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{{short description|Gujarati writer from India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Dhirubhai Thaker
| image = Shri Dhirubhai Thakar (1).jpg
| caption = Thaker in September 2012 at [[Gujarati Vishwakosh|Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1918|6|27|df=y}}
| birth_place=[[Kodinar]], Gujarat, India
| death_date={{death date and age|2014|1|22|1918|6|27|df=y}}
| death_place=[[Ahmedabad]], Gujarat
| occupation= Author
| period=
| language = [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| nationality = Indian
| alma_mater = [[Elphinstone College]] <small>(1936–1939; BA)</small>
| signature=Dhirubhai Thaker autograph.svg
| awards={{plainlist|
* [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]] (1994)
* [[Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar]] (1998)
* [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] (2012)
* [[Padma Bhushan]] (2014)
}}
| module={{Infobox academic
| child= yes
| doctoral_advisor = [[Ramnarayan V. Pathak]]
| thesis_title= ''Manilal Nabhubhai: Sahitya Sadhana''
| thesis_year= 1956
| thesis_url= https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.305012
| doctoral_students ={{plainlist| * [[Kumarpal Desai]]
* [[Pravin Darji]]
* [[Manilal H. Patel]]}} }}
}}
'''Dhirubhai Premshankar Thaker''' (27 June 1918 – 22 January 2014) was an Indian [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] writer, who was best known for creating the ''[[Gujarati Vishwakosh]]'', a 25-volume encyclopedia of the [[Gujarati language]].<ref name=TOI>{{cite web|title=Pioneer behind Gujarati Vishwakosh passes away at 96|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Pioneer-behind-Gujarati-Vishwakosh-passes-away-at-96/articleshow/29320570.cms|work=The Times of India|date=25 January 2014|access-date=15 June 2018|archive-date=23 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623095238/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Pioneer-behind-Gujarati-Vishwakosh-passes-away-at-96/articleshow/29320570.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Life==
Thaker was born on 27 June 1918 in [[Kodinar]], a city in [[Junagadh]], Gujarat, India to his father Premshankar Thaker, and mother, Gomtibahen. His father was a [[Village accountant#Talati|Talati]] (village development officer) and was a fond of reading literature. Thaker was a native of [[Viramgam]], a town in [[Ahmedabad district]].<ref name="Dave2006">{{cite book|editor-last=Dave|editor-first=Ramesh R.|title=Gujarātī Sāhityano Itihāsa Gāndhīyugīna-anugāndhīyugīna Gadyasarjako : 1985thī 1935|script-title=gu:ગુજરાતી સાહિત્યનો ઇતિહાસ (૧૮૯૫થી ૧૯૩૫) : ગાંધીયુગીન-અનુગાંધીયુગીન ગદ્યસર્જકો|trans-title=History of Gujarati Literature (1895 to 1935) : Prose Writers of Gandhian Era and Post-Gandhan Era|volume=6|date=October 2006|edition=1st|location=Ahmedabad|publisher=[[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]]|pages=441–445|oclc=52268627|chapter=ધીરુભાઈ પ્રેમશંકર ઠાકર 'સવ્યસાચી'|last=Darji|first=Pravin|author-link=Pravin Darji|language=gu}}</ref>

He completed his primary education from Kodinar and [[Chanasma]] while secondary education from Chanasma and [[Siddhpur]]. He completed [[matriculation]] in 1934 from L. S. High School, Siddhapur with [[Sanskrit]] and Science subjects. He received a [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] from [[Elphinstone College]] in 1939 with [[Gujarati literature|Gujarati]] ([[Honours degree|Honours]]) and Sanskrit, and a [[Master of Arts|MA]] in 1941 from the same college with Gujarati. In 1938, [[Mumbai University]] awarded him the M. M. Paramanand Prize for his research work. ''Oganisami Sadini Pashchim Bharatni Dharmik Chalavalo'' (Religious Activities of 19th Century India)<ref name="Dave2006"/>

He was a professor at [[Gujarat College]] until 1960. In 1956, he received PhD under [[Ramnarayan V. Pathak]] from Gujarat College for his thesis ''Manilal Nabhubhai: Sahitya Sadhana'', a research work on the life and works of [[Manilal Dwivedi]]. He joined Modasa College in 1960. He retired from there later. He also served as a president of [[Gujarati Sahitya Parishad]] from 1999 to 2001. He died on 22 January 2014 at [[Ahmedabad]].<ref name=TOI/><ref name="GVT2016">{{cite web | title=મુખ્ય સંશોધક : ડૉ. ધીરુભાઈ ઠાકર | website=Gujarat Vishvakosh Trust | url=http://www.vishwakosh.org/vishe/dhirubhai.html | language=gu | access-date=15 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115072357/http://www.vishwakosh.org/vishe/dhirubhai.html|archive-date=15 November 2016}}</ref>

In his honour, the [[Dhirubhai Thakar Savyasachi Saraswat Award]] has been awarded annually by [[Gujarati Vishwakosh|Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust]], Ahmedabad since 2013.<ref name="The Times of India 2015">{{cite web|title=K G Subramanyan awarded Savyasachi Award|website=The Times of India|date=28 June 2015|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/K-G-Subramanyan-awarded-Savyasachi-Award/articleshow/47848888.cms|access-date=15 July 2010|archive-date=9 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209180954/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Ahmedabad/K-G-Subramanyan-awarded-Savyasachi-Award/articleshow/47848888.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Works==
He was a lecturer by profession. He wrote criticism, essays, research and plays.<ref name=TOI/>

