Let me start. @
Malik Abdullah:
Awan tribe
Awan (Urdu: اعوان‎, Punjabi Gurmukhi ਆਵਾਨ
, is a South Asian Zamindar tribe, putatively of Arab origin,[1] living predominantly in northern, central, and western parts of Punjab, Pakistan, Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and azad Kashmir regions. The Awans subscribe to the belief that they are the descendants of the fourth Caliph, Ali, and as such, a number adopt the title, Alvi.[2]
There are differing theories pertaining to their origins:
Arab origin
A letter written by the Sajjada Nashin, Pir Sial Sharif Khawaja Zia-ud-Din, to Qazi Mian Muhammad Amjad, requesting him to lend the book Kihalastah al-Nisab, a treatise written by Jamal ad-Din Hasan ibn Yusuf ibn 'Ali ibn Muthahhar al-Hilli, on the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib; this rare tome also covers the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib, who migrated to lands outside Arabia - including the Indian subcontinent - following the rise of the Umayyad Caliphate. The treatise is the oldest work dealing with the history of the Awan tribe.
The Awan historiographers[3][4][5][6] maintain that the Awans are descended from an individual named Qutb Shah, who originally resided in Herat, served in the army of Mahmud of Ghazni, and was a Hashemite descendant of the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali (but by a wife other than the Prophet's daughter, Fatimah[7]). As Sir Lepel Henry Griffin states:
"All branches of the tribe are unanimous in stating that they originally came from the neighbourhood of Ghazni to India, and all trace their genealogy to Hasrat Ali the son-in-law of the Prophet. Kutab Shah, who came from Ghazni with Sultan Mahmud, was the common ancestor of the Awans."[8]
It is asserted that Qutb Shah and six of his sons accompanied and assisted Mahmud in his early eleventh century conquests of what today forms parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern India. It is claimed that in recognition of their services and valour, Mahmud bestowed upon Qutb Shah and his sons (who, according to tribal traditions, settled primarily in the Salt Range) the title of Awan, meaning "helper".[9]
Tribal history holds that Qutb Shah and his sons married local women who converted to Islam from Hinduism. Qutb Shahs sons are said to have settled in different regions of the Punjab and to a lesser extent, what now constitutes parts of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa; Gauhar Shah or Gorrara, settled near Sakesar, Kalan Shah or Kalgan, settled in Kalabagh, Chauhan colonized the hills close to the Indus, Mohammad Shah or Khokhar, settled by the Chenab, and Tori ‏and Jhajh settled in Tirah.[10] Their descendants not only came to heavily populate these regions, but a number of Awan sub-clans that trace their origins to these six individuals, give their names to various localities such as Golera in Rawalpindi, Khewra in Jhelum, Banjara in Sialkot, Jand in Attock, and Dhudial in Chakwal. Some of Qutb Shahs sons are supposed to have assumed names that reflected the Hindu heritage of their mothers and the Awan sub-clans that trace their origins to these particular individuals, bear the names of their eponyms.[11]
Amongst those who support the Awan claim to Arab ancestry, are 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".[12] 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"[13]).[12] Making reference to W.S. Talbot's assessment of the Awans, Rose also commented:
"But in the best available account of the tribe, the Awans are indeed said to be of Arabian origin and descendants of Qutb Shah."[12]
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[14]
Indigenous origin
However, there are those who attribute an indigenous origin to the Awan tribe; these include Alexander Cunningham, Harikishan Kaul, and Professor Ahmed Hasan Dani. Alexander Cunningham looked upon the Awans as a Rajput clan,.[15] He writes, " According to the Emperor Babar the Jud and the Janjuha were "two races descended from the same father, "[16] who from old times had been rulers of the hills between Nilab and Bhera, that is , of the salt range. "On one-half of the hill lived the Jud, and on the other half the Janjua." The Awans now occupy western half of these hills towards Nilab, and from all I could learn, they would appear to have been settled there for many centuries. They must therefore be the Jud of Baber's memoirs, for Jud was not the true name of the people, but was applied to them as the inhabitants of Mt' Sakeswar, which was called Jud by the Muhammadans on account of fancied resemblance to Mt. Jud, or Ararat in Armenia".[17] However he accepts that,"In the total absence of all written records, I have almost nothing to offer in favour of this identification, except its great probability."[18] According to Robert George Thomson, "General Cunningham's argument leads him to class the Awans as Rajputs and cousins of the Janjuas, and to represent them also as residents of three thousand years standing, this is almost certainly erroneous.[19]
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.[20] However it is also stated in Census of India, 1901, that "In the Salt-range Tract, however, the higher Rajput tribes, such as Janjua, are carefully excluded; and Jat means any Muhammadan cultivator of Hindu origin who is not an Awan, Gakkhar, Pathan, Saiyad."[21]
Dani claimed that following the spread of Islam in the region where the Awans predominated, the tribe made a conscious decision to associate itself with a Semitic past, and hence Awans came to refer to themselves as Qutub Shahis.[22] Citing Kaul's conclusions, James Wikeley said of the Awans that:
"After the Muhammadan invasions, they seem to have been converted by Syad Kutb Shah, after which the Awans began to call themselves Kutb Shahi, i.e., the followers of Kutb Shah."[23]
Other theories
Arthur Brandreth believed the Awans to be remnants of Bactrian Greeks.[15] Robert George Thomson writes that, "Mr. Arthur Brandreth thinks that they may be descended from Bactrian Greeks. But Mr. Lepel Griffin considers that all real Greeks would have refused to stay in the Panjab.[24]
Awans are also heavily recruited in the army:
Will post the history later. Cheers.
