Chowdhury BARI

Chaudhary (Urdu: چودهرى; Bengali: চৌধুরী; Hindi: चौधरी ) is a term in Indo-Aryan languages, literally meaning "holder of four". Chowdhury (also spellt Chaudri, Choudhury, Choudary, Chaudhari, Chaudhary, Choudhary, Choudhury, Chaudhury, Chaudhry, Choudhury, Chowdhery, Chowdhary, Chowdhury, or Choudhry) is a hereditary title of honor, awarded by Mughal Emperors to persons of eminence or royalty. In some cases it may also mean "power". The word Chaudhary is derived from the sanskrit word Chatur Dhrit meaning "One who holds all the four varns (groups) of society" i.e respected by all.
Traditionally, the term is used as a title indicating the ownership of ancestral land, but in contemporary usage it is often taken as a surname or title.
During the Mughal era and the British rule in India, a talukh or district usually consisted of 84 villages and a central town. The talukhdar was required to collect taxes, maintain supplies and manpower to the provincial government and undertake small official tasks. In most cases the talukhdar's were entitled to retain 10% of the collected revenue for their efforts.
During the Sikh rule in Punjab this title became very common and quite a few village headmen or "Lumberdars" were given "Chowdhary" as a title by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ever since, the Chowdharys of Chakwal style themselves a "Chowdharial" to distinguish themselves from the newly appointed men.
In northern Indian states such as Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, the title is used by landowning ethnic group and community of Gujjars, Tyagi, Jat and Rajputs use this title.