The Bhachar are a Awan

Awan

Awan and Awans may refer to:*the Awan dynasty, an Elamite dynasty of Iran*Awan , a South Asian tribe*Awan , Azad Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir dynasty*Awan *Awan languages, spoken in South America...

 tribe, found in Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. According to the Census of India, they numbered approximately 2,000.

Locality

They are found in the South East border of the Mianwali District

Mianwali District

Mianwali is a district in the northwest of Punjab province, Pakistan. It borders eight districts: Attock District in the north, Chakwal District in the northeast, Khushab District in the east, and Bhakkar District in the south, while Lakki Marwat lies to the west, Kohat and Karak districts to the...

. Their chief village is Wan Bhachran

Wan Bhachran

Wan Bhachran is a town and union council, an administrative sub division, of Mianwali District in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Mianwali Tehsil...

.

History and origin

The Bhachars are Awan

Awan

Awan and Awans may refer to:*the Awan dynasty, an Elamite dynasty of Iran*Awan , a South Asian tribe*Awan , Azad Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir dynasty*Awan *Awan languages, spoken in South America...

.Their original home was in the Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

, whence they moved, first to Sindh province along with MUHAMMAD BIN QASIM ARMY,and later to their present site, which was chosen on account of the "wan" or large well said to be built by the Emperor Sher Shah Suri

Sher Shah Suri

Sher Shah Suri , birth name Farid Khan, also known as Sher Khan , was the founder of the short-lived Sur Empire in northern India, with its capital at Delhi, before its demise in the hands of the resurgent Mughal Empire...

. These wells were placed at intervals of about a day's march apart on the road from Gujrat

Gujrat

Gujrat is a city in Pakistan. It is the capital of Gujrat District and the Gujrat Tehsil subdivision in the Punjab Province. People living in Gujrat refer to themselves as Gujratis, which sometimes leads to confusion with people from the Indian state of Gujarat which adjoins Pakistan...

 to Bannu

Bannu

Bannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...

 and the North West Frontier Province.

The name "Bhachar" seems to have been a form of endearment applied to them by some forgotten Pir

Pir (Sufism)

Pir or Peer is a title for a Sufi master equally used in the nath tradition. They are also referred to as a Hazrat or Shaikh, which is Arabic for Old Man. The title is often translated into English as "saint" and could be interpreted as "Elder". In Sufism a Pir's role is to guide and instruct his...

.

Their circumstances have been much changed of late, owing to their discovery that the soil of "thai" was most suitable for the cultivation of gram : they are now very well-off. In appearance and general characteristics they resemble the people of the Khushab District

Khushab District

Khushab District is a rural tribal district located in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the population was 905,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas. The district consists of 3 tehsils: Khushab, Nurpur, and Quaidabad, as well as a sub-tehsil Naushera...

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