Was William Makepeace Thackeray a Marathi Manoos?

If not, why does Bal Thackeray not spell his name Bal Thakre, as it originally was, asks Vir Sanghvi in his column in Hindustan Times.

It is a misfortune of the Bombay Quiz Club that we are not important enough for Shiv Sena goons to demand that we change our name to Mumbai Quiz Club. Can’t even take a principled stand here. Pah!