Maintenance and Assimilation of Ethnic Identity in an Urban Setting: A case study of an immigrant Baloch tribe settled in a town of Southern Punjab

Abstract

The present research was conducted to explore the maintenance and assimilation of ethnic identity in a Baloch (Buzdar 1 ) immigrant tribe settled since long time in taunsa, thus making the area a complex organization of mainly two groups of separate etlmic origins. The research focused on the ways in which the socially held notions of the individuals of Baloch migrant group about their own selves were incorporated in social actions to fonn a distinct identity. It must be mentioned that the proposed research explores the maintenance and assimilation of a migrant tribal group's distinct identity through actions carried out with predefined notions of who "I" am or "we" are. Balochs who have been specifically called here as Buzdars , living in the mountains of a Suleman2 range migrated to the eastel11 city of taunsa sharif in different phases. For diverse reasons, Buzdars had started their migration to taunsa since 1950s as they left the rough mountainous belt called Koh-e-Suleman, which surrounds the Punjab 's district of Dera Ghazi khan from its southern and western sides and links the district with eastel11 districts of Balochistan. This trend to migrate to the city of Taunsa still continues and it is said to be the ideal for a mountainous Baloch (in this case a Buzdar) to manage a plot ofland in the city.