Thakar is a scheduled tribe of India. They are adivasi tribe originally living in forest areas of Maharashtra but now scattered all over Maharashtra
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They are also called by other names like Thakar, Thakur, Ka Thakar, Ma Thakar (क ठाकर,म ठाकर) Ka Thakur and Ma Thakur (क ठाकुर,म ठाकुर). It comes under ST Category which consists of 47 tribes. Thakars and Thakurs are Indo-Aryans and speak a dialect of Marathi.
However, the surname Thakar (ठकार) belongs to the Deshastha Brahmin caste in Maharashtra. They are natives of Pune district but can be found in some nearby places of Maharashtra , including Aurangabad. They typically speak Marathi language.
Geographical distribution
The Thakars were originally living in all the hilly areas of Sahyadri in Maharashtra,a jawhar,Mokhada, vikramgadh,wada,Bhiwandi talukas in Thane district.their surnames are like morgha, bhore,bambare,Barathe(Baratha),kawh,chibhade,gavte,madi,khutade,govind,vishe,ghugse, Mali & murbad, Shahapur taluka m-Thakur Sure name Wagh, Kavte, Darwada,Ughada, Nirguda, Pardhi, Shid,Mengal,Kevhari, Bhasma, Sawala,Thombre,shende, songal etc.belonging to ka-thakar. a Karjat Khalapur, Panvel, Sudhagad and Pen talukas of Raigad district, Kannad, Khultabad,and Soegaon Talukas of Aurangabad Akole taluka in Ahmednagar districts etc. in the Indian state of Maharashtra in India. They are also found in Satara, Solapur, Aurangabad, Dhule and Jalgaon and scattered all over Maharashtra in the course of time in search of a livelihood. According to the survey of Dr. Ramesh Suryawanshi their population in Aurangabad district is near about 18000. They are distributed in Kannad, Khultabad, Soegaon tehsils of Aurangabad district and Nandgaon tehsil of Nasik District. Their hutments or dwellings are spread in Ajanta range in 30 to 40 spots. and their surnames are like Lendi, Pingale, Pardhi, Mengal, Fasale, Thombre, Aagiwale, Pathave, Aghan, Madhe, Savat,Shinde,More,Chavan in various 30 names. According to the 1941 Census, the population of these indigenous people was 22,182 in the district. As per 2001 census, the population of the Thakurs/Thakars in Maharashtra was 487,696 and the literacy rate was 50.9%. Some Thakar Tribals Came from Sahyadri and are living in Sindhudurg district also.(ref.The Gazette Of Sawantawadi Sansthan) They are scattered in Sindhudurg and are living since 400 years in Sindhudurg. Their population in Sindhudurg District is near about 6000.
Culture
They have rich traditions of folk dance, songs and unique culture of their own. They celebrate Diwali in a different way. On this occasion, they light lamps made from a fruit called chibra, which are placed on a stand made of cow-dung. At home, the celebrations are in form of a breakfast of boiled corn, sweet potato and chauli. The grain stored in wicker basket called kangas is worshiped during Diwali. This time of year they do frenetic dance to the beats of dhols, crooning Amhi thakar thakar ya ranachi ga pakhar.... ( We are Thakars, Thakars.. the butterflies of the woods )
The famous Marathi film Jait Re Jait was made on Thakar tribe.