He had written ten works on criticism, seven collections of essays, two research works, three biographies including his autobiography. He had also written one biographical play, two children's plays, one travelogue and two translations. He had edited four study works, sixteen literary works, nine collections (with others) and history of Gujarati literature.<ref name="GVT2016"/> He wrote a biography of Manilal Dwivedi entitled ''Manilal Nabhubhai: Jeevanrang''.<ref name="SchabSimson1997">{{cite book|author1=Stanley Schab|author2=George Simson|title=Life Writing from the Pacific Rim: Essays from Japan, China, Indonesia, India, and Siam, With a Psychological Overview|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c8R50J0RnBoC&pg=PA54|year=1997|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|location=Hawai'i|isbn=978-0-8248-1970-5|page=54|access-date=17 October 2018|archive-date=21 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521163842/https://books.google.com/books?id=c8R50J0RnBoC&pg=PA54|url-status=live}}</ref> He wrote a biographical play, ''Uncho Parvat Undi Khin'' (1993, 'Lofty Mountain, Cavernous Valley'), based on the life of Manilal Dwivedi. It was awarded a prize by Batubhai Umarvadia Centre for being the best play.<ref name="Desai2001">{{cite book|last=Desai|first=S.D.|title=More Happenings: Gujarati Theatre Today (1990 – 1999)|date=December 2002|publisher=[[Gujarat Sahitya Academy]]|location=Gandhinagar|page=69|isbn=81-7227-113-1|oclc=53840078}}</ref> He translated [[Pablo Neruda]]'s Memoirs as ''Satyani Mukhomukha : Pablo Nerudana 'Memoirs'no Anuvāda'' (2010).<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Patel|first=Rajendra|author-link=Rajendra Patel|script-title=gu:અંતિમ શ્વાસ સુધી સજ્જ|trans-title=Active Till The Last Breath|language=gu|magazine=Vishwavihar|url=|date=May 2021|publisher=Gujarati Vishwakosh Trust|location=Ahmedabad|page=16|issn=2321-6999}}</ref>

He assembled 1700 subject experts to work on ''[[Gujarati Vishwakosh]]'', a 25-volume encyclopedia of the [[Gujarati language]] which contains 25,000 pages and 23,000 entries.<ref name=TOI/>

==Awards==
He was the recipient of the [[Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]], the highest literary award in Gujarati language, in 1994 and the [[Narmad Suvarna Chandrak]] in 2012.<ref name=TOI/><ref>{{cite web|title=Narmad award for nonagenarian Dhirubhai Thakar|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-narmad-award-for-nonagenarian-dhirubhai-thakar-1738784|work=dnaindia.com|date=9 September 2012|access-date=25 January 2014|archive-date=2 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202202527/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-narmad-award-for-nonagenarian-dhirubhai-thakar-1738784|url-status=live}}</ref> He had received [[Sahitya Gaurav Puraskar]] in 1998.<ref name="Dave2006"/>

He was awarded [[Padma Bhushan]] on 25 January 2014 for his contribution in field of literature and education.<ref name=THIN>{{cite news|title=List of Padma awardees|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/list-of-padma-awardees/article5617946.ece|work=The Hindu|date=25 January 2014|author=PTI|access-date=15 June 2018|archive-date=22 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922042306/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/list-of-padma-awardees/article5617946.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://m.timesofindia.com/city/ahmedabad/7-Gujaratis-in-Padma-awards-list/articleshow/29383553.cms|title=7 Gujaratis in Padma awards list|work=The Times of India|date=26 January 2014|access-date=1 May 2014|archive-date=7 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407080734/http://m.timesofindia.com/city/ahmedabad/7-Gujaratis-in-Padma-awards-list/articleshow/29383553.cms|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Gujarati-language writers]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Darji |first=Pravin |author-link=Pravin Darji |title=Śikshaṇavida Dhīrubhāī Ṭhākara |trans-title=Educationist Dhirubhai Thaker |script-title=gu:શિક્ષણવિદ્ ધીરુભાઈ ઠાકર |language=gu |year=2018 |publisher=[[Gujarati Vishwakosh|Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust]] |location=Ahmedabad |oclc=1089523336}}

==External links==
{{wikisourcelang|gu|સર્જક:ધીરુભાઈ ઠાકર|ધીરુભાઈ ઠાકર}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{Gbooks-author|Dhirubhai P. Thakar}}
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Dhirubhai Thakar|sopt=t}}

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2010–19}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thaker, Dhirubhai}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:2014 deaths]]
[[Category:Writers from Gujarat]]
[[Category:Gujarati-language writers]]
[[Category:People from Ahmedabad district]]
[[Category:People from Junagadh district]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Indian encyclopedists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:Indian literary critics]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian literary historians]]
[[Category:Indian autobiographers]]
[[Category:University of Mumbai alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak]]
[[Category:Indian biographers]]
[[Category:Translators of Pablo Neruda]]

Dhirubhai Thaker - Revision history

imported>Gazal world at 08:23, 29 August 2021