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Thakur is a historical
feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
of the
Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. 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 Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
texts preceding 500 BCE, but speculates that it might have been a part of the vocabulary of the dialects spoken in
northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
before the
Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...
. It is viewed to have been derived from word ''Thakkura'' which, according to several scholars, was not an original word of the Sanskrit
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
but a borrowed word in the Indian lexis from the Tukhara regions of
Inner Asia Inner Asia refers to the northern and landlocked regions spanning North, Central and East Asia. It includes parts of western and northeast China, as well as southern Siberia. The area overlaps with some definitions of 'Central Asia', mostly the ...
. Another view-point is that ''Thakkura'' is a loan word from the
Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...
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 Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...
,
Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
, Charans,
Ahirs Ahir or Aheer are a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most members of which identify as being of the Indian Yadav community because they consider the two terms to be synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...
,
Kolis The Koli is an Indian caste found in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Jammu and Kashmir states in India. Koli is an agriculturist caste of Gujarat but in coastal areas the ...
, and Jats. In Northern and Southern Region of India, Thakur represents Rajput
Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
.


Etymology and meaning

Sisir Kumar Das Sisir Kumar Das (1936–2003) was a linguist, poet, playwright, translator, comparatist and a prolific scholar of Indian literature. He is considered by many as the "doyen of Indian literary historiographers". Almost singlehandedly Das built ...
stated that the word ''Thakur'' is derived from the "late
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
" 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 Nirmal Chandra Sinha (1911–1997) was an Indian tibetologist, author, the founder director of Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology (SIRT), presently known as the Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Deorali near Gangtok. He was known for his co ...
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 Sir Harold Walter Bailey, (16 December 1899 – 11 January 1996), who published as H. W. Bailey, was an English scholar of Khotanese, Sanskrit, and the comparative study of Iranian languages. Life Bailey was born in Devizes, Wiltshire, and rai ...
, Prabodh Bagchi, Suniti Chatterji, and
Sylvain Lévi Sylvain Lévi (March 28, 1863 – October 30, 1935) was an influential French orientalist and indologist who taught Sanskrit and Indian religion at the École pratique des hautes études. Lévi's book ''Théâtre Indien'' is an important ...
, have suggested that ''Thakura'' is a borrowed word in the Indian lexis from the Tukhara regions of Inner Asia. Sinha observed:
Byomkes Chakrabarti Byomkes Chakrabarti (also spelled Byomkesh Chakraborty or Byomkesh Chakrabarty) (1923–1981) was a Bengali research worker on ethnic languages. He was also a educationist and a poet. His major contribution to linguistics was in finding out some ...
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 Koli may refer to: Places * Koli, Finland, a hill in Finland * Koli National Park, a national park in Finland * Koli, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Koli Airfield, a former airfield in the South Pacific Other uses * Koli peopl ...
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 Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
. The title was used by rulers of several
princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
s, including
Ambliara The Ambliara State, also spelt Ambaliyara was a princely state under Mahi Kantha Agency of the Bombay Presidency during the era of the British Raj in India. History According to the Gujarat State Gazetteers, the rulers were " Khant Kolis" b ...
,
Vala Vala or VALA may refer to: Religion and mythology * Vala (Vedic), a demon or a stone cavern in the Hindu scriptures * Völva, also spelled Vala, a priestess in Norse mythology and Norse paganism Fiction * Vala (Middle-earth), an angelic being in ...
,
Morbi Morbi or Morvi is a city in the Morbi district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is situated on the Kathiawar peninsula. , the city's population was determined to be 194,947. The city is on the Machhu River, from the sea and from Rajkot. Hi ...
, Barsoda, and
Rajkot State Rajkot State was one of the princely states of India during the period of British rule. It was a 9-gun salute state belonging to the Kathiawar Agency of the Bombay Presidency. Its capital was in Rajkot, located in the historical Halar regi ...
. Sons of thakurs were given the Sanskrit title of '' Kumara'' ('prince'), popular usage being ''
Kunwar Kunwar (also spelt Kanwar or Kaur or Kuar) is an Indian title denoting a prince. It is derived from the Sanskrit term Kumar. It was traditionally associated with the feudal Rajputs such as the son of a Rana or Thakur The following are notable ...
'' in the North and ''
Kumar A coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya">Yaudheyas.html" ;"title="BCE, of the Yaudheyas">BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya Kumar (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: wikt:कुमा ...
'' in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
and South India. The territory of land under the control of a ''Thakur'' was called ''
thikana 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 varyin ...
''.


See also

*
Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...
* Chaudhary *
Mankari Mankari (Mānkari or Maankari) is a hereditary title used by Maratha nobles and troops from the Indian subcontinent who held land grants, and cash allowances. They held an official position at the Darbar (court) and were entitled to certain cer ...
*
Thakkar Thakkar is a Hindu Indian family name under the Hindu. Alternative spellings of the name include Thakker, Thaker,Thakkar, Thakrar and Thacker. The surname is widely used in the state of Gujarat . Society and culture Thakkars are mainly situated ...
*
Thakuri Thakuri ( ne, ठकुरी) is a sub-caste of Khasas tribes in Nepal. It consists of the historical ruling class, and is made up of the descendants of the Great Khasa Malla kingdom rulers of the Baisi and Chaubisi principalities. The former ...
*
Thakor Thakor also known as Thakarda is subcaste of Koli community of Gujarat. Koli forms the largest caste-cluster, comprising 24% of the total population of the state. Koli Thakors in Gujarat placed in Other Backward Class including all of the Koli ...
*
Babu Saheb Rajputs in Bihar are members of the Rajput community living in the eastern Indian state Bihar. They are popularly known as Babu Saheb, a term that is mainly used in Bihar, the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand. They traditionall ...
*
Thakur (Bengali surname) 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 ...
* Dharma Thakur


References

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