Banke Mian or Banke Mian Qawwal is a computer animated character of Pakistani television channel "Express News

Express News

Express News may refer to:* Express News , a Pakistan private TV Channel* Express Newspapers, a British newspaper group* San Antonio Express-News, an American daily newspaper...

". As evident from his name, he appears as a Qawwal on television. Banke Mian expresses his views on politics, current affairs or other topics of interest in the form of Qawwali

Qawwali

Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, particularly in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi, and other parts of northern India...

. Banke Mian first appeared on television on 14 Aug 2009.

Historically "Banka" was a popular tradition pertaining to Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

 and Lucknow

Lucknow

Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....

. "Bankas" were those characters of these cities who emerged in the British era of India. "Bankas" pretended to be very brave people in humrous manner. But Banke Mian is a bit different. He comments on every day issues using wit and satire.

Banke Mian is also a columnist in Urdau daily Express. The name of his column is "Banke Nama".