No special theory is required to account for the physical and mental qualities of the Mongolo-Dravidians of Bengal. No doubt the original population was Dravidian with a strong intermixture of Tibeto-Burmese blood, especially in the east and north-east. But the Hindu religion, developed in the sacred Midlands round Benares, spread to Bengal, bringing with it the Indo-European speech which in medieval times became the copious and supple Bengali tongue. From the west too came what we in Europe would call the gentry, the priestly and professional castes. These have acquired most of the local physical characters, dusky skin, low stature, round heads. But in nearly all cases, the fineness and sharp outline of the nose shows their aristocratic origin, and in some instances a Bengali Brāhman has all the physical distinction of a western priest or sage. When we turn to the Scytho-Dravidian group we have again to fall back on records of ancient invasions from the north. Ancient some of them were, but far less ancient than the settlement of the Aryans in the north-west. The Sakas have provided India with one of its many chronological eras; they founded dynasties which have left coins behind them, they have left vague but widely spread traditions. They were what we Europeans call Scythians. They were known to the Persians, the Parthians, and the Chinese. Their original home seems to have been in the south of China, a land of pre-eminently round-headed races. We know that they established their dominion over portions of the Panjāb, Sind, Gujarāt, Rājputānā and Central India. If they have left traces of their settlement on their descendants we may reasonably expect to find round-headed races and tribes in regions mostly surrounded by long-headed peoples. Such a zone of broad-headed people does in fact extend from the western Panjāb right through the Deccan, till it finally ends in Coorg. Sir H. H. Risley's theory is that the Scythians first occupied the great grazing country of the western Panjāb, and finding their progress eastwards blocked by the Indo-Aryans, turned southwards, mingled with the Dravidians, and became the ancestors of the warlike Marātha race. Such an origin forms a tempting explanation of the well-known predatory habits of the Marātha hordes, and of their frequent raids all over the peninsula under the decaying administration of the later Mogul Emperors. It is an interesting and fascinating speculation, since it accounts not only for the physical aspect of the Marāthas but for their characteristic political genius, for their wide-ranging forays, their guerilla warfare, their unscrupulous dealings, their inveterate love of intrigue, their clannish habits.