The Awans of Naushera

Naushera is a village and one of the 51 Union Councils of Pakistan|Union Councils (administrative subdivisions) of Khushab District in the Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab Province of Pakistan. . Naushera is the main town of Soon Valley. Situated in the heart of Soon Valley, Naushera is surrounded by high hills, beautiful lakes, jungles, natural pools and ponds. Naushera is also blessed with ancient civilization, natural resources, and fertile farms. The major settlement of the valley 'Nausehra' lies almost in the geographical centre of the valley and is located at 72" II' 29" north latitude and 32" 34' 58" west longitude. The general height of surrounding hills is around 2500 feet above sea level, with several peaks reaching over 3000 feet.

History
In the Soon Valley|Soon valley of Salt Range, Naushera, the main town of the valley, and its surroundings villages are always notable as the centre and home of the leading Awan (Pakistan)|Awan tribe. Sir Lepel Henry Griffin also states that “In Shahpur District, the Awans held the hilly country to the north west, Jalar, Naoshera (Naushera) and Sukesar, where the head of the tribe still resides.”

At some time between the era of Mahmud of Ghazni and Sultan Shahab ud din Ghori Arabs marauders captured the mountainous region of Salt range and settled in the mountains after they defeated the Janjuas, Gakhars, and other Rajput tribes until they permanently settled for at least six hundred years.

The author of "Advanced history of medieval India" states that "strategically, the region of the Salt Range has always been too important to miss the eye of any master of war since the time of the Greeks and the Yucchis, the Ghanavides and the Ghoris down to those of babur and Sher Shah.The reason is that an invader from the North West can appear suddenly in the very heart of the Punjab by stealing a march through this region."

During the period of Delhi Sultanate and Mughal period, the government at Lahore maintained only a nominal control over such remote western hilly areas as Soon valley. In the absence of a stable political structure, local Awans were forced to fight to maintain the lands of their ancestors which they had inherited. This practice of fighting later on made their descendants the Martial race during the period of British Raj.

It is stated in the Imperial Gazetteer of India that “They are essentially a tribe of the Salt Range, where they once held independent possessions of very considerable extent, and in the western and central portions of which they are still the dominant race.” While writing about the Chiefs of Punjab, Sir Lepel Henry Griffin states in his book entitled, “The Panjab Chiefs: the most authentic book on the subject that;

''“All branches of the tribe (Awans) are unanimous in stating that they originally came from neighourhood 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"''

Qutb Shah, a later descendant of Alwis, became a symbol of Arabian magnanimity and of their adventurous spirit. His heroic deeds and military expeditions in the company of the Ghaznavids are accounted in fabulous tales linking him to the Awans.

Qutb Shah’s sons are said to have settled in the mountains in the centre of what is now Soon Valley and Sakesar. Later on some of them withdrew to neighbourhood of Salt Range. They occupied more prosperous plains and open plateaux. Some of them withdrew to west of Salt Range and setteled at Kalabh. Some of them withdrew to North and settled and founded a town Talagang. According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, it was founded by an Awan chieftain, about the year 1625. It has ever since remained the seat of local administration under the Awans, the Sikh, and the British. One branch of the tribe withdrew to the east of Salt Range near Jehlum. Other branch withdrew to the south of the range and settled at the north of Shahpur. With the passage of time and the force of economic pressure, they then spread from that region into Mianwali, Chakwal, Camelpur now Attock, Mianwali, Jehlum, Sargodha, Rawalpindi, lahore Gujrat and all parts of Punjab.

Ibbetson, D states in his book Punjab Castes, that the Awans of Jalandhar claimed that their ancestors served in the armies of the Slave Dynasty and the Khilji dynasty during the Delhi Sultanate period, who brought them from the Salt-range.

But the main noble branch of Awan tribe maintained their dominian in these mountainous regions. These are undoubtedly the leading tribes among the Awan people. As a whole this is they who have kept alight the lantern of the race. They regards themselves and indeed are regarded as the truest and finest exponents of the Awan tribe in bravery, in dignity, in counsel and many would admit their claim.

