1/19/2021 Awan (tribe) - Wikipedia

Awan (tribe)
Awan (Punjabi: Shahmukhi:‫اﻋﻮان‬, Gurmukhi:ਅਵਾਨ) (Urdu: ‫ )اﻋﻮان‬is a tribe living predominantly in
northern, central, and western parts of Pakistani Punjab, with significant numbers also present in
Khyber, Azad Kashmir, and to a lesser extent in Sindh and Balochistan. They can also be found in
Afghanistan.[1]

Contents
History
Genetic studies on Awan
Notable people
Map of Pakistan showing district-
See also wise demographic distribution of
References Awan population.
Further reading

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".[2]

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.[3]

People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the Pakistani Army[4] and a notable martial tradition.[5] 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".[6]

Genetic studies on Awan

Department of Genetics of Hazara University, Pakistan, Department of Anthropology of University of
Alaska Fairbanks, USA and Center for Human Genetics of Hazara University, Pakistan conducted
different studies in which hypervariable segment I (HVSI) from mtDNA was analyzed to establish the
genetic lineage of the populations living in Northern Pakistan. A three-cytosine deletion (CCC) at
position 16191-16193 was clearly observed in the ethnic Awan population which suggests that Awans
are genetically very closely related to Sayeds and thus have an Arab origin. [7]

The diagram shows affinities among

Notable people the mitochondrial DNA of seven
distinct Pakistani ethnic groups. The
Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan – former Chief of the Awan tribe,Nawab of Kalabagh and relatedness of different tribes on the
Governor of West Pakistan from 1960–66.[8] basis of HVSI sequence, based on
Air Marshal Nur Khan – Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Air Force, 1965–69, Governor of the Cambridge reference sequence.
West Pakistan, 1969–70, and recipient of the Hilal-i-Jurat, the second-highest military award of
Pakistan.[9]
Mir Sultan Khan – A chess master also believed by some to be the greatest natural chess player of modern
times.[10]
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.[11]
Sultan Bahu – A Sufi mystic, poet, scholar and founder of mystic tradition known as Sarwari Qadiri[12]
Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan – Islamic scholar and spiritual leader of the mystic tradition known as
Naqshbandia Owaisiah.[13]
Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi – Islamic scholar, jurist and muhaddith.[14] Nawab Malik Amir
Mohammad Khan,
former Nawab of
See also Kalabagh – Governor of
West Pakistan from
Tribes and clans of the Pothohar Plateau 1960–66
Ahmed Gul Khel
Awan Patti

References
1. Douie, J. 2003. The Panjab, North West Frontier Province and Kashmir. Asian Educational Services, p.105.
2. 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awan_(tribe)#Genetic_studies_on_Awan 1/2
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3. Jaffrelot, Christophe (2004). A History of Pakistan and Its Origins (https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_

Y2CKAcC) (Reprinted ed.). Anthem Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-1-84331-149-2.
4. Jones, Philip Edward (2003). The Pakistan People's Party: Rise to Power (https://books.google.com/books?r
edir_esc=y&id=xliNAAAAMAAJ). Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 0195799666. "This [Awan] tribe is
perhaps the most heavily recruited tribe in the [Pakistan] Army."
5. Ali, Imran (1998). Punjab under Imperialism, 1885–1947 (https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Punjab
_Under_Imperialism_1885_1947.html?id=MgUABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114). Princeton University Press. p. 114.
ISBN 1400859581.
6. Mazumder, Rajit K. (2003). The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab (https://books.google.com/books?id=
O4Wop9vwS9sC). Orient Longman. p. 105. ISBN 9788178240596. Air Marshal Nur Khan,
7. N. Akbar; H. Ahmad; M.S. Nadeem; B.E. Hemphill; K. Muhammad; W. Ahmad; M. Ilyas (24 June 2016). Commander in Chief of
"HVSI polymorphism indicates multiple origins of mtDNA in the Hazarewal population of Northern Pakistan" the Pakistan Air Force,
(http://www.funpecrp.com.br/gmr/year2016/vol15-2/pdf/gmr7167.pdf) (PDF). Genetics and Molecular 1965–69, Governor of
Research. 15 (2). doi:10.4238/gmr.15027167 (https://doi.org/10.4238%2Fgmr.15027167). Retrieved West Pakistan, 1969–70
28 November 2020.
8. Khan, Jahan Dad (2001). Pakistan Leadership Challenges (https://books.google.com/books?id=MjZuAAAAM
AAJ). Oxford University Press. p. 72. ISBN 0195795873.
9. Khan, Roedad (1999). The American Papers: Secret and Confidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh
Documents, 1965-1973 (https://books.google.com/books?id=sxpuAAAAMAAJ). Oxford University Press.
p. 265. ISBN 0195791908.
10. Sultan, Ather; Sultan, Atiyab (17 May 2020). "CHESS:The Wrath of Khan" (https://www.dawn.com/news/155
7393). Dawn. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
11. Kamal, Daud (2008). Flower on a Grave: Poems from Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi (http://global.oup.com/acade
mic/product/flower-on-a-grave-9780195474978). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195474978.
12. Frembgen, Jürgen Wasim (2006). The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan
(https://books.google.com/books?id=wzzYAAAAMAAJ). 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), ..."
13. "Hazrat Ameer Muhammad Akram (RA)" (https://www.naqshbandiaowaisiah.org/hazrat-ameer-muhammad-a
kram-awan-ra.html). Silsala Naqshbandia Owaisia. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
14. Ustad-e-Punjab (teacher of Punjab), in Urdu Language, by Maulana Majeed Sohadravi, Darussalam
Pakistan/Muslim Publication, Lahore. page 41

Further reading
Qadeer, Mohammad (22 November 2006). Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation. Taylor & Francis. p. 71.
ISBN 1134186177.

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