Lasbela (princely state)

Lasbela state
لسبیلہ (Lasi)
Lasbela state لسبیلہ (Lasi)
1742–1955
	Flag
	Las Bela in Pakistan 1955 (in red)
Status	Independent kingdom (1742–1839); Princely state under British Raj (1876–1947); Princely state of Pakistan (1947–1955)
Capital	Bela
Common languages	Lasi (Sindhi); Balochi; Brahui;
Religion	Islam
Government	Absolute Monarchy
Jam
• 1742–1765	Jam Ali Khan I Koreja (first)
• 1937–1955	Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan Korejo (last)
History
• Established	1742
• Disestablished under One Unit Scheme	1955
Area
• Total	18,470 km2 (7,130 sq mi)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Mughal Empire
Pakistan
Today part of	Pakistan

Lasbela (Lasi: لسبیلہ) was a Jamote princely state in a subsidiary alliance with British Raj (later one of princely states of Pakistan) which existed from 1742 until 1955. The state occupied an extensive plain covering 7,132 sq mi (18,470 km²) of area to the southwest of Sind and southeast of Makran, with a long coastline along the Arabian Sea.

Lasbela was bordered by the princely states of Kalat and Makran to the north and west. To the east lay the province of Sind, and after 1947, to the southeast lay the Federal Capital Territory around the city of Karachi.

History

The state of Lasbela was founded in 1742 by Jam Ali Khan Korejo I, who was from the Jamote tribe. His descendants ruled Lasbela until 1955 when the state became part of West Pakistan. Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan, the last Jam of Lasbela, signed the Instrument of Accession to Pakistan.

For a period of three years between 3 October 1952 and 14 October 1955, Lasbela was part of the Baluchistan States Union but retained internal autonomy. In 1955, Lasbela was incorporated into the new province of West Pakistan and became part of Kalat Division. In 1960, the area of Lasbela was detached from Kalat Division and merged with the former Federal Capital Territory to form the division of Karachi-Bela division. When the provincial system was changed in 1970, Lasbela was made part of the newly created province of Balochistan.

Demographics

At the time of 1951 census, which was also the first census to be conducted in post-independence Pakistan, the total population of princely state of Lasbela was enumerated to be 75,769, out of which 39,465, or a little over than 52%, were ethnic Lasis, while 60,681 people of the state, or 80%, returned their language as Lasi, a dialect of Sindhi. Principal ethnic Lasi clans included Jamot (5,849), Runjha (5,659), Gonga (5,168), Angaria (4,939), Burra (3,740), Mandra (2,636), Sheikh (2,137), Shahok (1,770), and Mangia (1,609). Other ethnic groups were Baloch (9,544), Brahui (7,197), Jat (4,896), and Pashtun (593). Several other small ethnic groups included Gadra (8,523), Med (1,836), Khoja (609), and Langah (581). Hindu population was 1,015, or 1.3%.

Geography and climate

Lasbela has a hot, dry tropical desert climate, as it lies only a few degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer. The sea breezes though make the weather less extreme than inland Balochistan, where temperatures can reach 50 °C (122 °F) in the summer. The Pab Range stretched from Jhalawan to southeastern corner of Lasbela state, while whole of western Lasbela constituted a level alluvial plain. Sonmiani and Ormara were principal seaports.

Rulers

The hereditary rulers of Lasbela were styled as Jam. The Jams of Lasbela are believed to have claimed their ancestry from the Koreja Family of Samma of Sindh who also used the title of Jam.

Tenure	Jams of Lasbela
1742–1765	Jam Ali Khan I (surnamed Koreja)
1765–1776	Jam Ghulam Shah
1776–1818	Jam Mir Khan I
1818–1830	Jam Ali Khan II
1830–1869	Jam Mir Khan II (CIE, KCIE) (1st time)
1869–1886	Jam Sir Ali Khan III (KCIE) (1st time)
1886–1888	Sir Mir Khan II (KCIE) (2nd time)
1888–1896	Jam Sir Ali Khan III (CIE) (2nd time)
1896–1921	Jam Kamal Khan I (CIE)
1921–1937	Jam Ghulam Mohammad Khan (GCIE)
1937–1955	Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan (CIE)
14 October 1955	State of Lasbela dissolved
1955–1988	Jam Ghulam Qadir Khan (CIE)
1988–2012	Jam Mohammad Yousaf
2013 – present	Jam Kamal Khan II

