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Abstract
The nomadic population of today's Pakistan is scattered in the sandy deserts, barren plateaus, the pastures of Northern Areas, as well the cities and villages all over the country. A sizable number of nomads are engaged in seasonal migration, pastoralism and peripatetic movements across the boundaries. This article describes the socio-economic characteristics of the nomads and also tries to construct a linkage between their present and past in order to enquire into the evolution of lifestyle and culture of Pakistani nomads. Anthropological and philological aspects of nomadic life are discussed to highlight the nomads' distinct characteristics. Since Pakistan is facing another phase of climate change, ecological determinism has also been discussed with respect to its impact on general population as well as the nomads.
Introduction
Nomadism has been the oldest style of human life which dates back to the time when wild plants and animals were the main sources of survival for human beings. Religious literature contains many references to this fact. Take any extreme and remotest region on the globe - arctic, subarctic, tundra, steppes, deserts, high mountains, sea and lakes, dense forests - nomads are found every where. Pakistan, too, has a sizable number of nomadic population - the people who are regularly on the move, from one place and province to another. Some have been habitually crossing the international boundaries even in the present day conditions of war and terrorism. The nomads are found in every nook and corner of Pakistan. One can find them in the high mountains of Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindukush, stretches of inaccessible valleys and passes, deserts of Thar, Cholistan and Dasht, as well as in urban centres. Some of them have been crossing the Pak-Afghan border and trading from the Central Asia to the heart of Indian empire of the yore.
Pastoralism has inevitably been associated with nomads in conditions where it could ensure humans' survival after they learnt domesticating animals. It is believed that the nomads do not exhaust natural sources by overgrazing but leave them in a renewable state and they look out for the scarce harvest spread sporadically in vast tracts of inhospitable territories. In this sense they are very important contributors to the national economy, utilizing marginal resources, but their...