Chowdhury

Chowdhury (Urdu: چودہری, Bengali: চৌধুরী) is a term in Indo-Aryan languages, literally meaning "a holder of four" or "owner of the fourth part". Traditionally, the term is used as a title indicating the ownership of ancestral land, but now-a-days it is often taken as a surname. The word is variously spelt in different areas (see the spelling section below).

The term "Chowdhury" does not indicate a caste or tribe, rather a position held within the tribe. The title is in use by many landowning ethnic groups and tribes, including the Rajputs,Arains,Gujjars, Jats,Ojnaas, ,Kambohs, Minhas, Sainis and Mughal Kassar مغل کسر/ مغل قصر. In north and eastern Indian states of Bihar and Bengal, this title is also used by Brahmin landlords.In Andhra Pradesh,this title is used by Kamma caste group.

pellings

Since the term is pronounced differently in various areas and communities around Bangladesh, India and Pakistan there have been a number of different pronunciation spellings for this term when used in titles and surnames. A list of most common spellings available on web is given below. The list is sorted by the number of search results and only considers spellings with more than 100000 results.
* Choudhury (most common and correctFact|date=October 2008)
* Chowdhury
* Chaudhuri
* Chaudhry
* Chaudhary
* Chaudhery
* Chaudary
* Choudhary
* Chaudry
* Chouddery
* Chaudhari
* Chaudhury
* Choudhry
* Chowdhary
* Chowdhry
* Chawdhauri
* Chaudhri
* Chaudri
* Choudary
* Choudhuri
* Choudry
* Chowdary
* Chowdhary
* Choudhry
* Choudhri

All variants are prevalent in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India.Fact|date=October 2008

History

The earliest written references are from the 15th century, when this title was conferred by the Sultans of the Delhi Sultanate upon its military nobles of Indian origins.

However, the title became significant during the Mughal era as the Mughal Emperors conferred this title upon some privileged Taluqdars (area administrators) initially in Punjab, and then in most of North India.

During the Mughal era, a taluqa or district usually consisted of 84 villages and a central town. The Taluqdar was required to collect taxes, maintain law and order, and provide military supplies and manpower to the provincial government. In most cases the Taluqdars were entitled to retain a tenth of the collected revenue. However, some privileged Taluqdars were entitled to a quarter and hence were called Chowdhury, which also literally means owner of the fourth part.

The Mughal Emperor Zaheerudin Babur mentions the Chowdhurys of Bhera in his book, Tuzk-e-Babri. Those Chowdhurys were appointed by the Turk King, Alauddin Khilji. According to the Glossary of Punjab Castes, the Talukdars belonging to Mair-Minhas and Mughal Kassar مغل کسر/ مغل قصر tribes of the Dhani country (present day Chakwal district) in the northwest of Punjab were among the first few to receive this honorific title from the Mughal Emperor, Zaheerudin Babur for their services to his army during a later expedition in that region. During the Mughal era, this title was only conferred upon a few privileged talukdars around the empire. However, during the Sikh rule in Punjab this title became very common and quite a few village headmen or 'Lumberdars' were given 'Chowdhury' as a title by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ever since, the Chowdhurys of Chakwal style themselves as 'Chowdhurial' to distinguish themselves from the newly appointed men.

In the recent past, Chowdhury surname has also been adapted by some south Indian communities, particularly by the kammas of coastal andhra pradhesh. The higher social standing attributed to the Chowdhury communities in north India is believed to have spurred this adaptation in south India. The people of the ojanaa Patidar community of north Gujarat and south rajasthan also hold the surname 'Chaudhari' which relates to military commander, but most of them later changed the profession as tax collectors (collection of fourth part, a quarter) and "sahukari" (money lenders). The ojnaa are also known as patyol(=patel=patidar), however the ojnaa has not any historical or cultural relation between the patel/patidar(famous sub cates-leva&kadva). The chaudhary were military commanders where as the patel were land-owning agriculturalists.

Position in different areas

Although the title has lost its original exclusivity, in some areas, a Chowdhury is still considered a rank or title, as is zamindar. In both Indian and Pakistani Punjab regions, a Chowdhury is still considered a headman of a tribe in some villages and small towns. Male members of Chowdhury families are entitled to use the prefix CH. an abbreviation for Chowdhury which acts as a courtesy title before their first name.

In north and eastern Indian states of Bihar and Bengal, this title is still used by Brahmin landlords. Roy Chowdhury or Ray Chaudhuri is used by zamindars of Bengal. They have their majority in the states like Haryana,M.P. But usually find in different parts of the India and Pakistan Sub-continents.

After their meteoric economic rise in the recent past, some communities in south india, particularly kammas of coastal andhra-pradesh have adapted chowdhury surname, as a means of elevating their social standing.

Since the partition of British India people from many tribes have retained this title in Pakistan as well. These include people from Arain, Gujjar and Jat and Muslim Minhas tribe.

In big cities, Chowdhurys are found in minorities and are mostly based in small villages and towns named as KASBA in Hindi/Urdu language where engagement with professions like farming and cattle breeding were the main rationale behind this.

See also

* Feudalism in Pakistan

References