''Rai'' ( ur, , ; bn, রায়) is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India ...

used by rulers and chieftains of many

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

. It is derived from ''Raja'' (king, prince or chief). The Marathi/Telugu variant Rai was used as a substitute to King. Rai has no trace in sanskrit origin. When

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

conquered

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

, he found many principalities which had been subordinated by the Emperor of Hindustan and innumerable others which never have been effectively subdued. When

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, H ...

ascended to the throne, Hindustan had numerous autonomous and semiautonomous rulers. These hereditary rulers were known by various names such as ''Rais'', ''Rajas'', ''Ranas'', and ''Rawals''. During Mughal rule, while conferring a title on a Hindu or Sikh Chief the word Raja or Rai was added to the name of person. The Mughals seems to have inherited the practice of bestowing titles from the Sultans of Delhi. The appellation "Rai" is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation "Rani" is used. During

British Rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, ''Rai Sahib'' and ''Rai Bahadur'' were titles of honour given for service of visionary leadership to the nation. They were given immense power too and were equivalent to autonomous native rulers within their feudal estates Other variations of ''Rai'' are ''Roy'' and ''Rao''. These are also used as surnames by Kolis,

Bhumihar Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmin st ...

s and Yadavs. Rai was the title used by the Zamindars (landowners) of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during the colonial rule after the Permanent settlement system introduced in Bengal-Bihar and the state of Benaras. The descendants of these earlier rulers, chieftains and leaders still use these titles as patronymics, but these titles although having social acceptance as per local customs, holds no recognition and privilege in the eye of law after the abolition of titles in 1971 from the Indian Constitution.

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WorldStatesmen - India
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rana Cultural history of India Royal titles Titles of national or ethnic leadership History of South Asia Titles in India Rajput titles

See also

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