Awan ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a tribe living predominantly in the northern, central, and western parts of

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

, with significant numbers also present in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

, and to a lesser extent in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

History

Jamal J. Elias notes that the Awans believe themselves to be of

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

origin, descended from

Ali ibn Abu Talib ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

and that the claim of Arab descent gives them "high status in the Indian Muslim environment".

Christophe Jaffrelot Christophe Jaffrelot (born 12 February 1964) is a French political scientist and Indologist specialising in South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan. He is a professor of South Asian politics and history the ''Centre d'études et de recherches ...

says: People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the

Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the Partition of British India, which occurred as a result ...

and a notable martial tradition. 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 Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. T ...

Notable people

Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad khan

Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the Nawab of Kalabagh and a prominent feudal lord, politician, the chief or sardar of the Awan tribe, and of his tribal estate Kalabagh, in Mianwali District of north western Pu ...

– Former

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

Kalabagh Kalabagh ( ur, ) is a town and union council of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Isakhel Tehsil. It is located on the western bank of the Indus River. It was the seat of the ''nawab'' of Kalabagh, who lived in ...

, Chief of the Awan tribe and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

from 1960 to 1966. * Air Marshal Nur Khan – Commander-in-chief of the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

, 1965–69, Governor of West Pakistan, 1969–70, and recipient of the

Hilal-i-Jurat The Hilal-e-Jurat ( ur, , as if it were ''Halāl-e-Jurāt''; English: Crescent of Courage , sometimes spelled as Hilal-e-Jur'at, Hilal-e-Jurat, Hilal-i-Jurrat and Hilal-i-Juraat)Various official sources that are highly reputable spell the name ...

, the second-highest military award of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. *

Mir Sultan Khan Sultan Khan ( Punjabi and ur, , 1903 – 25 April 1966; commonly referred to with honorifics as ''Mir Sultan Khan'' or ''Mir Malik Sultan Khan'') was a South Asian chess player, and later a citizen of Pakistan, who is thought to have been the ...

– A

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

also believed by some to be the greatest natural

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

player of modern times. *

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi ( ur, ) born Ahmad Shah Awan ( ur, ) (20 November 1916 - 10 July 2006) was an Urdu language Pakistani poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist and short story author. He wrote 50 books on topics such as poetry, fictio ...

–

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

, dramatist, short story author, recipient of the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

and

Sitara-e-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially m ...

, the third-highest civil award of Pakistan. *

Sultan Bahu Sultan Bahu ( pa, , ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ਬਾਹੂ ; also spelled Bahoo; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a 17th-century Punjabi Sufi mystic, poet, scholar and historian. He was active in the Punjab region (present-day Pakistan) duri ...

– A

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

mystic,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

and founder of mystic tradition known as

Sarwari Qadiri The Qadiriyya (), also transliterated Qādirīyah, ''Qadri'', ''Qadriya'', ''Kadri'', ''Elkadri'', ''Elkadry'', ''Aladray'', ''Alkadrie'', ''Adray'', ''Kadray'', ''Kadiri'', ''Qadiri'', ''Quadri'' or ''Qadri'' are members of the Sunni Qadiri ta ...

. *

Khadim Hussain Rizvi Khadim Hussain Rizvi ( ur, ; 22 May 1966 – 19 November 2020) was a Pakistani Islamic author and the founder of Tehreek-e-Labbaik, a political-religious organization founded in 2015, known to protest against any change to Pakistan's blasphe ...

– A Pakistani

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...

and the founder of

Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (; TLP) is a far-right Islamic extremist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Khadim Hussain Rizvi in August 2015. It became the fifth largest party at the 2018 Pakistani general election, but faile ...

. *

Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan ( ur, , ; born 31 December 1934 in Noorpur Sethi, British India – died 7 December 2017 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan) was an Islamic scholar and spiritual leader of the Naqshbandia Owaisiah order of Sufism. He belonged ...

–

and

spiritual leader Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

of the mystic tradition known as

Naqshbandia Owaisiah The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نه‌قشه‌به‌ندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish language, Turkish) is a major Sunni Islam, Sunni tariqa, order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukh ...

. *

Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi Hafiz Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi, spelled as Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi or Abdul Manan Wazirabadi ( ur, ; Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi, 1851 AD18 July 1916 AD, 1267 AH - 16 Ramzan 1334 AH) was a religious scholar, jurist, ''mufassir'' and muhaddith dur ...

– Islamic scholar,

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

and

muhaddith Hadith studies ( ar, علم الحديث ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith", also science of hadith, or science of hadith criticism or hadith criticism) consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in th ...

. *

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

– An actor in

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. *

Babar Awan Zaheer-ud-din Babar Awan ( ur, ظہیر الدین بابر اعوان; born 27 January 1958; SI), is a Pakistani politician, senior lawyer, author, analyst, columnist, and leftist writer who served as Adviser to Prime Minister for Parliamen ...

- Pakistani politician and lawyer

History

Notable people

See also

References

Further reading