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 (Bengali,^[1]^[2] Maithil,^[3]^[4] and Rajpurohit^[5]^[6]), Charans,^[7] Kolis^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] and Rajputs.^[12]^[13]

^ Cite error: The named reference SKD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Syed Ashraf Ali (4 May 2013). "From Thakur to Tagore". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
^ Sudeshna Basak (1991). Socio-cultural Study of a Minority Linguistic Group: Bengalees in Bihar, 1858-1912. B.R. Publishing Corporation. p. 91. ISBN 9788170186274. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023. Woogramohan Thakur, a Maithili Brahmin zamindar...
^ Ram Dayal Rakesh (2007). Vidyapati, the Greatest Poet of Mithila. Greater Janakpur Area Development Council. p. 17. ISBN 9789937201483. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023. Vidyapati : As a Devotional Poet " His main works were complicated treatises in Sanskrit and although he did not totally abandon songs writing in Maithili , his Maithili poetry after 1406 comprised hymns to Siva , Vishnu , Durga and ... He was born in the Maithil Brahmin's family which belongs to Kashyapa Gotra. His family was very renowned in scholarship and statesmanship in Mithila for culture and literature. His family is closely associated with the court of the Karnata kings. His surname was Thakur.
^ Singh, Prahalad (1978). Rajpurohit Jaati ka Itihaas. Rajasthani Granthagar, Jodhpur. ISBN 978-93-90179-06-0.
^ Hooja, Reema (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa & Company. ISBN 8129108909.
^ Saksena, B. S. (1965). "The Phenomenon Of Feudal Loyalty : A Case Study In Sirohi State". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 26 (4): 121–128. ISSN 0019-5510. JSTOR 41854129. Among jagirdars, all were not Rajputs. Jagirs were also granted to Charans and Brahmins. They were also known as thakurs.
^ Haveli: Wooden Houses and Mansions of Gujarat. New Delhi, India, Asia: Mapin Publications. 1989. pp. 32: Accounts by Muslim historians are full of incidents of turbulent Kolis plundering towns upto the 18th century, and Alexander Forbes in his Ras Mala gives a list of important Koli thakurs still owning territory in 1856. ISBN 978-0-944142-15-8. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ Apte, Usha Mukund (1982). Vedic, Hindu, and Tribal Marriage: A Study in Culture Change. New Delhi, India, Asia: AWARE. pp. 222: According to locals, Ka - Thakur stands for Koli Thakur and Ma - Thakur for Maratha. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ Nath, Y. V. S. (1960). Bhils of Ratanmal: An Analysis of the Social Structure of a Western Indian Community. New Delhi, India, Asia: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. pp. 62: Quite a few Bhilala land holders have Naika woman as their concubines and in Baria, such relations are said to exist between the Koli Thakurs and Bhil women. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ Misra, Bankey Bihari (1970). The Administrative History of India, 1834-1947: General Administration. New Delhi, India, Asia: Oxford University Press. pp. 468: Similar to these were certain estates held on payment of rentals settled in the lump with their heads called Koli thakurs. They remained free from the influence of the Government of the Peshwas, a circumstance which prevented the. ISBN 978-0-19-560134-3. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
^ Frankel, Francine R.; Rao, M. S. A.; Madhugiri, Shamarao; Rao, Ananthapadmanabha (1989). Dominance and State Power in Modern India. Oxford University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-19-562098-6. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023. Thakur and rajput have been used interchangeably to refer to castes of Kshatriya rank/
^ Ellinwood, DeWitt C. (January 2002). "A Perspective on the Western Front by an Indian Army Office on the Western Front". Western Front Association. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020. ...Thakur (title of respect for Rajput aristocrats whose father is deceased; usually a landowner)...

[SKD-1] Cite error: The named reference SKD was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] Syed Ashraf Ali (4 May 2013). "From Thakur to Tagore". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2023.

[3] Sudeshna Basak (1991). Socio-cultural Study of a Minority Linguistic Group: Bengalees in Bihar, 1858-1912. B.R. Publishing Corporation. p. 91. ISBN 9788170186274. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023. Woogramohan Thakur, a Maithili Brahmin zamindar...

[4] Ram Dayal Rakesh (2007). Vidyapati, the Greatest Poet of Mithila. Greater Janakpur Area Development Council. p. 17. ISBN 9789937201483. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023. Vidyapati : As a Devotional Poet " His main works were complicated treatises in Sanskrit and although he did not totally abandon songs writing in Maithili , his Maithili poetry after 1406 comprised hymns to Siva , Vishnu , Durga and ... He was born in the Maithil Brahmin's family which belongs to Kashyapa Gotra. His family was very renowned in scholarship and statesmanship in Mithila for culture and literature. His family is closely associated with the court of the Karnata kings. His surname was Thakur.

[5] Singh, Prahalad (1978). Rajpurohit Jaati ka Itihaas. Rajasthani Granthagar, Jodhpur. ISBN 978-93-90179-06-0.

[6] Hooja, Reema (2006). A History of Rajasthan. Rupa & Company. ISBN 8129108909.

[7] Saksena, B. S. (1965). "The Phenomenon Of Feudal Loyalty : A Case Study In Sirohi State". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 26 (4): 121–128. ISSN 0019-5510. JSTOR 41854129. Among jagirdars, all were not Rajputs. Jagirs were also granted to Charans and Brahmins. They were also known as thakurs.

[8] Haveli: Wooden Houses and Mansions of Gujarat. New Delhi, India, Asia: Mapin Publications. 1989. pp. 32: Accounts by Muslim historians are full of incidents of turbulent Kolis plundering towns upto the 18th century, and Alexander Forbes in his Ras Mala gives a list of important Koli thakurs still owning territory in 1856. ISBN 978-0-944142-15-8. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[9] Apte, Usha Mukund (1982). Vedic, Hindu, and Tribal Marriage: A Study in Culture Change. New Delhi, India, Asia: AWARE. pp. 222: According to locals, Ka - Thakur stands for Koli Thakur and Ma - Thakur for Maratha. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[10] Nath, Y. V. S. (1960). Bhils of Ratanmal: An Analysis of the Social Structure of a Western Indian Community. New Delhi, India, Asia: Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. pp. 62: Quite a few Bhilala land holders have Naika woman as their concubines and in Baria, such relations are said to exist between the Koli Thakurs and Bhil women. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[11] Misra, Bankey Bihari (1970). The Administrative History of India, 1834-1947: General Administration. New Delhi, India, Asia: Oxford University Press. pp. 468: Similar to these were certain estates held on payment of rentals settled in the lump with their heads called Koli thakurs. They remained free from the influence of the Government of the Peshwas, a circumstance which prevented the. ISBN 978-0-19-560134-3. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

[12] Frankel, Francine R.; Rao, M. S. A.; Madhugiri, Shamarao; Rao, Ananthapadmanabha (1989). Dominance and State Power in Modern India. Oxford University Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-19-562098-6. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023. Thakur and rajput have been used interchangeably to refer to castes of Kshatriya rank/

[Rajput-13] Ellinwood, DeWitt C. (January 2002). "A Perspective on the Western Front by an Indian Army Office on the Western Front". Western Front Association. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020. ...Thakur (title of respect for Rajput aristocrats whose father is deceased; usually a landowner)...

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