Rai Sahib / Rao Saheb / Roy Sahib / Rao Sahib (abbreviated R.S.) was a
title of honour
A title of honor or honorary title is a title bestowed upon individuals or organizations as an award in recognition of their merits.
Sometimes the title bears the same or nearly the same name as a title of authority, but the person bestowed ...
issued during the era of
British rule
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
* or dire ...
in India to individuals who performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation.
From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special
Title Badge. Translated, ''Rai'' means "King" ''Sahib'' means "Leader". Awarded during the reign of
George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...
. For another image of the badge see link
This was the start level title usually awarded to civilians, which could later be upgraded to
Rao Bahadur
Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British Raj, British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the British Empire, Empire. From ...
and then to
Dewan Bahadur
Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...
titles.
The title styled ''Rai Sahib'' were awarded to
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
people of
North India
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
, Rao Saheb in
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 ...
and styled ''Rao Sahib'' to Hindu people of
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
, however, they were both of same category and spelling was altered to meet with regional differences of pronunciation.
The Rai Sahib/Rao Sahib/Roy Sahib and other similar titles issued during the British Raj were disestablished in 1947 upon
independence of India
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed.
The first nationalistic ...
.
Recipients awarded the title
*
Rai Sahib Dina Nath - military officer an civil servant.
* Rao Bahadur
Satyendra Nath Mukherjee, awarded Rai Saheb on 4 June 1934. He was the first Indian Origin Deputy Commissioner of Police, Calcutta.
*Rao Sahib
Ayyathan Gopalan
DR. Rao Sahib Ayathan Gopalan (3 March 1861 – 2 May 1948), popularly known as Darsarji and Darsar Sahib ("Darsar" means "doctor", derived from Latin word "docere" for doctor), was an Indian doctor, surgeon, professor, writer, philanthropist ...
(Kerala, India) a.k.a. "Darsarji" – Doctor, chief surgeon, hospital superintendent and in charges, medical school professor who also served as the magistrate of Malabar region of Kerala (during British rule in India), social reformer of Kerala. Awarded on 17 November 1917 by British Government.
*Rai Sahib Bhagat Ram Sahni, founded the
Arya Samaj
Arya Samaj () is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda Saraswati founded the samaj in the 1870s.
Arya Samaj was the first Hindu ...
movement in
Srinagar
Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...
,
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019
* Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...
.
*
Pandit Wazir Chand Trikha,
Jhang
Jhang ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is the capital city of Jhang District in central Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 13th most populous city of Pakistan.
Etymology
The historical name of the city and dis ...
, Pakistan (India) Chief Accounts Officer of Northern Railways.
*
Nagendra Kumar Bhattacharyya
Rai Sahib Nagendra Kumar Bhattacharyya (5 November 1888 – 8 April 1967) was an Indian criminal lawyer practising in the High Court of Calcutta and a Member of the West Bengal Legislative Council.
Early life
Rai Sahib Nagendra Kumar Bhattac ...
Commissioner of
Berhampore
Berhampore (), also known as Baharampur (), is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. Berhampore is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district. As of 2011 census, Berhampore is the seventh largest city ...
1932–1948, Murshidabad District, West Bengal.
*
Rao Sahib
Rai Sahib / Rao Saheb / Roy Sahib / Rao Sahib (abbreviated R.S.) was a title of honour issued during the era of British rule in India to individuals who performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title wa ...
Katragadda Pedha Achaiah, Landlord,
Amruthalur
Amruthalur is a village in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Amruthaluru mandal in Tenali revenue division. The village forms a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is under the jurisdiction of ...
which is presently located in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India.
*Rao Saheb
Buddha Mahalakshmi Naidu
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
, Landlord, Inamdar, Municipal Chairman of
Anakapalle
Anakapalli (, ) is a suburb of Visakhapatnam city, located within the jurisdiction of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. It contains India's second largest jaggery market.
History
The town was ruled by the Kalinga (histo ...
.
