Some Major Racial Groups of India
The Mongolian element came from the East and moved towards the South. The Indo-Aryan race came to India in 1500 B.C. Hence, the population of India, according to Hutton,Consists of the following races (1) Negrito, (2) Proto-Austroloid, (3) Mediterranean: (a) East Mediterranean, (b) Mediterranean, (4) Armenoid branch of Alpine, (5) Mongoloid, (b) Indo-Aryan.
Some of the major racial groups of India are as follows:
India is the melting pot of various races and tribes. Almost all the major races of the world are present in the country. According to BS Guha, the following six main races are found in India.
- The Negrito:
It is characterized by short stature,
bulbous forehead, broad flat nose, slightly protruding jaws, black skin colour; they are considered the earliest occupants of the country. Traces of this group are found in the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Kadars and Puliyans tribes of peninsular India. - The Proto-Australoids:
It probably came to India soon after the Negritos. They are characterized by black skin colour, wavy to curly hair, broad and flat nose, short stature and proganthous jaws. They occupy mostly the hills and forested tracts of central and southern India. They are considered the builders of the Indus Valley Civilization along with the Mediterraneans.
- Mongoloids:
Their original homeland is considered China and Magnolia. They exhibit light brown skin colour, less body hairs, broad face with pronounced cheek bones, slanting eyes and medium stature. Their descendants are seen in the hilly tribes of North-East India, Sikkim and Ladakh.
The mongoloid racial stock is divided into two sub-groups as follow:
- Palaeo-Mongoloid:
They are further divided into broad headed and long headed sub-types. They are found along the fringes of the Himalayas in Asom and the Myanmar border. - Tibeto-Mongoloid:
They have come from Tibet and are mostly living in Bhutan and Sikkim.
iv. Mediterraneans:
The Mediterranean racial stock come from South-West Asia. They are divided into the three groups
- Palaeo-Mediterraneans:
The first to be arrived. Their physical characteristics include medium stature, dark skin and long head. Today they forms the bulk of the population of the southern India
- The Mediterraneans:
They were the builder of the Indus Valley Civilizations. Today they constitute the bulk of the lower casts throughout northern India. - Oriental Mediterraneans:
They came much later. They have limited distribution in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. - Brachycephals:
This group of races are characterized by broad head. Corgis and Parsis are representative of this group. This race is subdivided into three major groups according to the route, they follow to enter India; Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids. - The Nordics:
They are the last to come to India from the North-West around second millennium BC Their typical features include long stature, well built body,
long forehead and face, pronounced chin, very narrow, straight and high nose, golden hair and blue eyes. They occupied North-western India and spread to the plains of Punjab and Western Uttar Pradesh and represented among the upper castes of North India. They are supposed to have brought Sanskrit language in India.