Kachhi District

The Kachhi Plains are the home of the archeological site of Mehrgarh. One of the most important Neolithic sites in archaeology, lies on what is now the Kachhi Plain of today's Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming (wheat and barley) and herding (cattle, sheep and goats) in South Asia.[5]

Map of India during the Vedic period, including Sindh.

Until the end of the 15th century the district had been a dependency of Sindh.[6] Around 1500, it was taken by Shah Beg of the Arghun Dynasty from the Samma Dynasty of the Sultans of Sindh. The territory was conquered by the Kalhoras Amirs of Sindh;[7][8] they were displaced by the Nadir Shah of Persia and he made it the part of Kalat Khanate in 1740.[9][10] Kachhi was notified as a district on February 1965. At that time Naseerabad, Jhal Magsi and Jafarabad districts were included; these were separated in 1987.

The district is administratively subdivided into the following tehsils:[3]

• Bhag
• Dhadar
• Machh
• Sani
• Khattan

The Union councils of Kachhi District are:

• Noushera
• Mehram
• Machh
• Jalal Khan
• Chalgari
• Sanni
• Chander
• Gazai
• Dhadar
• Masso
• Bashkya
• Mithri

According to the 1998 census, the main first languages in the sub-divisions of Mach, Dhadar and Sanni are Balochi (67%), Sindhi (13%) and Saraiki (11%).[11]

For centuries the main tribe of Bolan was Kurd Baloch, and the chief of Bolan was Sardar Mir Dinnar Khan Kurd Baloch. The major Baloch and Jamot tribes of the district are: Hanbhi Kurd, Rind, Siapad, Soomro, Bangulzai, Raisani, Abro, Talpur, Jamali, Babbar, Pahore, Airy and Sheikh also main population of tehsil Bhag. Jatoi tribe is in large number.

According to the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, district Kachhi is ranked at number 109 out of the 141 ranked districts in Pakistan on the education score index. This index considers learning, gender parity and retention in the district.

Literacy rate in 2014–15 of population 10 years and older in the district stood at 43% whereas for females it was only 23%.[12]

Post primary access is a major issue in the district with 86% schools being at primary level. Compare this with high schools which constitute only 6% of government schools in the district. This is also reflected in the enrolment figures for 2016–17 with 12,688 students enrolled in class 1 to 5 and only 261 students enrolled in class 9 and 10.

Gender disparity is another issue in the district. Only 28% schools in the district are girls’ schools. Access to education for girls is a major issue in the district and is also reflected in the low literacy rates for females.

Moreover, the schools in the district lack basic facilities. According to Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017, the district is ranked at number 139 out of the 155 districts of Pakistan for primary school infrastructure. At the middle school level, it is ranked at number 129 out of the 155 districts. These rankings take into account the basic facilities available in schools including drinking water, working toilet, availability of electricity, existence of a boundary wall and general building condition. More than half of the government schools in the district do not have electricity, toilet and a boundary wall. 213 out of 465 schools do not have clean drinking water.

The main issues for the district is the unavailability of teachers in schools.[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kachhi District.

• Kachhi District Development Profile 2011
• Sibi District

• 1998 District census report of Kachhi (Bolan). Census publication. 105. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.