The Thathera is a Hindu and Sikh artisan caste in India, who traditional occupation is the making of brass and copper utensils. In 2014, the craft of the Thathera community of

Jandiala Guru Jandiala Guru, commonly known as Jandiala, is a town in the Amritsar district of Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is located on the Grand Trunk Road, and has an altitude of 229 m (754 ft). History Jandiala Guru is named after Jand, t ...

were included in UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Present circumstances

The Thathera community are divided into 47 clans. The main ones are

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

Parmar Parmar is a Rajput clan found in Northern and Central India, especially in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Kutch, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and North Maharashtra. See also * Paramara Dynasty * Panwar Dynasty * Pawar * Panw ...

Gohil Gohil may refer to: * Gohil dynasty, 12th-century rulers of Saurashtra in modern Gujarat * Gohil, a Gujarati'rajsthani clan * Gahlot, a clan of rajputs * Dinita Gohil, British actress * Gigabhai Gohil (died 2020), Indian politician * Manav Gohil (b ...

, Mahecha

Rathod The Rathore is a Rajputs, Rajput clan found in Northern India. Subclans Jodhana, Vadhel, Jaitawat, Kumpawat, Champawat, Meratiya, Udawat, Karamsot etc. are the branches or subclans of Rathore Rajputs. Coverage This article discusses the ...

, Vadher,

Solanki Solanki may refer to: * Solanki (name), surname and given name *Solanki (clan), Indian clan associated with the Rajputs *Solanki dynasty, alternate name for the Chaulukya dynasty The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty th ...

Bhatti Bhatti () is a clan of Rajputs and Jats found in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Bhattis along with Bhuttos and Bhatias claim to have originated from the Hindu Bhati Rajputs. In the years preceding the Indian rebellion of 1857 the British ...

, khasi, Kagda and

Puvar Poovar is a tourist town in Neyyattinkara (tehsil) in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, South India. This village is almost at the southern tip of Thiruvananthapuram while the next village, Pozhiyoor, marks the end of Kerala. Th ...

. In

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

, they are found mainly in Lalitpur,

Jalaun Jalaun is a city and a municipal board in Jalaun district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History In early times Jalaun seems to have been the home of kurmi clans, the jalaunya kurmi in the east and the Kachwahas in the west. The villag ...

Banda Banda may refer to: People *Banda (surname) *Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician *Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor *Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician *Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh warr ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Mirzapur Mirzapur () is a city in Uttar Pradesh, India, 827 km from Delhi and 733 km from Kolkata, almost 91 km from Prayagraj (formally known as Allahabad) and 61 km from Varanasi. It is known for its carpets and brassware industries, and the folk ...

and

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

M.p also In

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

, they are found in the districts of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Gaya,

Nawada Nawada is a city and a municipality in Bihar, India. It is also the headquarters of the Nawada district. It is the headquarters of the subdivision of the same name, lying on both sides of the Khuri River( also known as Sakri river in some part ...

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth m ...

Munger Munger, formerly spelt as Monghyr, is a twin city and a Municipal Corporation situated in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the administrative headquarters of Munger district and Munger Division. Munger was one of the major cities in Eastern In ...

Purnea Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is next ...

Begusarai Begusarai is the industrial and financial capital of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of the Begusarai district, which is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The district lies on the northern bank of th ...

Katihar Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the important cities of Bihar. Also it's a main route of Delhi - Guwahati railway line. History Ka ...

Khagaria Khagaria is a city in Indian state of Bihar and the administrative headquarters of Khagaria district. Khagaria is a part of Munger division. It is located at and has an average elevation of 36 metres (118 feet). The Khagaria Junct ...

, and Madhubani. The

Thathera are divided into a number of

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

clans such as the Chandrahar, Chaswar, Mirdang, Amarpallo, and Peswa. The Thathera are basically a community of artisans. Metal work, business and repair of utensils are their traditional occupations. Many of them even cultivate land, and in Bihar, many are also jewellers. In Odisha, they are called 'kansari' and the main ones of this community are the Maharana and the Mahapatra. Basically, they are involved with metal artisan works like 'brass', 'bronze', 'aluminium' and 'copper' etc.

