Awan (tribe)

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Pakistani community and surname

title: "Awan (tribe)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ethnic-groups-in-pakistan", "tribes-of-pakistan"] description: "Pakistani community and surname" topic_path: "geography/pakistan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awan_(tribe)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Pakistani community and surname ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox tribe"]

FieldValue
nameAwan
local name
imageAwan Sepoy (82nd Punjabis).jpg
captionWatercolour of an Awan sepoy, named Hakim Khan, painted by Major A.C. Lovett, circa 1908. The painting is included in the book, The Armies of India (published in 1911).
locationPunjab, Hazara, Azad Kashmir and Sindh
languageHindko, Punjabi, Urdu
religionIslam
::

| name = Awan | local name = | type = | image = Awan Sepoy (82nd Punjabis).jpg | alt = | caption = Watercolour of an Awan sepoy, named Hakim Khan, painted by Major A.C. Lovett, circa 1908. The painting is included in the book, The Armies of India (published in 1911).

| ethnicity = | nisba = | location = Punjab, Hazara, Azad Kashmir and Sindh | varna = | descended_label = | descended = | parent_tribe = | population = | demonym = | branches = | language = Hindko, Punjabi, Urdu | religion = Islam Awan () is a tribe and ethnic community centred in the Northern and Punjab regions of Pakistan, the name Awan is used as a surname for this tribe. 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. The tribe claim Arab, particularly Alid, origin through its primary ancestor Qutub Shah, who is said to have came to modern-day Pakistan with Mahmud of Ghazni.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Awan_Palace.png" caption="Indus"] ::

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".

Christophe Jaffrelot says: {{blockquote | 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.

People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the Pakistan Army 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".

Notable people

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Nawab_of_Kalabagh_Malik_Amir_Mohammad_khan.jpeg" caption="Amir Mohammad Khan]], former [[Nawab]] of Kalabagh, Chief of the Awan tribe, [[Governor]] of [[West Pakistan]] from 1960 to 1966"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Noor_khan.jpg" caption="Air Marshal [[Nur Khan]], Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Air Force, 1965–69, Governor of West Pakistan, 1969–70"] ::

References

References

  1. [https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1953-02-50-1 82nd Punjabis, Awan (Punjabi Musalman), 1908 (c)]
  2. (30 November 2022). "Awan". Oxford University Press.
  3. Tan, Tai Yong. (2005). "The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849–1947". Sage.
  4. (2000). "Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain". Routledge.
  5. Sarwar, Malik Muhammad. (1996). "Archaeological Remains in Son Sakesar (Salt Range)". Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, [[Quaid-i-Azam University]].
  6. J. Elias, Jamal. (1998). "Death Before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu". University of California Press.
  7. Jaffrelot, Christophe. (2004). "A History of Pakistan and Its Origins". Anthem Press.
  8. Jones, Philip Edward. (2003). "The Pakistan People's Party: Rise to Power". Oxford University Press.
  9. Ali, Imran. (1998). "Punjab under Imperialism, 1885–1947". Princeton University Press.
  10. Mazumder, Rajit K.. (2003). "The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab". Orient Longman.
  11. Khan, Jahan Dad. (2001). "Pakistan Leadership Challenges". Oxford University Press.
  12. Khan, Roedad. (1999). "The American Papers: Secret and Confidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents, 1965-1973". Oxford University Press.
  13. (17 May 2020). "CHESS:The Wrath of Khan". Dawn.
  14. Kamal, Daud. (2008). "Flower on a Grave: Poems from Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi". Oxford University Press.
  15. Frembgen, Jürgen Wasim. (2006). "The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan". Oxford University Press.
  16. Warraich, Suhail. (10 December 2017). "A Barelvi revival?". The News International.
  17. "Hazrat Ameer Muhammad Akram (RA)".
  18. Ustad-e-Punjab (teacher of Punjab), in [[Urdu. Urdu Language]], by Maulana Majeed Sohadravi, Darussalam Pakistan/Muslim Publication, [[Lahore]]. page 41
  19. Web Team, WION. (8 July 2021). "Pakistan mourns the loss of legendary Indian star Dilip Kumar, prayers offered outside ancestral home". WION.

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