Thakur (title)

Thakur is a historical feudal title of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used as a surname in the present day. The female variant of the title is Thakurani or Thakurain, and is also used to describe the wife of a Thakur.

There are varying opinions among scholars about its origin. Some scholars suggest that it is not mentioned in the Sanskrit texts preceding 500 BCE, but speculates that it might have been a part of the vocabulary of the dialects spoken in northern India before the Gupta Empire. It is viewed to have been derived from word ''Thakkura'' which, according to several scholars, was not an original word of the Sanskrit language but a borrowed word in the Indian lexis from the Tukhara regions of Inner Asia. Another view-point is that ''Thakkura'' is a loan word from the Prakrit language.

Scholars have suggested differing meanings for the word, i.e. "god", "lord", and "master of the estate". Academics have suggested that it was only a title, and in itself, did not grant any authority to its users "to wield some power in the state".

In India, the social groups which use this title include the Brahmins, Rajput, Charans, Ahirs, Kolis, and Jats.

In Northern and Southern Region of India, Thakur represents Rajput Forward caste.

Etymology and meaning

Sisir Kumar Das stated that the word ''Thakur'' is derived from the "late Sanskrit" word ''Thakkura''.

Harka Bahadur Gurung noted that the Nepalese version of the word ''Thakur'' is ''Thakuri''.

The meaning of the word ''Thakur'' was suggested to be "god" by S. K. Das; "lord" by Blair B. Kling; and "master of the estate" by H. B. Gurung.

Origin

Nirmal Chandra Sinha stated that the word ''Thakura'' is "unknown" to the Vedic and Classical Sanskrit and finds no mention in the Sanskrit literature preceding 500 BCE. He suggests, however, that "the word was possibly current in many north Indian dialects before the Imperial Guptas". Sinha notes that many scholars, such as Buddha Prakash, Frederick Thomas, Harold Bailey, Prabodh Bagchi, Suniti Chatterji, and Sylvain Lévi, have suggested that ''Thakura'' is a borrowed word in the Indian lexis from the Tukhara regions of Inner Asia. Sinha observed:

Byomkes Chakrabarti noted that the Sanskrit word ''Thakkura'' finds mention in "late Sanskrit". He doubted, however, that ''Thakkura'' is "an original Sanskrit word" and was of the opinion that ''Thakkura'' is probably a loan word from the Prakrit language.

Usage

Susan Snow Wadley noted that the title ''Thakur'' was used to refer to "a man of indeterminate but mid-level caste, usually implying a landowning caste". Wadley further notes that ''Thakur'' was viewed as a "more modest" title in comparison to ''" Rājā" (King)''.

S. K. Das noted that while the word ''thakur'' means "god", it is also used to refer to the father-in-law of a woman. It is also used for a Brahmin, Rajput, Ahir, Charan, Koli and Jat.

Some academics have suggested that "''Thakur'' was merely a title and not an office whereby a holder was entitled to wield some power in the state". However, some other academics have noted that this title had been used by "petty chiefs" in the western areas of Himachal Pradesh.

The title was used by rulers of several princely states, including Ambliara, Vala, Morbi, Barsoda, and Rajkot State. Sons of thakurs were given the Sanskrit title of ''Kumara'' ('prince'), popular usage being '' Kunwar'' in the North and '' Kumar'' in Bengal and South India.

The territory of land under the control of a ''Thakur'' was called '' thikana''.

See also

* Sardar
* Chaudhary
* Mankari
* Thakkar
* Thakuri
* Thakor
* Babu Saheb
* Thakur (Bengali surname)
* Dharma Thakur

References

{{reflist

Titles in India
Koli titles
Rajput titles
Indian surnames
Indian feudalism
Titles in Bangladesh