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Rai Bahadur

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Rai Bahadur
Title Badge for Rao Bahadur
TypeCivilian Honour
Country British India
Presented by Viceroy of India
EligibilityHindu Indian
StatusDiscontinued (since 1947)
Precedence
Next (higher)Dewan Bahadur
Equivalent
Next (lower)Rai Sahib

Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), abbreviated R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the Empire. From 1911, the title was accompanied by a medal called a Title Badge.[1] Translated, Rai or Rao means "King", and Bahadur means "Brave". Bestowed mainly on Hindus, the equivalent title for Muslim and Parsi subjects was Khan Bahadur. For Sikhs it was Sardar Bahadur.

The title was given to recognise and reward individuals who had made significant contributions in various fields such as public service, commerce, industry, and philanthropy.

Those awarded the Rai Bahadur title were usually drawn from the lower rank of Rai Sahib, both of which were below the rank of Dewan Bahadur.[2] These titles were subordinate to the two orders of knighthood: the Order of the Indian Empire and the higher Order of the Star of India. A holder of a Rai Sahib, Rai Bahadur or Dewan Bahadur title came lower in the order of precedence.[1]

Selected recipients awarded the Rai/Rao Bahadur title

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Academics and education

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Activists and politicians

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Civil servants and government officials

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  • Pushkar Thakur, District Magistrate and Collector of Champaran. Title awarded in 1945 in recognition of his outstanding service as Special Officer for War Risks Insurance for Bihar and Orissa, covering an area larger than that of the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands combined. The Viceroy Lord Wavell personally wrote a letter congratulating Pushkar Thakur on the contribution of Bihar and Orissa in the National War Effort, which had been the highest in the country.[7]
  • Jagan Nath Bhandari Raj Ratan, Dewan of Idar State[8]
  • Lada Damodar Das, extrajudicial assistant commissioner in the Punjab[4]
  • Dewan E.K. Govindan, writer, civil servant and ruled the first malayali man Pudukotta administratively, then served as Dewan of Pudukotta[9]
  • Dewan Jaggatnath, secretary to the municipal committee and district board, Dera Ismail Khan[6]
  • Sahu Parsotam Saran Kothiwala, member of the district board, Moradabad[4]
  • Lala Jai Lal, member of the Municipal Committee, Simla[4]
  • A. Savarinatha Pillai, Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Madras Presidency; winner of King's Coronation Award for Distinguished Public Service, London[10]
  • Akshey Kumar Sarkar, superintendent, Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of India[6]
  • Betharam Sarma, sub-deputy collector, Tezpur, Assam[4]
  • Anant Maydeo, chief engineer, Public Works Department, Bombay

Commerce and industry

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Rai Sahib and Rai Bahadur title badges of Jamuna Das Choudhury

Engineering, science and medicine

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  • Kailash Chandra Bose CIE OBE, first knighted Indian physician.[15]
  • Upendranath Brahmachari FRSM FRS (1873–1946), Bengal-born physician and scientist. Synthesised urea stibamine, determining its effectiveness as a treatment for the disease Kala Azar
  • Balkishen Kaul, surgeon, lecturer, and superintendent of Lahore Medical college[4]
  • Puttana Venkatramana Raju (1894–1975), civil engineer, industrial advisor to government of India, educationist
  • Ram Dhan Singh, pioneer agricultural scientist, principal, College of Agriculture, Lyallpur, erstwhile Punjab, 1947[16]

Law and justice

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  • Babu Ram Sadan Bhattacharji, deputy magistrate, Bengal[4]
  • Chaudhary Dewan Chand Saini MBE, (born 1887) of Gurdaspur, Punjab, distinguished lawyer of Punjab High Court, leader of the criminal bar; elected member of Legislative Council of colonial Punjab
  • Rajendranath Dutt, judge, Bengal[4]
  • Soti Raghubans Lal, subordinate judge, Shahjehanpur[4]
  • Sadh Achraj Lal, honorary magistrate and member of the municipal board, Mirzapur[4]
  • Jwala Prasad, government pleader[4]
  • Raghunath Sharan, District Judge in Bihar[17]
  • Babu Bahadur Singh, honorary magistrate, Pilibhit[4]
  • Babu Shuhrat Singh, Zemindar of Chandpur and honorary magistrate, Basti[4]
  • N S Nanjundiah (1879–1953), of Nanjangud distinguished advocate of Chief Court of Mysore and a sheristadar.[18]
  • Rai Bahadur Radha Kishen Kaul, Judge High Court, Jammu and Kashmir.

Literature and arts

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Philanthropy, religion and charity

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Police and emergency services

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Other

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b H. Taprell Dorling. (1956). Ribbons and Medals. A.H.Baldwin & Sons, London. p. 111.
  2. ^ Jalan, Aditya (2009). "Dewan Bahadur 1944–1954". Quila House and the Jalan Collection: A Brief Introduction. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  3. ^ Who's Who 1911 Coronation Edition, Lucknow, Newul Kishore Press, 1911 (page 27)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The Indian biographical dictionary, by C. Hayavando Rao, 1915 (page 26)
  5. ^ Several sources:
  6. ^ a b c d e The Indian biographical dictionary, by C. Hayavando Rao, 1915 (page 27)
  7. ^ MM Thakur, Myself Surprised, pg 88, https://linguae.weebly.com/uploads/3/6/5/7/3657496/myself_surprised.pdf
  8. ^ Bhandari Jagan Nath Rai Bhadur, Raj Ratan, Dewan of Idar State, The Times of India directory and year book including who's who, Volume 32, 1945
  9. ^ The Who's who in Madras: ... A Pictorial Who's who of Distinguished Personages, Princes, Zemindars and Noblemen in the Madras Presidency. Pearl Press. 1939.
  10. ^ "Caste and Capitalism in Colonial India".
  11. ^ "Jamnalal Bajaj". The Print. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ^ Govindarajulu, Rajesh (2015-07-03). "Pioneers in textile". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  13. ^ Lewis, Sir Hawthorne (1954). Speeches Delivered by His Excellency Sir Hawthorne Lewis, ..., Governor of Orissa, 1941-1946. Government of Orissa. pp. 13, 35. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ Datta, K. K. (1958). History of the Freedom Movement in Bihar (1942-1947). Vol. 3. Patna, India: Government of Bihar. p. 237.
  15. ^ "Sir Kailas Chandra Bose". The Indian Medical Gazette. 62 (4): 235–237. 1927. PMC 5197519.
  16. ^ "Biography of Ch. Ram Dhan Singh". Dr Ramd Dhan Singh.
  17. ^ "Former District Judges since the Creation of the Judgeship". District Court in India | Official Website of District Court of India.
  18. ^ "Rao Bahadur N. S. Nanjundiah".
  19. ^ London Gazette, Friday, 4th June, 1948
  20. ^ Channa, Subhadra Mitra; Channa, Subhadra (2013-09-05). Gender in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-04361-9.
  21. ^ Gupta, G. S. (1991). Free Masonry in India. G. S. Gupta (IAS).
  22. ^ Indian Factories & Labour Reports: Deputy Commissioner S. N. Mukherjee. Law Publishing House. 1963. Supreme Court of India.