Rai is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states.
When Akbar ascended to the throne, Hindustan had numerous autonomous and semiautonomous rulers.
[1] During Mughal rule, while conferring a title on a Hindu chief the word Raja or Rai was added to the name of person.
They were given immense power too and were equivalent to autonomous native rulers within their feudal estates Other variations of Rai are Roy, Ray and Rao.
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.