*
Ramnath Goenka
Ramnath Goenka (22 April 1904 – 5 October 1991) was an Indian newspaper publisher. He bought the majority stake of ''The Indian Express'' in 1930s. He created the Indian Express Group with various English and regional language publications.'' ...
, Bombay – Newspaper editor and businessman.
*
Mulji Jagmal Sawaria
Mulji Jagmal Sawaria, R.S. also known as Moolji Jagmal (1899–1956) was a noted coal miner, railway contractor and businessman from Kutch, who established himself at Bilaspur, India.
Early life
Moolji was born in 1899 to Jagmal Gangji Sawari ...
,
Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
Bilaspur is a city located in Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur District in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Chhattisgarh. Bilaspur is the Administrative headquarters of the Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh, Bilasp ...
– Miner.
*
A. Y. S. Parisutha Nadar,
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...
– Politician and industrialist.
*
Deep Chand Bahman
Deep Chand Bahman was a celebrated Saang artist of Haryana. He was born in Khanda, Sonipat Haryana. He was popularly known as Shakespeare or Kalidas of Haryana. He played great role in enriching Haryanvi dialect of Hindi and preserving the ragni s ...
– Awarded Rai Sahib for the best
saang
Saang, also known as Swang (meaning "imitation") or Svang, is a popular folk dance–theatre form and a traditional style of storytelling in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Swang incorporates suitable t ...
.
*
Abraham Pandithar – Tamil musicologist, composer and traditional medicine practitioner (2 August 1859 – 31 August 1919).
*
Dinanath Atmaram Dalvi (1844–1897) Subordinate Judge Bombay Presidency, Senior Dakshina Fellow Elphinstone College Bombay, Fellow Bombay University and author of the book "An Examination of Sir Isaac Newton's Rule for Finding the Number of Imaginary Square Roots in an Equation".
*
Dukhan Ram – Indian ophthalmologist, legislator and
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
recipient.
*
Mahabir Prasad Misra – Educator, Madhubani District, Dharbanga.
*
Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy
Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy (1863-1940) was a Telugu writer and one of the earliest modern Telugu linguists and social visionaries during the British rule. He championed the cause of using a language comprehensible to the common man (‘Vyavaha ...
– Telugu linguist.
*
Ganpatrao Narayanrao Madiman – Businessman and banker from Hubli, Karnataka.
*
Kashinath Krishna Kalkar – Deputy Collector of
Amalner
Amalner is a town and a municipal council in Jalgaon district in the state of Maharashtra, India, situated on the bank of the Bori River. Amalner is the birthplace of the Wipro company, which started business by producing vanaspati ghee from s ...
.
*
Koovarji Karsan Rathor – Industrialist from
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...
.
[
* Kuppusamy Kodandapani Pillai – Deputy Collector, Protector of Emigrants, Special Officer for South African Repatriates and Controller of Emigration from ]Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
.
* Harilal Shamji – Philanthropist and industrialist from Raigarh
Raigarh is a city in northern Chhattisgarh known as the 'Cultural capital of Chhattisgarh'; Raigarh is famous for its dance form “SUWA” (as Raigarh Gharana) and classical music; Raigarh is also known as Sanskritidhani.
It is also known for ...
.
See also
*Rao Bahadur
Rai Bahadur (in North India) and Rao Bahadur (in South India), R.B., was a title of honour bestowed during British Raj, British rule in India to individuals for outstanding service or acts of public welfare to the British Empire, Empire. From ...
*Dewan Bahadur
Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...
* Raj Ratna
*Title Badge (India)
Title Badges were presented to Indian citizens who received certain formal title of honor, titles of honour during British Raj, British rule in India. They ceased to be awarded in 1947 on Indian independence.
Establishment
The system for best ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Image of Indian Title Badge, George V, first variety, 3rd class
Rai Sahibs
Titles in India
Titles in Bangladesh
Titles in Pakistan
Orders, decorations, and medals of British India
Men's social titles
Awards disestablished in 1947