Choudhary Community

Choudhary in Sanskrit means head of a community or caste. In Sanskrit, this word can also be broken down as ‘chadhur’ means ‘four-a measurement of land’ and ‘dhar’ means ‘to posses’. This gives another meaning to Choudhary i.e. ‘holder of four’.

Traditionally, this name is given as a title to indicate ownership of land. However, now it is used as a surname.

The earliest reference of the title Choudhary is from the 15th century, when the Sultans of Delhi gave this title to their military nobles who were of Indian origin.

During the Mugal period, a taluqa consisted of 84 villages and a central town. There was a Taluqdar who was responsible to collect taxes, maintain law and order for these taluqas. These taluqdars were entitled to keep 10% of the taxes that were collected. However, some of the taluqdars with higher positions were entitled to keep up to 1/4th of the taxes that were collected. These taluqdars were called as Choudhary or ‘the owner of the fourth part’.

In Punjab, during the Sikh rule, Maharaja Ranjit Singh gave the title Choudhary to a few village headmen. This is when the usage of the title Choudhary became more common.

Choudhary are mostly Hindu. But a few have converted into Christianity. Choudhary worship many deities. Few of the common deities are as below:
Ahindo-Dev - the god of the hills
Himaria-Dev - the protector of field and crops
Morkhi Mata - god who look after the health of both human beings and cattle

Choudhary believe in evil spirits. Mukri Mata, Kiliodio are the ones they believe are responsible for plague, fever, cholera etc.

Choudhary marry mostly within the groups of Paragadia, Naladri and Valvda.

After marriage, the female refrain from direct conversation with other males in the family and also wear a veil in their presence. The ancestral property is divided to all the sons, however, the eldest son is considered as the successor. Women do not have any rights to the property.

Today, Choudhary is mostly used as a surname, however, in certain parts of India and Pakistani Punjab, a Choudhary is still considered as a head of the tribe.