{{short description|Pakistani community and surname}} {{pp-semi|small = yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2025}} {{Infobox tribe | name = Awan | local name = {{Nastaliq|اعوان }} | 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.<ref>[https://collection.nam.ac.uk/detail.php?acc=1953-02-50-1 82nd Punjabis, Awan (Punjabi Musalman), 1908 (c)]</ref> The painting is included in the book, The Armies of India (published in 1911). * | ethnicity = | nisba = | location = [[Punjab]], [[Hazara region|Hazara]], [[Azad Kashmir]] and [[Sindh]] | varna = | descended_label = | descended = | parent_tribe = | population = | demonym = | branches = | language = [[Hindko]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Urdu]] | religion = [[Islam]] }} '''Awan''' ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|اعوان}}}}) is a tribe and ethnic community centred in the [[Northern Pakistan|Northern]] and [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] regions of [[Pakistan]], the name Awan is used as a surname for this tribe.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Hanks |first1=Patrick |title=Awan |date=30 November 2022 |work=Dictionary of American Family Names |editor-first= |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780190245115.001.0001/acref-9780190245115-e-3095 |access-date= |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780190245115.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-024511-5 |last2=Lenarčič |first2=Simon |last3=McClure |first3=Peter |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tan |first=Tai Yong |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d5ZiMV7rqWUC |title=The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849–1947 |publisher=Sage |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7619-3336-6 |pages=61–62}}</ref> 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, Pakistan|Balochistan]]. The tribe claim [[Arabs|Arab]], particularly [[Alids|Alid]], origin<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Alison |title=Kinship and Continuity: Pakistani Families in Britain |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9058230759 |location=London |page=116 |doi=10.4324/9781315080062}}</ref> through its primary ancestor [[Qutb Shah|Qutub Shah]], who is said to have came to modern-day Pakistan with [[Mahmud of Ghazni]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=1996 |title=Archaeological Remains in Son Sakesar (Salt Range) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nOtwAAAAMAAJ |journal=Journal of Central Asia |publisher=Centre for the Study of the Civilizations of Central Asia, [[Quaid-i-Azam University]] |volume=XIX |pages=150–169 |last=Sarwar |first=Malik Muhammad |quote=Before the arrival of Awan tribes, the valley was a part of the state under the rule of [[Janjua]] [[Rajputs]]. They were forcibly ousted by the Awans. The Awans claim that their ancestor, Qutb Shah came along with the army of Sultan Mahmood of Ghazna in the 10th century. He headed some troops of Alavids who had been given the title of Awans by the Sultan.|issn=1016-0701|oclc=655897382}}</ref>
==History== [[File:Awan Palace.png|thumb|The Awan Palace was the residence of the [[Nawab]] of [[Kalabagh]] on the bank of the [[Indus River|Indus]]]] [[Jamal J. Elias]] notes that the Awans believe themselves to be of [[Arabs|Arab]] origin, descended from [[Ali|Ali ibn Abu Talib]] and that the claim of Arab descent gives them "high status in the Indian Muslim environment".<ref>{{cite book|title=Death Before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu|last=J. Elias|first=Jamal|author-link=Jamal J. Elias|publisher=University of California Press|date=1998|page=12|isbn=978-0-52021-242-8}}</ref>
[[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 [[Baloch people|Baluchi]] and [[Pashtuns|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 River|Indus]] to [[Sindh|Sind]], and a densely populated center not far from [[Lahore]].<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of Pakistan and Its Origins |first=Christophe |last=Jaffrelot |author-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Anthem Press |year=2004 |page=205 |isbn=978-1-84331-149-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9sI_Y2CKAcC}}</ref> }}
People of the Awan community have a strong presence in the [[Pakistan Army]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pakistan People's Party: Rise to Power|last=Jones|first=Philip Edward|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2003|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xliNAAAAMAAJ|page=61|quote=This [Awan] tribe is perhaps the most heavily recruited tribe in the [Pakistan] Army.|isbn=0195799666}}</ref> and a notable martial tradition.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ali |first=Imran |year=1998 |title=Punjab under Imperialism, 1885–1947 |publisher=Princeton University Press|page=114 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MgUABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA114|isbn=1400859581}}</ref> 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]]".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O4Wop9vwS9sC |title=The Indian Army and the Making of Punjab |first=Rajit K. |last=Mazumder |page=105 |publisher=Orient Longman |year=2003|isbn=9788178240596 }}</ref>
