The Thakurai are a Muslim Rajput community found in the state of Bihar in India. They are mostly concentrated around ast and West Champaran District the surrounding region. A small number are also found in the Terai region of Nepal.People of India Bihar Volume XVI Part One edited by S Gopal & Hetukar Jha pages 924 to 927 Seagull Books

Origin

The Thakurai are said to have originated in Rajasthan, and were converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

during the rule of the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

. They were soldiers in the

army that was sent to pacify Bihar. Their ancestor was a Mahabat Khan, (Ashfaque Ahmad (mukhiya) from his family) who was a

Sisodia The Sisodia is an Indian Rajput dynasty belonging to the clan that ruled over the kingdom of Mewar in Rajasthan. The name of the clan is also transliterated as ''Sesodia'', ''Shishodia'', ''Sishodia'', ''Shishodya'', ''Sisodya'', ''Sisodiya'', ...

Rajput of

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and Man ...

, who converted to

.They are now found in fifty three villages in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, East and West

Champaran District Champaran District was a district of British India. In 1917, Mohandas Gandhi did his first Satyagraha movement in India at this district against European landowners and British government . History It was created in 1866. On 1 December 1 ...

, and also have a presence in neighbouring Terai region of Nepal. The word Thakurai literally means lord, and originates from the Hindi term

Thakur Thakur may refer to: * Thakur (title), a feudal title and surname used by erstwhile nobility of India * Thakar (tribe), an Adivasi tribe of Maharashtra, India * Thakur village, a residential locality in Mumbai, India * Thakur Anoop Singh (born 198 ...

and i
sainthawarmall sangh
this caste are also found and Informed members of the community claim they use Thakurai to differentiate themselves from local Hindu Rajputs. They speak

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

, Urdu and Hindi and are

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s. The community perceives itself as being Rajput, and their customs are similar to other Muslim Rajputs of the Bihar region, such as the

Khanzada The Khanzada or Khan Zadeh are a community of Muslim Rajputs found in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India. This community is distinct from the Rajasthani Khanzada Rajput, the descendants of Wali-e-Mewat Raja Naher Khan, who are a s ...

of Bhojpur, but there is no intermarriage between the two groups.

Present circumstances

The Thakurai are divided into a number of lineages, the main ones being Bakcha, Bharadwaj, Chauhan, Kuchbaria, Mahdwar, Raza, Hussain, Saif Ali, s/o Nasir Ahmad, and Nafran. They are strictly endogamous, but do not practice clan exogamy. Marriages take place within the close kin group. The community are still largely farmers, and at one time were substantial landowners. They are now undergoing urbanization which is likely to affect group identity. There are fairly influential in north Bihar, and historically dominated

communal politics in this region. They are found mainly in and near the towns of Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Raxaul, Ramgharwa, Sagauli,

Adapur Adapur is a block in East Champaran district of Bihar, India. Adapur railway station is located north of Motihari, the district headquarters. The state capital Patna is south. Adapur is located on the India - Nepal border. There are many vi ...

, and in villages of Nakerdehi, Khirlichiya and Amodei. Unlike, other Muslim communities, they maintain good relations with Hindu Rajputs who live in the same villages, likely due to a common heritage. A small number of Thakurai are also found in the Parsa and Bara districts of Nepal.

Notable People

* Sabir Ali, Bihar Politician & Member of Rajya Sabha during 2008-14

References

{{Indian Muslim Khanzada Rajput clans Muslim communities of India Muslim communities of Nepal Rajput clans of Bihar Social groups of Bihar Muslim communities of Bihar