Gichki orGitchki is aRajput tribe[1][2] living in theMakran region ofPakistan andIran.[3] The tribe, initially settled in theGichk valley ofPanjgur and now mostlyBalochi-speaking, formed ruling class of thestate of Makran from 1740 until 1955.[4]
The ancestors of Gichki, stated to be Rajputs, appear to have arrived between the fifteenth–seventeenth centuries in Makran.Jaipur,Jodhpur,Marwar inRajasthan,Jamnagar inGujarat,Lahore inPunjab, andSindh are suggested as their probable places of origin. They are said to have converted toIslam three generations after their arrival.[5][6][7][8] Ethnically they are not ofBaloch stock and instead have roots in theIndus Valley.[9][10][11] Since they were not pastoralists unlike the Baloch or as numerous as the already settled population of Makran, some scholars consider it likely that Gichki migrated as a group of mercenaries, and conquered Makran through diplomacy and by establishing alliances with the ruling families.[2][12] The historian Fiorani Piacentini believes that the close association of Gichkis withZikrism, a local heterodox sect, also played an important role in their rise to power.[13]
The political turmoil in Makran during the 17th and 18th centuries attracted several bands of raiders from the neighbouring regions; among them wereBuledi, Gichki, and Nausherwanis, the latter of whom were said to have originated innortheast Iran,[14] who later established their state inKharan. According to a locally well-known tradition from Makran, the ancestors of Gichki were forty Rajput horsemen from north; in an alliance with Buledi, Gichki killed the then ruler ofKech, a certain Malik Mirza. Soon conflict broke out between the two tribes and Gichki ousted Buledi as well, hence gaining complete control over Makran. Fabietti considers the factuality of some of the details mentioned in this account uncertain, although he believes that the migration of Gichki Rajputs and the struggle between them and Buledi probably had a historical basis.[15]
Historically, Gichki appeared in Makran in the 16th century. They drove out Buledi after 1740 under their chief, Mulla Murad. Gichki wereZikris like Buledi, and Mulla Murad Gichki is considered one of the major Zikri figures. He organised Zikrism as a faith and choseKoh-e-Murad as its central pilgrimage site. During the rule of Murad's son Malik Dinar Gichki, Makran was invaded nine times by theKhan of Kalat,Nasir Khan Brahui and Gichki were forced to pay half of their revenue to him. The advent ofBritish rule weakened the influence of Kalat, allowing GichkiNawabs to assert their internal independence again. The last Nawab, Mir Baian Gichki acceded to Pakistan in 1947.[16][9]
Despite their origins, Gichki are considered members of the Baloch society and speak Balochi, a trait they share with other ethnic groups of non-Baloch origins such asJats,Lasi,Dihvar andBrahuis.[11] Gichki are divided into two major branches,Isazai andDinarzai, which previously ruled Panjgur and Kech respectively.[7] They were initially Zikris, and only gradually converted toSunni Islam after Mir Nasir Khan of Kalat undertook military campaigns against them.[10] Gichki castles in Kech were surveyed by Fiorani Piacentini et al. between 1987 and 1991, who described their architecture as a blend of Rajput heritage of Gichki Nawabs and the Persian culture followed by them.[17]