Thaker (

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

: ठाकर, ), is a family name referring to the descendants of Kashiraj Thakar, an 11th-century

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

Brahmin who moved to the region of Saurashtra, Gujarat to spread and maintain Hinduism on the request of the

Jayasimha Siddharaja Jayasiṃha ( ), who assumed the title Siddharāja (), was an Indian king who ruled western parts of India. He was a member of the Chaulukya (also called Solanki) dynasty. Jayasimha's capital was located at Anahilapataka (modern Patan) in pres ...

(b. 1094), a Hindu Chaulukya king who ruled modern-day Gujarat until 1143. The family rose to prominence within Saurashtran nobility throughout the 12th-19th centuries as Diwans.

History

During the late 11th and early 12th centuries, Gujarat suffered severe violence between the Hindu forces and Muslim invaders. In this time, Brahmins who were tasked with upholding Hindu culture and teachings were often the victims of genocide. As a result, Brahmins from around India were invited to visit, and later settle in Gujarat to maintain Hinduism in the region. Kashiraj Thaker arrived in Saurashtra in the 12th century from Kashmir upon the request of

, a

Chaulukya The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extende ...

king who ascended to the throne of Patan in 1096 at the age of 2, and ruled modern-day Gujarat till 1143. His descendants continued as members of the inner-circle of the Solanki dynasty till the dynasty's fall in 1244. Muslim rule began in Gujarat in 1297 with the victory of

Ala-ud-din Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate in the Indian subcontinent. Alauddin instituted a number of significant administrative ...

over Karandev II; the last Hindu ruler of Gujarat. Before 1298, Muslim people had only had occasional contact with this part of India, but, with the rise of the Delhi Sultanate in Gujarat it was not till the 14th century that the Thaker family members once again took prominent positions as chief advisor to the rulers in Saurashtra and Patan; maintaining prominence as landowners and

financiers An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Typ ...

. Gujarat remained under the Delhi Sultanate till 1573 when

Emperor Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hu ...

annexed Gujarat; becoming a Mughal

Subah A Subah was the term for a province (State) in the Mughal Empire. The word is derived from Arabic and Persian. The governor/ruler of a ''Subah'' was known as a '' subahdar'' (sometimes also referred to as a "''Subeh''"), which later became ''sub ...

. Mughal rule lasted some 185 years till 1758 when Momin Khan surrendered to the Maratha Empire. In the 18th century, the

Peshwa The Peshwa (Pronunciation: e(ː)ʃʋaː was the appointed (later becoming hereditary) prime minister of the Maratha Empire of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, the Peshwas served as subordinates to the Chhatrapati (the Maratha king); later, ...

s had established their sovereignty over Gujarat including Saurashtra and had successfully held the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

at bay. They collected taxes and tributes through their representatives. Thaker family members were active as

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

s to the Peshwa Prime Ministers. Damaji Rao

Gaekwad Gaekwad (also spelt Gaikwar and Gaikwad; mr, Gāyǎkǎvāḍǎ) is a surname native to the Indian state of Maharashtra. The surname is found among the Marathas, Kolis and in Scheduled castes. It is also a common surname among Bharadis, Dhor, a ...

and Kadam Bande divided the Peshwa's territory between them, with Damaji establishing the sway of Gaekwad over Gujarat and making Barodara his capital; A branch of the Thaker family also settled in

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

and has remained there to this day. While the Marathas had thus far kept the British from power, the ensuing internecine war among them was fully exploited by the British, who interfered in the affairs of both Gaekwads and the Peshwas to their advantage. Despite the paramountcy of the British Raj, the princely states were still ruled individually by heirs of the Maratha Empire and other clans. As such the members of the Thaker family continued in their lifetime hereditary positions as treasurers, financiers and political advisors to the various Maharajas or Maharanas. In the 14th - 19th centuries other branches of the Thaker family became landowners, owning a significant portion of land in and around what is today Wadhwan City and other regions of Saurashtra. Post-independence, laws were passed stating that in the interests of distribution of wealth and social equality, ownership of farmland would transfer from large landlords to the farmers who worked the land itself. As a result, many landlords including branches of the Thaker family lost vast quantities of wealth overnight. With the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947, the

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to a ...

of India, which had been left by the Indian Independence Act 1947 to choose whether to accede to India or Pakistan or to remain outside of them, were all incorporated into one or other of the new dominions.Revised Statute from The UK Statute Law Database: Indian Independence Act 1947 (c.30)
at opsi.gov.uk Gujarat, with its proximity to the partition line between Pakistan and India suffered massive violence between its Hindu and Muslim populations, and as a result some Gujaratis who had settled across the border, including members of the Thaker family, fled abroad; primarily to East Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. A large branch of the Thaker family however, still resides in Gujarat and other parts of India to this day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaker (Family Name) Surnames

History

See also

References