The Awadhi people or Awadhis (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

: अवधी,

Kaithi Kaithi (), also called Kayathi (), Kayasthi (), or Kayastani, is a Brahmic script historically used across parts of Northern and Eastern India. It was prevalent in regions corresponding to modern-day Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. The s ...

: 𑂃𑂫𑂡𑂲,

Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet (), also known as the Perso-Arabic script, is the right-to-left script, right-to-left alphabet used for the Persian language. It is a variation of the Arabic script with four additional letters: (the sounds 'g', 'zh', ' ...

: ) are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak the

Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...

language and reside in the

Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...

region of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. Many Awadhis also migrated to

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and some adjoining regions of the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, and in addition 3 per cent of

Nepalis Nepali or Nepalese () are the permanent citizens of Nepal under Nepali nationality law. The term ''Nepali'' strictly refers to ''nationality'', meaning people holding citizenship of Nepal. Conversely, people without Nepalese citizenship but wi ...

are Awadhi speakers. Awadhi people can be found throughout the world, most notably in

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Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, the

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, and

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. Historically,

Indo-Aryans Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of peoples predominantly found in South Asia, who (traditionally) speak Indo-Aryan languages. Historically, Aryans were the Indo-Iranian speaking pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia int ...

dominated the North Indian Gangetic Planes; thus, the

language continuously evolved over the centuries in the

region of Uttar Pradesh.

Language

The Awadhi language is spoken by about 55 million people. In India, native speakers are estimated to be 65 million, while in Nepal native speakers are estimated to be 500,000 people. Linguistically, Awadhi is a distinct language with its own grammar. However, the Indian government considers Awadhi to be a dialect of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

due to political reasons. Awadhi is not formally taught in any institution.

Cuisine

Consisting of both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes, Awadhi cuisine has influences that can be linked to the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. It is similar to cuisines from surrounding areas, such as Bhojpur, Kashmir, Central Asia, Punjab, and Hyderabad. Awadhi cuisine is known for its use of aromatics and spices, such as

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genus (biology), genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indon ...

and

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

, in a slow fire cooking process. There is also notable variety in ingredients that are cooked, such as

paneer Paneer (), is a fresh acid-set cheese, common in cuisine of South Asia, made from cow milk or buffalo milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice. Pa ...

and

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

. In addition, there are rice, curry, dessert, and

chaat Chaat, or chāt (IAST: ''cāṭ)'' () is a family of savoury snacks that originated in India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre or at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across South Asia in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh. ...

preparations that are specific to Awadhi cuisine.

Notable Awadhis

* Afroz Ahmad *

Muzaffar Ali Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. Biography Raja Muzaffar was born in Lucknow of the erstwhile United Provinces, British India, in 1944. The elde ...

* Nahshad Ali *

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

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Harivansh Rai Bachchan Harivansh Rai Bachchan (; 27 November 1907 18 January 2003) was an Indian poet and writer of the Nayi Kavita literary movement (romantic upsurge) of early 20th century Hindi literature. He was also a poet of the Hindi Kavi Sammelan. He is be ...

* Piaa Bajpai *

Sarita Bhadauria Sarita Bhadauria (born 4 January 1963) is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh. She is also a member of 18th Legislative Assembly, Uttar Pradesh of India. She hails from the Etawah constituency in Uttar Pradesh which is considered to be the ...

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Abhishek Chaubey Abhishek Chaubey is an Indian director, screenwriter and film producer known for his works in Hindi cinema. Early life Abhishek Chaubey was born in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh to Anand Mohan Chaubey and Sheela Chaubey. He spent his early childhood ...

* Rudrasen Chaudhary * Narendra Deva *

Shanta Devi Damayanthi (1927 – 20 November 2010), better known by her stage name Kozhikode Santha Devi, was an Indian Malayalam film and stage actress. In a career spanning about sixty years, she acted in more than 1000 plays and about 480 films. Biog ...

* Babu Gulabrai *

Ali Sardar Jafri Ali Sardar Jafri (29 November 1913 – 1 August 2000) was an Indian writer of Urdu language. He was also a poet, critic and film lyricist. Biography Early life and education Ali Sardar Jafri was born in Balrampur (in present-day Uttar Prad ...

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Kailas Nath Kaul Kailas Nath Kaul (1905–1983) was an Indian botanist, naturalist, agricultural scientist, horticulturist, herbalist, plant collector and herpetologist, and a world authority on Arecaceae. He founded India's National Botanical Research Institu ...

Imdad Khan Ustad Imdad Khan (1848 – 1920) was a sitar and surbahar player. He was the first sitar player ever to be recorded.Wahid Khan Wahid Khan (born 1895 died ?) was an Indian surbahar and sitar player. He was the son of Imdad Khan and belonged to the Imdadkhani gharana or '' Etawah gharana'' of classical music. Early life Wahid Khan was born in 1895 at Etawah, Uttar ...

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Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ( 23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an Indian political activist of the Indian independence movement and a socialist politician. As a nationalist, he worked actively to protest against colonialism, raising awareness of th ...

* Amaresh Misra *

Satish Mishra Satish Chandra Mishra (born 9 November 1952) is an Indian politician who was the cabinet minister in Mayawati ministry in Uttar Pradesh, India, and a part of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). He is a lawyer by profession. He was a member of Rajya Sab ...

Gopaldas Neeraj Gopaldas Saxena (known by his ''nom-de-plume'', Neeraj; 4 January 1925 – 19 July 2018) was an Indian poet and author of Hindi literature. He was also a poet of Hindi Kavi sammelan (Poets Meet). He wrote under the pen name "Neeraj". Biograph ...

* Shringi Rushi *

Babu Himmat Sah Babu Himmat Sah was the founder and the first ruler of Kohra (estate) of Oudh, British India (now in Amethi district, Uttar Pradesh, India) and belongs from Bandhalgoti clan of Rajput. He was the younger son of Raja Bikram Sah, who was the ...

* Ramchandra Shukla * Lal Pratap Singh *

Babu Bhoop Singh Babu Bhoop Singh (born c. 1820) was one of the most prominent leaders in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 from the Oudh region, which is now part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He hailed from the Bandhalgoti clan of Rajputs and was the ruler ...

* Bajrang Bahadur Singh * Nivedita Tiwari * Bekal Utsahi * Bhagwati Charan Verma * Anand Sen Yadav * Mitrasen Yadav *

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References

Ethnic groups in India Ethnic groups divided by international borders Ethnic groups in Nepal {{asia-ethno-group-stub hi:अवधी लोग