Of the four elements already enumerated the oldest are the wild tribes
of central India, such as the Bhils and Gonds, who probably represent
the original inhabitants of the country. These number some 11,000,000.
Second come the Dravidians of the south, amounting to about 54,000,000.
Thirdly come the Aryans, inhabiting mainly that portion of India north
of the Nerbudda which is known as Hindustan proper. Of these only the
Brahmans and Rajputs, about 20,000,000, are of pure Aryan blood. The
remaining 135,000,000 Hindus represent the fusion of Aryan and non-Aryan
elements. Fourthly come the Mahommedans, numbering some 62,000,000. Many
of them are the descendents of Arab, Afghan, Mogul and Persian invaders,
and the remainder are converts made to Islam in the course of the
centuries of Mahommedan rule.
Racial types.
The census report of 1901 divided the population of India into seven
distinct racial types: the Turko-Iranian type, represented by the
Baluch, Brahui and Afghans of the Baluchistan Agency and the
North-West Frontier Province; the Indo-Aryan type, occupying the
Punjab, Rajputana and Kashmir, and having as its characteristic
members the Rajputs, Khatris and Jats; the Scytho-Dravidian type of
western India, comprising the Mahrattas; the Kunbis, and the Coorgs,
probably formed by a mixture of Scythian and Dravidian elements; the
Aryo-Dravidian type found in the United Provinces, in parts of
Rajputana, and in Behar, represented in its upper strata by the
Hindustani Brahman, and in its lower by the Chamar. This type is
probably the result of the intermixture, in varying proportions, of
the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian types, the former element predominating
in the higher groups and the latter in the lower. The fifth type is
the Mongolo-Dravidian of Bengal and Orissa, comprising the Bengal
Brahmans and Kayasths, the Mahommedans of Eastern Bengal, and other
groups peculiar to this part of India. It is probably a blend of
Dravidian and Mongoloid elements with a strain of Indo-Aryan blood in
the higher groups. The sixth type is the Mongoloid of the Himalayas,
Nepal, Assam and Burma, represented by the Kanets of Lahoul and Kulu,
the Lepchas of Darjeeling, the Limbus, Murmis and Gurungs of Nepal,
the Bodo of Assam, and the Burmese. Seventh and last comes the
Dravidian type, extending from Ceylon to the valley of the Ganges, and
pervading the whole of Madras and Mysore and most of Hyderabad, the
Central Provinces, Central India and Chota Nagpur. Its most
characteristic representatives are the Paniyans of the south Indian
hills and the Santals of Chota Nagpur. This is probably the original
type of the population of India, now modified to a varying extent by
the admixture of Aryan, Scythian and Mongoloid elements.
Caste.
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