Chand Rai

Chand Rai zamindar of Vikrampur. He is said to be the descendant of one Nim Rai who came from Karnatak and settled at Ara Phulbaria in Vikrampur probably in the early fifteenth century. Nim Rai was a Kayastha and is said to have been the first bhuyan to obtain a sanction of the ruling monarch to his retaining the title of 'bhuyan' as a hereditary one for his family.

Tradition and myth have made Chand Rai a controversial figure. His position in the zamindari of Sripur is obscure. He is introduced as zamindar of Vikrampur with his capital at Sripur, and very often Kedar Rai is placed as co-administrator of the zamindari estate. The tenure of his zamindari and that of his successor Kedar Rai is thoroughly obscure. Chand Rai is controversially identified as the uncle, brother, father or even son of Kedar Rai. He was probably the son of Jadav Rai and the elder brother of Kedar Rai.

Chand Rai proved himself valiant in fighting the Mughal imperial army and in checking the inroads of the Arakanese. In 1593, Chand Rai and Kedar Rai in cooperation with Khwaja Sulaiman Lohani sieged and captured the fort of Bhusana from its imperial commandant. Chand Rai was killed at the initial stage of the encounter. [Muazzam Hussain Khan]