Dhirajlal Mahashankar Vishwanath Thaker (1897–1947) was a

British colonial The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming p ...

official and Paymaster General of the

Port of Karachi The Port of Karachi (, ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Karachi H ...

; the largest wheat and cotton exporting port in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

prior to partition, currently the largest port in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. He was the son of Mahashankar Vishwanath Thaker, Chief Treasurer of the Princely State of

Limbdi Limbdi is a taluka in Surendranagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. History The area formed a part of the 9-gun salute state during the British Raj, when it was governed by members of a Jhala dynasty. Limbdi Satyagrah During the Saty ...

under

Jhala Jhala (Hindi: झाला, ) is a term in Hindustani classical music which denotes the fast-paced conclusions of classical compositions or raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a mus ...

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

rule and nephew of Pranjivan Vishwanath Thaker, Diwan of the Princely State of Vadia. As effective Chief Financial Officer of the port, he reported directly to the

Paymaster General His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. History The post was ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on behalf of the

Karachi Port Trust The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) () is a Government of Pakistan, Pakistani federal government agency, under the administrative control of the Maritime Secretary of Pakistan, Federal Maritime Secretary that oversees the operations of the Port of Ka ...

and was instrumental in developing the

as the main air entry into India. When

was created in 1947, the

was its capital, major seaport, and the country’s center for industry, administration, and business. In 1900 at the age of three, he moved to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

from

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

with his father and four brothers. Prior to 1920 he returned to

to marry and subsequently raised five children. In 1947 he died of throat cancer after migrating modern-day

following the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947. People from British India People from Gujarat 1897 births 1947 deaths Chief financial officers {{India-bio-stub

References