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Awankari is a region in Pakistan, heavily populated by the Awan tribe. Awankari is also dialect of the Awankari Region. Awan (Urdu: اعوان, Punjabi Gurmukhi ਆਵਾਨ.

[edit] History

Awan, a South Asian Zamindar tribe putatively of Arab origin, living predominantly in western and central parts of Punjab, Pakistan. The Awans subscribe to the belief that they are the descendants of the fourth Caliph, Ali (though the bulk of those belonging to the tribe are not Shias), and as such, a number adopt the title, Alvi – particularly those who migrated from East Punjab to Pakistan - although not all of those who refer to themselves as Alvi are Awans.

Alexander Cunningham, Harikishan Kaul and Arthur Brandreth dispute that the Awans are of Arab origin. Cunningham looked upon the Awans as a Rajput clan, whereas Kaul was of the opinion that the tribe was of either Jat or Rajput origin, pointing to the fact that in Sanskrit, the term Awan means "defender" or "protector" and asserting that this title was awarded by surrounding tribes due to the Awans successfully defending their strongholds against aggression. Brandreth believed the Awans to be remnants of Bactrian Greeks.

Conversely, there are also those who support the Awan claim to Arab ancestry. Amongst such names are those of H. A. Rose, Malik Fazal Dad Khan and Sabiha Shaheen. Although Rose was more cautious in assigning an Arab origin to the Awans, he was willing to concede that the tribe may well be Alvi Sayyids, who having sought refuge in Sindh from the Abbasids, allied themselves to Sabuktagin and assisted him in his Indian adventure, for which he bestowed the title of Awan on them (Rose considering it plausible that the name of the Awan tribe was derived from the word 'Ahwan', meaning "helper". And although the Ferozsons Urdu-English Dictionary lists the Awans as a Rajput clan, it does state that the title of the tribe is of Arabic origin, being the plural of the word 'aun', and defining "Awan" as "helpers").

Malik Fazal Dad Khan supports the traditional account of the Awans' origins, but with some modifications. He considers the Awans to be of Arabian origin and traces their lineage to Ali, but according to him, Abdullah Rasul Mirza was the remote ancestor of the Awans; in the eighth century, he was made a commander of the army of Ghaur by Caliph Haroon-ur-Rasheed, the title of Awan being conferred upon him, and his descendants consequently being called Awans. Sabiha Shaheen (who addressed this issue as part of her MA Thesis) deems this theory tenable. Furthermore, she states that Qutb Shah fled to the Subcontinent along with a small group of people due to Mongol attacks and joined the court of Iltutmish. The majority of his descendants came to refer to themselves as Qutb Shahi Awans (and most Awans are able to trace their family trees to Qutb Shah).

[edit] Distribution

The bulk of the Awan tribe is to be found in the Punjab (Pakistan). Its population is concentrated in the districts of Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Sargodha, Khushab (particularly the Soon Valley), Mianwali (Awan tribes residing here are believed to have been the sole occupants of the Mianwali Salt Range for nearly six hundred years), Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Sialkot, Narowal, and Layyah and is also scattered throughout the rest of Punjab.

Tracts in regions such as Jhelum and Mianwali are so heavily populated by Awans that they have long been referred to as "Awankari". Pre-Partition, an Awankari existed in Jalandhar and an Awan bara in Hoshiarpur. Awankari is also a dialect of Punjabi. Though these areas are their ancestral homelands and many own farms and other property there, numerous Awans live in the major cities of Pakistan such as Lahore (where a section of the Awan tribe has established a settlement, aptly named Awan Town), Islamabad, and Karachi.

The Awan tribe is also to be found in great numbers in the North West Frontier Province, particularly in the Hazara Division, Peshawar valley and the districts of Nowshera, Kohat, Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Bannu and Swat. A smaller portion of the tribe resides in Azad Kashmir,and to a lesser extent is also present in the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. In addition, Awans can also be found in Afghanistan and some parts of India.

According to The Races, Castes and Tribes of the people by Denzil Ibbetson (1883) following districts inhabit Awan tribe and population of the awan tribe in 1883 was as mentioned below in bracket.

Sialkot District - Awan (19753)

Rawalpindi District - Awan (124834)

Jahlam District - Awan (92856)

Gujrat District - Awan (13039)

Shahpur District (includes Khushab,Bhera,Sargodha)-Awan (48485)

Peshawar District- Awan (97445)

Hazara District- Awan (65605)

Kohat District -Awan (16163)

Bannu District (includes Mianwali,Bhakkar)-Awan (20908)

According to 1911 census, the following districts inhabit population of Awan Muslim clan:

• Sialkot District - Awan (714)

• Lahore District - Awan (3,433)

• Gujrat District - Awan (1,780)

• Shahpur (Sargodha District) District - Awan (1,219)

• Lyalpur District (Faisalabad District) -Awan (2,085)

• Mianwali District - Awan (3,614)

• Jhang District - Awan (2,392)

• Dera Ghazi Khan District - Awan (1,238)

[edit] Source

As of this edit, this article uses content from Jatland Wiki, which is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. All relevant terms must be followed. The original article was at "Awan".