The Shepherds of Koh-e-Suliman

This book is the outcome of a study of the socio-economic life of a group of Baloch tribes living in the Koh-i-Sulaiman range of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. An overwhelming majority of the Balochi and Pashto speaking tribes of the Sulaiman mountain range lead a semi-nomadic life and manage to eke out a bare subsistence living by raising animals, mainly sheep and goat. Life in these mountains has never been luxurious and never enviable to outsiders. But, those who live here truly love their rugged mountains, their pristine natural environment, and the freedom to live their lives according to their customs and traditions. They believe that their cherished Baloch values could only be preserved in the safety and security of the mountains. A mountain Baloch is proud to call himself a Koh Baloch which translated in English implies, “A mountain man always lives free”. However, during the past few decades changes with important and far reaching consequences have taken place in the general Sulaiman mountain region. Both human and animal populations have increased, external market influences have penetrated, and the rangeland resources, the mainstay of the local economy, have greatly degenerated. As a consequence people of the area are faced with unprecedented levels of poverty, deprivation, and suffering.

I was born and spent my early childhood in Andarpur-Maari section along the western slopes of the Sulaiman mountain range. For a few years in the 1940s, I accompanied my family in their nomadic movements in search of better pastures. I ended up living in some of the most beautiful places in the United States of America, but my intense love for the mountains and the nomadic Baloch way of life have always stayed with me. While a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii, U.S.A., I returned to my native tribal land for my doctoral dissertation research. I had originally planned to study the purely economic factors behind rapid depletion of the Koh-i-Sulaiman tribal rangelands and deterioration of the living standards of the tribesmen. I soon discovered, however, that the local tribal economy was an inextricable part of the local culture and society, as Dalton had earlier discovered. (Dalton, 1967). I, therefore, decided to study the entire tribal economy, with particular emphasis on the impact of social institutions and economic forces on resource use, productivity and economic growth.For downloading please click the below Download two button. If one link do not work properly when you download the book. Another link please clicks and downloads. For User easiness we upload the book on two links name is Download Book and Read Book Online.