In Rajasthan

The Thathera in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

are found in the districts

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

Alwar Alwar (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (India), National Capital Region and the administrative headquarters of Alwar district, Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

, Madhopur,

Jaiselmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

Bikaner Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division. Formerly the capital of ...

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: Help:IPA/Hindi and Urdu, �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Prad ...

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

Banswara Banswara is a city in the Banswara district in southern Rajasthan, India. The name, Banswara, came from "Bans wala" (bamboo) forests, as Bamboo grew in abundance around this place within the area. Banswara is also known as "City of a Hundred ...

and

Dungarpur Dungarpur is a city in the southernmost part of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Dungarpur District. It is the fastest developing town in the southern part of Rajasthan, alongside Aspur ''tehsil''. History Dungarpu ...

. They speak

Khari Boli Kauravi ( hi, कौरवी, ur, ), also known as Khaṛībolī is a set of Western Hindi varieties of Shauraseni Prakrit mainly spoken in Northwestern Uttar Pradesh. Standard Hindi and Urdu are based on Khariboli, specifically on its De ...

and

wagri The Wagri, Wagiri, or Wagrians were a tribe of Polabian Slavs inhabiting Wagria, or eastern Holstein in northern Germany, from the ninth to twelfth centuries. They were a constituent tribe of the Obodrite confederacy. In the Slavic uprisings of 9 ...

among themselves, and

Rajasthani Rajasthani may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India * Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there * Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region * Rajasthani architecture * Rajasthani art ...

with outsiders.

In Haryana

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, the Thathera claim to have been Rajput, who abandoned their traditional occupation and started to manufacture silver and gold coins. They immigrated from Rajasthan in the 19th Century and settled initially in

Rewari Rewari is a city and a Municipal Council in Rewari district in the Indian state of Haryana. King of Rewari is Rao Onkar Singh.It is located in south-west Haryana around 82 km from Delhi

. The community then took to manufacturing utensils. A small number of Thathera who are found in the town of Jagadhari, are said to have immigrated from Pakistan. The Haryana Thathera have fifty two clans. Their main clans are the Barawashli, Anant, Godomot and Ramgarhia. The community is strictly endogamous.

In Bihar

In Bihar, the Thatheras are classified as a

Backward Caste The Other Backward Class is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are educationally or socially backward. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with General castes, S ...

UNESCO Listing and Government Programs

Although people of the Thathera community reside across the country, only those from Jandiala Guru in the state of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

were included in the UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. After years of neglect and inaction on the part of the government and the civil society, the UNESCO listing prompted the Deputy Commissioner of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

to collaborate with students of

Shri Ram College of Commerce Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) is a constituent college of the University of Delhi. Founded in 1926 by industrialist Lala Shri Ram, it is widely regarded as the most prestigious college for commerce and economics in India. SRCC was ranke ...

to revive the dying craft form. Soon,

Navjot Singh Sidhu Navjot Singh Sidhu (born 20 October 1963) is an Indian National Congress politician, television personality and retired international cricketer. He is the former President of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Formerly, he was the Minister of To ...

, the then Minister of Tourism of Punjab pledged Rs. 10 lakhs to this effort, under the umbrella of Project Virasat.

Names

Other names of the community include: * Hindi-Thathera/Tamrakar/Tamera/Vadhera/hayaran, Tamta (Uttrakhand) * Gujarati-Kansara * Nepali-tamo/tamot/tamrakar, * Punjabi-thatheri/thathiyar, * Bangla-karmakar, * Marathi-twastha tambat kasar

References

{{reflist Social groups of Uttar Pradesh Indian castes Social groups of Rajasthan Social groups of Bihar Social groups of Haryana