[5][6][7][8][2][9] Thakkar was born in 1932 to a Gujarati-speaking family in the coastal Dahanu town of the then Bombay Presidency of British India (today part of the Palghar district of Maharashtra state).
[citation needed] Inspired by Gandhian social reformer Kaka Kalelkar early in his life, Thakkar went to Nagaland, the North-Eastern state of India, at the age of 23 in 1955, desiring to foster "goodwill and emotional integration through voluntary social service" among the people of Nagaland, using Gandhian principles.
[10][5] Thakkar assisted residents in "various development and income generating activities", including beekeeping, gur production, oil ghanis, a biogas plant, a mechanised carpentry workshop, and Khadi sales outlets.
[10][14] Due to Thakkar's efforts, an extension centre of National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology was started in Chuchuyimlang village in 2006.
He was admitted to an intensive care unit but his health later declined and he developed kidney failure and low blood pressure.