Gallery

References

1 2 "Tombs of the Jam Nobles". The Friday Times. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2026. After death of Jam Aali, his son Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote became the new ruler of Lasbela. He was very wise ruler. During his rule, life and property were safe in Lasbela. Mir Naseer Khan, then ruler of Kalat, gave his daughter to Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote. The necropolis of the Jam rulers contains one of the most impressive stone carved graves in Balochistan. Unfortunately, all the tombs of the Jams of Lasbela are falling to pieces. There is a row of five stone carved graves built over platforms which are in dilapidated condition. The first tomb belongs to Jam Aali followed by Jam Dagar, Jam Dina or Dinar and Jam Jangi. There is no inscription on the fifth tomb. To the west of these tombs is located the chhatri or canopy of Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote Three tombs that lie under the chhatri. The first tomb belongs to Ghulam Shah Jamote, which carries following inscription Ghulam Shah Walid (son of) Jam Aali quom (caste) Jamote 1190 (circa 1776 AD
1 2 Quddus, Syed Abdul (1990). The Tribal Baluchistan. Ferozsons. p. 63. ISBN 978-969-0-10047-4. The former rulers of Makran and Lasbela, Gichki and Jamots respectively, are Rajputs.
1 2 The Encyclopaedia of Islām: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples. E. J. Brill. 1970. p. 632. The leading tribes, which are probably of Rājpūt origin are the Djāmot, to which the Djām or ruler of Lasbela belongs...
↑ Martin, Frederick; Keltie, Sir John Scott; Renwick, Isaac Parker Anderson; Epstein, Mortimer; Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry; Paxton, John; Hunter, Brian; Turner, Barry (1950). The Statesman's Year-book. Palgrave. p. 203.
↑ Aiyar, Mani Shankar (1994). Mani Shankar Aiyar's Pakistan Papers. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 131. ISBN 978-81-7476-008-1. Matters came to a head when the Jam Sahib of Lasbela alleged that members of his Jamote tribe had been attacked by Mengal tribesmen owing allegiance to their Sirdar, Chief Minister Ataullah Mengal
1 2 "Census of Pakistan, VOLUME 2 1951. Baluchistan: Report & Tables" (PDF). Manager of Publications, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. 1951.
↑ Boivin, Michel (18 March 2024). Devotion, Religious Authority, and Social Structures in Sindh: Khojas, Vanyos, and Faqirs. BRILL. p. 28. ISBN 978-90-04-69529-0.
↑ "Necropolis: City of silence". Dawn. 11 April 2010. The Jams of Lasbela are believed to have claimed their ancestry from Samma of Sindh who ruled over Sindh from 1351 to 1524. One of their ancestors Jam Araddin migrated from Sindh and settled in Kanrach during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569-1627).
↑ Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Pakistan Princely States". Retrieved 3 October 2007.

External links

The Government of Balochistan

[:3-1] 1 2 "Tombs of the Jam Nobles". The Friday Times. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2026. After death of Jam Aali, his son Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote became the new ruler of Lasbela. He was very wise ruler. During his rule, life and property were safe in Lasbela. Mir Naseer Khan, then ruler of Kalat, gave his daughter to Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote. The necropolis of the Jam rulers contains one of the most impressive stone carved graves in Balochistan. Unfortunately, all the tombs of the Jams of Lasbela are falling to pieces. There is a row of five stone carved graves built over platforms which are in dilapidated condition. The first tomb belongs to Jam Aali followed by Jam Dagar, Jam Dina or Dinar and Jam Jangi. There is no inscription on the fifth tomb. To the west of these tombs is located the chhatri or canopy of Jam Ghulam Shah Jamote Three tombs that lie under the chhatri. The first tomb belongs to Ghulam Shah Jamote, which carries following inscription Ghulam Shah Walid (son of) Jam Aali quom (caste) Jamote 1190 (circa 1776 AD

[:0-2] 1 2 Quddus, Syed Abdul (1990). The Tribal Baluchistan. Ferozsons. p. 63. ISBN 978-969-0-10047-4. The former rulers of Makran and Lasbela, Gichki and Jamots respectively, are Rajputs.

[:1-3] 1 2 The Encyclopaedia of Islām: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples. E. J. Brill. 1970. p. 632. The leading tribes, which are probably of Rājpūt origin are the Djāmot, to which the Djām or ruler of Lasbela belongs...

[4] Martin, Frederick; Keltie, Sir John Scott; Renwick, Isaac Parker Anderson; Epstein, Mortimer; Steinberg, Sigfrid Henry; Paxton, John; Hunter, Brian; Turner, Barry (1950). The Statesman's Year-book. Palgrave. p. 203.

[5] Aiyar, Mani Shankar (1994). Mani Shankar Aiyar's Pakistan Papers. UBS Publishers' Distributors. p. 131. ISBN 978-81-7476-008-1. Matters came to a head when the Jam Sahib of Lasbela alleged that members of his Jamote tribe had been attacked by Mengal tribesmen owing allegiance to their Sirdar, Chief Minister Ataullah Mengal

[:2-6] 1 2 "Census of Pakistan, VOLUME 2 1951. Baluchistan: Report & Tables" (PDF). Manager of Publications, Government of Pakistan, Karachi. 1951.

[7] Boivin, Michel (18 March 2024). Devotion, Religious Authority, and Social Structures in Sindh: Khojas, Vanyos, and Faqirs. BRILL. p. 28. ISBN 978-90-04-69529-0.

[8] "Necropolis: City of silence". Dawn. 11 April 2010. The Jams of Lasbela are believed to have claimed their ancestry from Samma of Sindh who ruled over Sindh from 1351 to 1524. One of their ancestors Jam Araddin migrated from Sindh and settled in Kanrach during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir (1569-1627).

[rulers-9] Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Pakistan Princely States". Retrieved 3 October 2007.