RACE

Introduction

• Our present day population is a conglomeration of people belonging to different racial groups with different backgrounds
• These people entered India from different parts of the world, at different points in time, adopting various land and water routes
• Almost all the major races of the world are visible in India, as a result of which the country is said to have a varied and diverse ethnic composition

 Racial groups, from which the present day population of the country has been derived

1. THE NEGRITOS
   • According to the Geographers, these were the earliestoccupants of India
     • Also, they have expressed their view that Negroid people migrated to India from Africaand established their language on the soil of India
   • These features are met with particularly amongst the Andaman islanders, the Uralis of Nilgiri Hills, Kadors of Kochi, Pullayans of Palni Hills, etc.
     • The tribeslike the Angami Nagas in the North-East, and Badgis in Rajmahal Hills in Jharkhand possess their traits
   • The race is characterized by short stature, dark chocolate brown skin, woolly hair, bulbous forehead, broad flat nose and slightly protruding jaws

2. THE PROTO-AUSTRALOIDS
   • These are believed to have come to India from the East Mediterranean area(Palestine), soon after the Negritos
   • Presently, they constitute the bulk of the population in many isolated parts of central and southern India
   • The Veddahs, Irulas and Sholagas are their true representatives
     • The Bhils, Kols, Badagas, Korwas, Mundas, Bhumjis of the highlands of the Central India and the Chenchus, Kurumbas, Malayans and Yeruvas of South India may all be treated as their representatives as well
   • According to some Anthropologists, these people on their arrival pushed, displaced and supplanted the Negritos to shift to more inaccessible, remote and less hospitable areas, where they are found even today
   • In physical appearance, they more or less resemble the Negritos with the exception of woolly hair
     • Their other physical characteristics are bulbous forehead, broad flat nose and slightly protruding jaws

3. THE MONGOLOID
   • It is believed that China is the homeland of the Mongoloid race, from where they were pushed southward into the Malaya Peninsula and Indonesia
   • They entered India through the passes in the northern and eastern mountains
   • Presently, they occupy large areas in Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of East India
   • Their physical characteristics include a round and broad head, face with very high cheek bones and a long flat nose, with little or no hair on the face and the body
   • The tribes of Garo, Khasi, Jaintia, Lipchas, Chakmas, Naga belong to this race

• They are further classified as:
  • Paleo-Mongoloids– They were the first of the Mongoloids who came to India. These people are settled mainly in the border areas of the Himalayas. They are found mostly in Assam and the adjacent states
  • Tibeto-Mongoloids– These people came from Tibet and are settled mainly in Bhutan, Sikkim, areas of north-western Himalayas and beyond the Himalayas in which Ladakh and Baltistan are included.

4. THE MEDITERRANEANS
   • This racial stock came to India from eastern Mediterranean region or South West Asia
   • They are believed to have migrated during the third and second millennium BC
   • Their physical characteristics include medium stature, dark skin and long head
   • In all probability, they first settled in North-western India and started practicing agriculture there; post which they were pushed into central and southern India by subsequent immigrants
   • Presently, they form the bulk of population of south India and a considerable proportion in northern India
   • The Mediterranean were the chief architect of the Indus Valley civilizationas is evident from the excavations of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa
5. THE BRACHYCEPHALS
   • These are characterized by Broad heads
   • Coorgis and Parsis are their representatives in India
   • These are further sub-divided into three major groups:
     • Alpinoids, who came to India along the route passing through Baluchistan, Sind, Kathiawar, Gujarat, Maharashtra,, Karnataka and Tamilnadu
     • Dinarics, who followed the Ganga Valley and its delta as their route to enter India
     • Armenoids, who came through Chitral, Gilgit, Kashmir and Nepal to enter India

6. THE NORDICS
   • They spoke the Aryan language and migrated to India sometime during the second millennium BC
   • The main concentration of these people is in the north-western part of the country
     • They are a predominant type in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
   • The main characteristics of this race are long head, fair complexion, well developed nose and a well-built strong body