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Punjabi community and surname
Awan (
Punjabi and
Urdu : اعوان ) is a
Punjabi Muslim tribe and surname
[1]
[2] originating from the
Punjab region of
Pakistan . Awans are predominantly present in the northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, with significant population also present in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ,
Azad Kashmir , and to a lesser extent, in
Sindh and
Balochistan .
History
Jamal J. Elias notes that the Awans believe themselves to be of
Arab origin, descended from
Ali ibn Abu Talib and that the claim of Arab descent gives them "high status in the Indian Muslim environment".
[3] However, they are also described as having
Jat origins.
[4]
Christophe Jaffrelot says:
The Awan deserve close attention, because of their historical importance and, above all, because they settled in the west, right up to the edge of
Baluchi and
Pashtun territory. Legend has it that their origins go back to Imam Ali and his second wife, Hanafiya. Historians describe them as valiant warriors and farmers who imposed their supremacy on the
Janjua in part of the
Salt Range and established large colonies all along the
Indus to
Sind , and a densely populated center not far from
Lahore .
[5]
People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the
Pakistani Army
[6] and a notable martial tradition.
[7] They were listed as an "agricultural tribe" by the British Raj in 1925, a term that was then synonymous with classification as a "
martial race ".
[8]
Notable people
Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan , former
Nawab of Kalabagh, Chief of the Awan tribe,
Governor of
West Pakistan from 1960 to 1966
Air Marshal
Nur Khan , Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, 1965–69, Governor of West Pakistan, 1969–70
Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan – Former
Nawab of
Kalabagh , Chief of the Awan tribe and
Governor of
West Pakistan from 1960 to 1966.
[9]
Air Marshal Nur Khan –
Commander-in-chief of the
Pakistan Air Force , 1965–69, Governor of West Pakistan, 1969–70, and recipient of the
Hilal-i-Jurat , the second-highest military award of
Pakistan .
[10]
Tajammul Hussain Malik , War Hero of the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 , held an impenetrable defence in the
Battle of Hilli against a multiple times larger force, famously refused to surrender and attempted coup against the
Military Dictatorship of the 1980s
Mir Sultan Khan – A
chess master also believed by some to be the greatest natural
chess player of modern times.
[11]
Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi –
Urdu poet, journalist,
literary critic , dramatist, short story author, recipient of the
Pride of Performance and
Sitara-e-Imtiaz , the third-highest civil award of Pakistan.
[12]
Sultan Bahu – A
Sufi
mystic ,
poet ,
scholar and founder of
mystic tradition known as
Sarwari Qadiri .
[13]
Khadim Hussain Rizvi – A Pakistani
Islamic scholar and the founder of
Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan .
[14]
Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan –
Islamic scholar and
spiritual leader of the
mystic tradition known as
Naqshbandia Owaisiah .
[15]
Saad Hussain Rizvi , Pakistani politician
Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi – Islamic scholar,
jurist and
muhaddith .
[16] [
better source needed ]
Dilip Kumar – An actor in
Hindi cinema .
[17]
Babar Awan - Pakistani politician and lawyer
Hardev Bahri - linguist who wrote a two volume thesis on the
Awankari dialect
See also
References
^ Hanks, Patrick; Lenarčič, Simon; McClure, Peter (30 November 2022),
"Awan" , Dictionary of American Family Names , Oxford University Press,
doi :
10.1093/acref/9780190245115.001.0001 ,
ISBN
978-0-19-024511-5
^ Tan, Tai Yong (2005).
The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849–1947 . Sage. pp. 61–62.
ISBN
978-0-7619-3336-6 .
^
J. Elias, Jamal (1998). Death Before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu . University of California Press. p. 12.
ISBN
978-0-52021-242-8 .
^ Khan, Sabir Badal (2013).
Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore: Two Essays on Baloch History and Folklore . Università di Napoli, "l'Orientale". p. 40.
^
Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004).
A History of Pakistan and Its Origins (Reprinted ed.). Anthem Press. p. 205.
ISBN
978-1-84331-149-2 .
^ Jones, Philip Edward (2003).
The Pakistan People's Party: Rise to Power . Oxford University Press. p. 61.
ISBN
0195799666 . This [Awan] tribe is perhaps the most heavily recruited tribe in the [Pakistan] Army.
^ Ali, Imran (1998).
Punjab under Imperialism, 1885–1947 . Princeton University Press. p. 114.
ISBN
1400859581 .
^ Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003).
The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab . Orient Longman. p. 105.
ISBN
9788178240596 .
^ Khan, Jahan Dad (2001).
Pakistan Leadership Challenges . Oxford University Press. p. 72.
ISBN
0195795873 .
^ Khan, Roedad (1999).
The American Papers: Secret and Confidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents, 1965-1973 . Oxford University Press. p. 265.
ISBN
0195791908 .
^ Sultan, Ather; Sultan, Atiyab (17 May 2020).
"CHESS:The Wrath of Khan" . Dawn . Retrieved 12 June 2020 .
^ Kamal, Daud (2008).
Flower on a Grave: Poems from Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi . Oxford University Press.
ISBN
9780195474978 .
^ Frembgen, Jürgen Wasim (2006).
The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan . Oxford University Press. p. 103.
ISBN
0195470060 . ... Sultan Bahu (d. 1691) whose real name was Sultan Muhammad. Born into an Awan Family in Shorkot (District Jhang), ...
^ Warraich, Suhail (10 December 2017).
"A Barelvi revival?" . The News International . Islamabad. Retrieved 24 January 2021 .
^
"Hazrat Ameer Muhammad Akram (RA)" . Silsala Naqshbandia Owaisia . Retrieved 3 January 2021 .
^ Ustad-e-Punjab (teacher of Punjab), in
Urdu Language , by Maulana Majeed Sohadravi, Darussalam Pakistan/Muslim Publication,
Lahore . page 41
^ Web Team, WION (8 July 2021).
"Pakistan mourns the loss of legendary Indian star Dilip Kumar, prayers offered outside ancestral home" . WION . New Delhi, India. Retrieved 13 July 2021 .
Further reading
Qadeer, Mohammad (22 November 2006). Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation . Taylor & Francis. p. 71.
ISBN
1134186177 .