Tharoor
Encyclopedia
Tharoor is the family name of a prominent Nair
Tharavadu
of Kerala
, India. The name goes back to antiquity, and historians record that the kingdom in and around the modern-day district of Palakkad
was called Tharoor Swarupam in the 14th and 15th centuries. The family appears to have lost kingly authority thereafter, before the attacks in the area by Tipu Sultan
of Mysore, and well before the absorption of the territory by the British into the Madras Presidency
in the early 19th century. For at least three hundred years the Tharoor Tharavadu has been centered in the village of Chittilanchery. (There is no confirmed connection between the present-day Tharoors of Chittilanchery and the village of Tharoor, also in Palakkad district).
Well-known Tharoors include: the author, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and former Minister of State for External Affairs, Govt of India, Shashi Tharoor
(1956- ),who was India's candidate to succeed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; his father Chandran Tharoor (1929–93), newspaper executive and late President of the Advertising Club of Calcutta; Tharoor Parameshwar (1917–2004), founding Managing Director of Reader's Digest India; C.T. Balan (1925- ), former Finance Director of the Union Carbide Corporation;Dr.T.Madhavi Amma(1915–1987,) renowned Doctor and Founder of Dr.T.Madhavi Amma Medical Trust,Palakkad; Tharoor Bhaskaran (1935- ), former Chairman and Managing Director of Otto India. Prominent current generation Tharoors include three well-known journalists and writers, Ishaan Tharoor of Time Magazine, Kanishk Tharoor of OpenDemocracy, and Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan of India Currents.Another prominent Tharoor of the present generation is Dr.Hema Tharoor,Psychiatrist at Manipal.
Nair
Nair , also known as Nayar , refers to "not a unitary group but a named category of castes", which historically embody several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom bore the Nair title. These people historically live in the present-day Indian state of Kerala...
Tharavadu
Tharavadu
Tharavad is a system of joint family practised by people in Kerala, especially Nairs. Tharavadu was a legal entity like a Hindu Undivided Family as per Indian Income Tax laws, and was entitled to own properties. The others, like Namboothriris, Ezhavas, Christians and Muslims also now refer to...
of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, India. The name goes back to antiquity, and historians record that the kingdom in and around the modern-day district of Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad , formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2.The city is situated about north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District...
was called Tharoor Swarupam in the 14th and 15th centuries. The family appears to have lost kingly authority thereafter, before the attacks in the area by Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
of Mysore, and well before the absorption of the territory by the British into the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
in the early 19th century. For at least three hundred years the Tharoor Tharavadu has been centered in the village of Chittilanchery. (There is no confirmed connection between the present-day Tharoors of Chittilanchery and the village of Tharoor, also in Palakkad district).
Well-known Tharoors include: the author, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and former Minister of State for External Affairs, Govt of India, Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala...
(1956- ),who was India's candidate to succeed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; his father Chandran Tharoor (1929–93), newspaper executive and late President of the Advertising Club of Calcutta; Tharoor Parameshwar (1917–2004), founding Managing Director of Reader's Digest India; C.T. Balan (1925- ), former Finance Director of the Union Carbide Corporation;Dr.T.Madhavi Amma(1915–1987,) renowned Doctor and Founder of Dr.T.Madhavi Amma Medical Trust,Palakkad; Tharoor Bhaskaran (1935- ), former Chairman and Managing Director of Otto India. Prominent current generation Tharoors include three well-known journalists and writers, Ishaan Tharoor of Time Magazine, Kanishk Tharoor of OpenDemocracy, and Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan of India Currents.Another prominent Tharoor of the present generation is Dr.Hema Tharoor,Psychiatrist at Manipal.