Mughal Period
In the sixteenth century the head of this tribe was Muhammad Akbar Khan’s, a descendant of Ali ibn Abi Talib, his name also is associated in the local legend with Aku Khan. In “History of Awan,”  his descendants are listed separately. His elder son Muhammad Sarwar had two sons, Muhammad Bilal Ali Khan  (in some record Bilawal Khan) the fore father of Awan of Naushera,  and Muhammad Media Khan, whose descendants are Great Maliks of Kund. During the period of British Raj in the early twentieth century Malik Muhammad Khan Zaildar was head of this tribal branch of Kund.. British people|British government delineated zails comprising five to forty villages in most of the Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab, drawing them to reflect the tribal distribution of the population. In every Zail the government appointed a zaildar, who was intended to be “ the leading [man] of a particular tribe or section of the country. These Zaildars were ideally the leaders of the local tribes. The family tree of Muhammad Akbar Khan, follows:

In the seventeenth century, the Tiwanas defeated a weak branch of Awans at Hadali, a Village 5 miles north from MMitha Tiwana|itha Tiwanas  and south of Soon Valley. The newly converted Muslims Rajput Tiwanas were so fascinated by the honorific title of Malik of Arabs marauders, that after defeating Awan tribe they adopted the title “Malik.”  After this victory the Tiwanas Rajputs advanced northward towards Soon Valley, but Muhammad Sarwar Khan collected his levies, defeated Tiwanas army at south of the Soon valley hills having taken the city of Kund. After this defeat the road was block for Tiwanas to march north ward in the future. Muhammad Sarwar’s younger son Muhammad Media Khan descendants permanently settled at this more prosperous plain and open plateau south of the Soon Valley and during the period of British Raj became great Maliks and Zaildar of this area.

While other branches of the tribe moved down to more prosperous plain and open plateaux outside Soon Valley, the main branch always settled in the mountainous regions. The Awan historians maintain that in the early seventeenth century appears Muhammad Himayat Ali, the elder son of Muhammad Bilal Ali, the head of the tribe of the Salt Range and a descendant of Ali ibn Talib, through the line of Al-Abbas ibn Ali in 29 number of the line, His name also is associated in the local legend with Aali Himat (in some record Himat Khan). He maintained his dominian in these mountainous region. In his time he was settled at Karora near present day city of Naushera.

Himayat Ali’s elder son Hashim Derya had two sons, Muhammad Saeed, the fore father of qazis of Naushera,  and Muhammad Shahbaz, whose descendants are Muhammad Latif and Muhammad Meher. Hashim Derya descendants founded the village Naushera  at the end of  16th century in the present day place (Naushera means New City in Arabic). The family tree of Muhammad Bilal Ali Khan goes like this:

Afghan Period
According the Imperial Gazetteer of India   “During the anarchic period which succeeded the disruption of the Mughal Empire, even this remote region became the scene of Sikh Empire|Sikh and Afghanistan|Afghan incursions. In the year 1757, a force under Niir-ud-din Bamizai, despatched by Ahmad Shah Durani, to assist his son Timur in repelling the Marhatta|Marathas, crossed the Jehlam at Khushab, marched up the left bank of the river, and laid waste the three largest towns of the District.”

Khair Muhammad and his son Muhammad Khushal maintained their dominions under Abbas Khan, a Khattak, who held Pind Dadan Khan and the Salt Range for Ahmad Shah Abdali, while surrounding country towards south was managed by Malik Sarkharou Khan, likewise Sodhi, Khabeki, Kufri, Ochala were also included among the dominions of their respective Malik Awans chieftains. The family tree of Muhammad Saeed, follows:

The most illustrious Awan family is Qazi and Sufi family of Naushera, descended from Khair Muhammad the leading chief of Awan tribe in his time. The eldest of Khair Muhammad's sons was Muhammad Khushal. He again had a son Muhammad Arif. From the death of Khair Muhammad, Naushera domestic history is a record of anarchy, warfare with other tribes and, division of land among the descendants of Muhammad Himayat Ali.

Sikh reign
In the meantime, after the final success of the Sikhs against Ahmad Shah in 1763, Ranjit Singh overran the whole Salt Range, because Awans Chiefs had favoured and assisted the Kabul army which was investing Attock. . In the beginning, the Sikhs were was repulsed with loss, and compelled to a retreat, but at last they subjugated Awans. The Awans on this occasion displayed gallantry, later on they offered allegiance, and secured their area between mountainous region of Salt Range. but "the local Awan families gradually lost their landed estates,....... The feudal powder declined and slowly died out." Their descendants are still respected as a native aristocracy.

