Chowdhury

Chowdhury (Urdu: چوہدری) 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 castes and tribes, including the Jats, Kambohs, Arains, Minhas and Gujjars. In north and eastern Indian states of Bihar and Bengal, this title is also used by Brahmin landlords.

Spellings

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.

• Chowdhury
• Chaudhuri
• Choudhury
• Chaudhry
• Chaudhary
• Choudhary
• Chaudry
• Chaudhari
• Chaudhury
• Choudhry
• Chowdhary
• Chowdhry
• Chaudhri
• Choudary
• Choudhuri
• Choudry
• Chowdary

Chaudhry, Chaudhary and Choudhary are most common spellings in Pakistan however the use of Chowdhury and Chaudhuri is also prevalent in India and Bangladesh.

History

In some traditions the term is said to have been derived from a title for a military commander controlling four different fighting forces, namely navy, cavalry, infantry, and elephant corps. From Sanskrit čatus- "four-way", "all-round" + dhurīya "undertaking a burden (of responsibility)" (Sanskrit dhura "burden"). The earliest 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 Talukdars (area administrators) initially in Punjab and then in most of North India.

During the Mughal era, a Taluqa or district usually comprised of 84 villages and a central town. The Taluqdar was required to collect taxes, maintain law & order, and provide military supplies/manpower to the provincial government. In most cases the Talqdars were entitled to retain 1/10th of the collected revenue. However, some privileged Taluqdars were entitled to 1/4th 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-Babari". Those Chowdhurys were appointed by the Turk King, Allah-udin Khilji. According to the Glossary of Punjab Castes, the Talukdars belonging to Mair-Minhas and Mughal Kassar tribes of the Dhani country (present day Chakwal district) in the North-West of Punjab were among the first few to receive this horrific 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.

Position in different areas

Although the title has lost its original exclusivity, in some areas, a Chowdhury is still considered a 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.

In north and eastern Indian states of Bihar and Bengal, this title is still used by Brahmin landlords. "Roy Chowdhury" is used by zamindars of Bengal.

In South India also, the Chowdhurys were traditionally landlords and privileged area administrators. Kammas from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are referred to as "Chowdary", especially those in Coastal Andhra Pradesh. However, a large number of Kammas have dropped the title, probably due to egalitarian and communist undercurrents.

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.

See also

• Talukdar
• Zamindar
• Feudalism