Titles Recognized, and Regularly Conferred by Her Majesty Through the
Government of India.
In British India there was a well-established order and gradation
of nobility; in which creations and promotions were made by Her Majesty's
representative, the Viceroy. In the higher ranks of this nobility, an
additional step or grade in each rank was made by the custom of making the
creation or promotion in some cases personal, in others hereditary. But no rank
below that of Rájá for Hindus, or Nawáb
for Mohammedans, was created hereditary.
Rai (or
Rao in Southern and Western India) for Hindus, and
Khán for Mohammedans, were the first or least considerable titles conferred by the
British Government. These, with or without the affix of
Saheb, which added to the
dignity, were very commonly
ex officio titles, held by the subordinate
officers of civil departments. Next above
Rai Saheb,
Rao Saheb, or
Khán
Saheb comes the title
Rai Bahádur,
Rao Bahadur, or
Khán Bahádur; and
this was the title which was usually first conferred on Indian gentlemen who had distinguished
themselves by their munificence, by their patriotism, or in any other way.
Rai Bahádur was commonly used as the Hindu title in the Bengal Presidency,
Rao Bahádur as that in the west and south of India, and
Khán Bahádur
for Mohammedans and Persis; and this rank seems exactly analogous to that of Knight Bachelor in England.
Above this rank was the title of
Rájá (with the feminine
Ráni)
for Hindus,
Nawáb (with the feminine
Begam) for Mohammedans; and this may be
hereditary or personal. Next higher was a
Rájá Bahádur, or a
Nawáb
Bahádur. Higher again, for Hindus, was the title of
Mahárájá,
and above that was
Mahárájá Bahádur.
It was one of the many anomalies of the Indian system, that there do not seem to
be any Mohammedan analogies to the last two highest Hindu titles,
so that a
Nawáb Bahádur may be the equal either of a
Rájá Bahádur, or of a
Mahárájá Bahádur, according to circumstance.
These seem to be very analogous to the various steps in the British Peerage.
Persis share with Mohammedans their lower titles. But where they have
attained to higher rank than
Khán Bahádur, it has been indicated by
appointment to one of the Military Orders, or by the conferment of British
Knighthood, or (in two cases) by a British Baronetcy.
The ordinary sequence of rank, then, in the aristocracy of British India, was
indicated as ::
| Hindus |
Mohammedans |
| Mahárájá Bahádur |
Nawáb Bahádur |
| Mahárájá |
Nawáb |
| Rájá Bahádur |
Khán Bahádur |
| Rájá |
Khán Saheb |
| Rai (or Rao) Bahádur |
Khán |
| Rai (or Rao) Saheb |
|
| Rai (or Rao) |
|
The eldest son of a
Mahárájá or
Rájá was called a
Maharajkumár (or
Maharajkunwár), or
Rájkumár
(or
Rajkunwár), or simply
Kumár (or
Kunwár);
and these titles had in some cases been formally conferred by the Government.
Nawábzáda, or
Mián, was the title given to the sons of
Nawábs.
Among the Barons of the Punjab there was a remarkable uniformity of title; they were nearly all styled
Sardár or
Sardár Bahádur - and their sons
were often styled
Mián, though this was also an independent title, as was
Dewán also, in the Punjab. In Oudh and in the Central Provinces, on the other
hand, there was the greatest diversity in the form of the territorial titles
Thákur
being the commonest title, but
Rai was also frequent
(
and of far higher dignity than it seemed to bear in some other Provinces),
and so were
Rájá,
Dewán, and
Rao.
References :
- The golden book of India - By Sir Roper Lethbridge (1840-1919)
Titles