It so happened that while other branches of the tribe established themselves as Zamindar like their ancestors, the descendants of Muhammad Khushal became religious scholars, qazis and Sufis. They had forgotten the tough life of Zamindars and warfare of their ancestors, and learned the refinements of Sufism and fiqh, thus became “intermediaries between the Faithful and their God,” Muhammad Khushal had a son Muhammad Arif (died 1748). He was a pious and religious man. He had two sons Mian Muhammad (died 1788) and Fateh Muhammad.

In the early nineteenth century, there arose two religious leaders in Naushera, the one strictly orthodox in the straight Hanafi Sunni way, and the other Sufi and  Majzoob. The first was Qazi Kalim Allah, son of Mian Muhammad, and the second was Hafiz Noor Mustafa, the son of Fateh Muhammad.. Both were grandsons of same person, Muhammad Arif. It is stated in the “History of Awan” that there were eight great pious men in this branch of tribe famous with the name of Qazi. All these eight have left a fame that was still remembered by the people.

Qazi Kalim Allah (died 1852), was a great scholar of Quran, Hadith and Fiqh, and Muslim jurisprudence. The other Hafiz Noor Mustafa was a majzoob. Since the Majzoob is someone who has reached the pinnacle of Sufism, the Sufis ascribe all sorts of powers to them, from helping others miraculously to knowing matters of the Unseen. Many miracles are attributed to him. He still figures in folk-lore as a saint. He had only one daughter Sherfan Bibi married to Qazi Ghulam Muhammad the son of Qazi Kalim Allah. They had only one son whom they named Qazi Mian Muhammad Amjad|Mian Muhammad Amjad who became the head of his tribe. He was a man of modest and retiring mode. Quiet and humble, he got both qualities of his grandfather and maternal grandfather. From his grandfather he got scholarship of Qur'an, Hadith, and the Hanafi school of Islamic law and from his maternal grandfather he learned mystic trances and pinnacle of Sufism. He also figures in folk-lore as a saint.

Many of the direct descendants of Qazi Kalim Allah and Qazi Mian Muhammad have wielded great influence among the Awans and other tribes in Salt Range The family is universally recognized as a line of true Alavi (surname)|Alwis Awan (Pakistan)|Awans. One century later, in the person of Qazi Mazhar Qayyum, we shall see a great name in the history of Naushera.

British Raj
After Sikh Rule in Lahore|Sikh rule, this valley passed under direct British Raj, with the rest of the Punjab, at the close of the second Sikh war, at the close of the second Sikh war. . In 1893, during the British Raj, the district of Shahpur was created and this town was included in this District. The Mutiny of 1857 had little influence upon Shahpur. The District remained tranquil; and though the villages of the bar gave cause for alarm, no outbreak of sepoys tookplace, and the wild tribes of the upland did not revolt.

In this period, the successor of the original saint, and the elder son, Qazi Mazhar Qayyum, who appeared to be a man of world, a legendary personality acquired fame as a great hero of Salt Range. He has left a fame that was still remembered by the people fifty years ago. Rais|Raees Azam Naushera, as he was known to his people, he struck the imagination of his hillmen at the time. He kept open house for every one alike and entertained and received many guests over the years at his place, including politically prominent Great Maliks of Salt range, literary persons, and ordinary hillmen with equal treatment.

Hearing his fame, the Hakeems of Delhi, offered him to come to Delhi, and worked with them, he refused by saying that he would preferred the sunlight of his ancestral village to the wealth of Delhi. Unlike his father he wrote nothing but attracted crowds everywhere he went. When wandered through the streets of Naushera and hills of Soon valley, he was always followed by Awans. While walking in the streets, he used to sit on any ordinary place, on a rock, in a shop, unlike his Qazi Zafar Hussain|arrogant brother, he loved to mingle with people, so perfect his reception and manner that he could charm the ordinary Hillman into the proud belief that he spoke man to man, as to an equal.

During British period, a middle school was established which was later on given the status of High School. After the independence,in 1976, a Government College was established, now enjoying the status of Government Degree College Naushera. In the early twentieth century A police station was also established.

After the creation of Pakistan,in 1960 when Sargodha was given the status of an Independent District with Shahpur as one of its Tehsil, this town was included in this District. When Khushab District|Khushab became the district, consists of 3 tehsils: Khushab Tehsil|Khushab, Nurpur, and Quaidabad, Naushera was given the status of sub-tehsil.