==Notable people== <!-- ONLY ADD A PERSON TO THIS LIST IF THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ARTICLE IN THE ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA. --> [[File:Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad khan.jpeg|thumb|150px|[[Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan|Amir Mohammad Khan]], former [[Nawab]] of Kalabagh, Chief of the Awan tribe, [[Governor]] of [[West Pakistan]] from 1960 to 1966]] [[File: Noor khan.jpg|thumb|150px|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pakistan Leadership Challenges|last=Khan|first=Jahan Dad|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjZuAAAAMAAJ|page=72|isbn=0195795873}}</ref> * [[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]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Papers: Secret and Confidential India-Pakistan-Bangladesh Documents, 1965-1973|last=Khan|first=Roedad|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sxpuAAAAMAAJ|page=265|isbn=0195791908}}</ref> * [[Tajammul Hussain Malik]], veteran of the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], held the defence in the [[Battle of Hilli]] against a larger force, refused to surrender and attempted coup against the [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq|military dictatorship]] of the 1980s * [[Mir Sultan Khan]] – chess master<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sultan|first1=Ather|last2=Sultan|first2=Atiyab|date=17 May 2020|title=CHESS:The Wrath of Khan|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1557393|work=Dawn|access-date=12 June 2020}}</ref> * [[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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Flower on a Grave: Poems from Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi|first=Daud |last=Kamal|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|url=http://global.oup.com/academic/product/flower-on-a-grave-9780195474978|isbn=9780195474978}}</ref> * [[Sultan Bahu]] – A [[Sufi]] mystic, poet, and founder of [[Sarwari Qadiri]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan|first=Jürgen Wasim |last=Frembgen|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzzYAAAAMAAJ|page=103|quote= ... Sultan Bahu (d. 1691) whose real name was Sultan Muhammad. Born into an Awan Family in Shorkot (District Jhang), ... |isbn=0195470060}}</ref> * [[Khadim Hussain Rizvi]] – A Pakistani Islamic scholar and the founder of [[Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Warraich |first= Suhail |date=10 December 2017 |title=A Barelvi revival? |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/564518-barelvi-revival |work= The News International |location= Islamabad|access-date=24 January 2021}}</ref> * [[Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan]] – Islamic scholar and spiritual leader of [[Naqshbandia Owaisiah]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.naqshbandiaowaisiah.org/hazrat-ameer-muhammad-akram-awan-ra.html |title=Hazrat Ameer Muhammad Akram (RA) |website=Silsala Naqshbandia Owaisia |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref> * [[Saad Hussain Rizvi]], Pakistani far-right politician * [[Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi]] – Islamic scholar, [[faqīh]] and [[Hadith studies|muhaddith]].<ref>Ustad-e-Punjab (teacher of Punjab), in [[Urdu|Urdu Language]], by Maulana Majeed Sohadravi, Darussalam Pakistan/Muslim Publication, [[Lahore]]. page 41</ref>{{better source needed|date=May 2022}} * [[Dilip Kumar]] –Actor in Hindi cinema.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Web Team|first=WION|date=8 July 2021|title=Pakistan mourns the loss of legendary Indian star Dilip Kumar, prayers offered outside ancestral home|work=WION|location=New Delhi, India|url=https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/pakistan-mourns-the-loss-of-legendary-indian-star-dilip-kumar-prayers-offered-outside-ancestral-home-396784|access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> * [[Babar Awan]] – Pakistani politician and lawyer * [[Malik Munawar Khan Awan]] – Pakistan army officer who fought for independence of [[Azad Hind]] against the [[British Raj]] and a decorated soldier awarded for gallantry for conquering areas of the Kashmir Valley in the [[Indo-Pakistani war of 1965]] * [[Muhammad Akram]] {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Nishan-e-Haider|NH]]}} – Pakistani martyr soldier who commanded a regiment at Hilli, [[East Pakistan]] and was post-humously awarded the highest military honour of the country <!-- ONLY ADD A PERSON TO THIS LIST IF THEY ALREADY HAVE AN ARTICLE IN THE ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA. -->
==See also== * [[Tribes and clans of the Pothohar Plateau]] * [[Awan Patti]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book|title=Pakistan - Social and Cultural Transformations in a Muslim Nation|last=Qadeer|first=Mohammad|publisher=Taylor & Francis|date=22 November 2006|isbn=1134186177|page=71}}
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Pakistan|Awan]] [[Category:Tribes of Pakistan|Awan]]