Chowdhury

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Chowdhury
Pronunciation
  • chow-dhuree
  • chaw-dree
  • chow-dree
Origin
Meaning"Holder of four"; "four-way duties"; "four responsibilities"
Region of originIndian subcontinent
Other names
Variant form(s) Chaudhary, Chaudri, Choudhary, Chaudhry, Chowdary, Chowdhry, Chowdhary, Chaudry, Choudary, Choudhry, Chaudhuri, Chaudhari, Chudhry, Choudhari, Choudhury, Chowdhuri, Chowduri, Chaudhurani, Choudhurani, Chowdhurani, Chowdhrani, Choudhrani, Chaudhrani.

Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. [1] It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associated with zamindars and social leaders. The common female equivalent was Chowdhurani. [2]

Contents

Meaning

"Chowdhury" is a term adapted from the Sanskrit words čatus "four-way, all-round" and dhurīya "undertaking a burden", denoting the head of a community or caste. [1]

Significance

It was a title awarded to persons of eminence, including both Muslims and Hindus, during the Mughal Empire. It was also used as a title by military commanders responsible for four separate forces, including the cavalry, navy, infantry and elephant corps. [1] These people belonged to the zamindar families in British India. [3] [ verification needed ]

Later, the Mughals and the Nawabs conferred the same title in great numbers. Chaudharies were local magnates responsible for land taxes alongside an amil (revenue collector) and a karkun (accountant) in the local-level administrative units known as parganas . [4] [5] [6]

In modern times, the term is a common South Asian surname for both males and females.

In Odisha "Choudhury" surname holders are mostly Zamindar Karanas [7] and Utkal Brahmins.

Chaudhary is also a common last name among the Tharu community of Nepal.

Regional

In the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the titular Rajas of the Bohmong Circle and Mong Circle have the surname Chowdhury. [8] [9] [10] [11]

The Bengali Muslim Mirashdars [note 1] living in the former Kachari Kingdom were given titles by the Kachari Raja, which in modern-day acts as a surname for them. [13]

In Bihar, the Pasi are also known as the Chaudhary, a community traditionally connected with toddy tapping. [14]

In Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chaudhary surname is widely used by Jat community while some other communities using it are Rajputs, Gurjars, Ahirs, Dalits, etc. [15] [16] [17] This surname is popular in North India and it conveys honour and strength. [18] [19] It is typically used as a prefix before the given name, often represented by the prefix 'Ch' such as Ch. Charan Singh, 5th prime minister of India and Ch. Devi Lal, 6th deputy prime minister of India.

Deshastha Brahmins and Kammas from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana who got this as a title during Qutb Shahis of Golconda and Nizams of Hyderabad also use Chowdhari or Chowdhury as their surnames. [20] [21] [22]

Alternate spellings

Its alternate spellings include: Chaudhary, Chaudri, Chaudhri, Choudhary, Chaudhry, Chowdary, Chowdhary, Chaudry, Choudary, Choudhry, Chaudhuri, Chaudhari, Chudhry, Choudhari, Choudhury, Chowdhuri and Chowdury. [1] The female equivalent is Chaudhurani and alternate spellings include: Choudhurani, Chowdhurani, Chowdhrani, Choudhrani, Chaudhrani.

Chowdhury by country

Bangladesh

Faizunnesa Choudhurani Faizunnesa.jpg
Faizunnesa Choudhurani
Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali Saheb Qiblah.gif
Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali
Abdul Hamid Chowdhury Abdul Hamid Chowdhury.jpg
Abdul Hamid Chowdhury
Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury.jpg
Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury
Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury.JPG
Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury
Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury HabibullahBaharChowdhury.jpg
Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury Abu Sayeed Chowdhury at the office of the Vice-Chancellor of Dacca University, November 1970.png
Abu Sayeed Chowdhury
Husam Uddin Chowdhury Fultali maaolaanaa muhaammd huchaamuddiin caudhurii phultlii.jpg
Husam Uddin Chowdhury Fultali

India

Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri.jpg
Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Assam

Moinul Hoque Choudhury Moinul Hoque Choudhury.gif
Moinul Hoque Choudhury

Uttar Pradesh


West Bengal

Nepal

Fiji

Pakistan

Choudhry Rahmat Ali Choudhry Rahmat Ali.jpg
Choudhry Rahmat Ali

United Kingdom

United States

Chaudhary

Business

Acting, modeling and entertainment

Politics

Sports

Academia, science & scholarship

Journalism

Other occupations

Chaudhari

Chaudhari (Hindi : चौधरी, Punjabi : ਚੌਧਰੀ, Marathi : चौधरी) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Chaudhri

Chaudhuri

Chaudhurani

Fictional characters


Other

Further disambiguation pages

Organisations

Notes

  1. Mirashdar is a term referring to a landowner who pays taxes directly to the government. [12]

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