Derajat

Derajat
ڈیرہ جاٹ
Provinces Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Punjab
Area
 • Total36,474 km2 (14,083 sq mi)
Demographics
 • Ethnic groupsSaraikis, Baloch
Minor: Pashtuns
Punjabis
 • LanguagesSaraiki, Balochi, Punjabi, Pashto, Urdu
Time zonePakistan Standard Time
Largest cities

Derajat (Urdu: ڈیرہ جات, the plural of the word 'dera' lit.'Camps')[1][2] is a historical and cultural region in central Pakistan, bounded by the Indus River to the east and the Sulaiman Mountains to the west. It is located in the area where the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan meet.[3][4]

Derajat includes the present-day administrative districts of Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Taunsa and Tank in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces. The "Baloch Derajat" (consisting of Dera Bugti, Dera Allah Yar and Dera Murad Jamali) is adjacent to Derajat towards the southwest in Balochistan. The people of Derajat are called Derawal, and the varieties of Saraiki they speak are collectively called Derawali dialect, also known locally as Hindki. Pashto and Balochi languages are spoken in the northern and western parts of Derajat, respectively.

  1. ^ Breseeg, Taj Mohammad (2004). Baloch Nationalism: Its Origin and Development. Royal Book Company. p. 312. ISBN 978-969-407-309-5. Derajat: several camps, the term is used for the Baloch areas of Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Fateh Khan and Dera Ismail Khan.
  2. ^ Burnes, Sir Alexander; Leech, Robert; Lord, Perceval Barton; Wood, John (1839). "Reports and Papers, Political, Geographical, & Commercial Submitted to Government by Alexander Burnes, Lieutenant Leech, Doctor Lord, and Lieutenant Wood, Employed on Missions in the Years 1835-36-37 in Scinde, Affghanisthan, and Adjacent Countries".
  3. ^ "About Punjab: Geography". Tourism Development Corporation, Government of the Punjab. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  4. ^ "People & Culture". Government of the North-West Frontier Province. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2007-12-14.