

  • Kalat district - The Planning and Development Department of the Government of Balochistan
  • The Land and People of Baluchistan

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