Professional Documents
Culture Documents
0064 PDF
0064 PDF
The history of the racial classification of the people of India can be looked at in three temporal phases: (1) at the national
level, the initial studies of racial classification attempted along with the Census of India; (2) at the regional level, studies by
anthropologists and statisticians following systematic sampling and statistical procedures were conducted after the initial
national-level studies and (3) population-specific studies in different regions across the country including micro-evolu-
tionary studies of individual populations followed the regional studies. Initially the racial classification was part of the
Census survey conducted by British anthropologists in some parts of the country among castes and tribes and was based on
a few physical traits. This was followed by a systematic anthropometric survey in particulars regions (e.g., UP, Bengal, etc.)
by anthropologists and statisticians. This was followed by population specific micro-evolutionary studies across different
regions by numerous anthropologists investigating the role of selection, drift, migration and admixture and other population
structure variables among endogamous castes and tribes.
During the early phase of physical anthropology, anthro- 1. Racial classification of the people of India
pologists were interested in the classification of worldwide
regional human populations. In this context, the word ‘race’ The earliest such systematic attempts of racial classification
has been used for the classification of populations according of the people of India can be traced to ethnographic survey
to certain physical traits such as pigmentation, hair form and of Bengal, especially The Tribes and Castes of Bengal
other observable traits, primarily, of the head (Keith 1928). (Risley 1891a, b), in which an anthropometric analysis of the
In India, the racial classification was attempted with respect people of the Indian province was undertaken. The important
to socially recognized diverse endogamous castes (or ‘jatis’) result of the study was that no anthropometric differences
and tribes. This was based on qualitative and quantitative were observed between the so-called ‘Dravidian’ and ‘Ko-
physical traits such as the colour of the skin and eyes, the larian’ races of the hills of the south of Bengal.
shape of the head and nose, the thickness of the lips, and on
anthropometric measurements, as these traits showed varia-
tions across different castes and tribes. The history of the 1.1 Sir Herbert Hope Risley – 1901
racial classification of the people of India can be looked at
three temporal phases: (1) at the national level, the initial Sir Herbert Hope Risley (1851–1911), a colonial adminis-
studies of racial classification attempted along with the trator and a British ethnographer, conducted census surveys
Census of India; (2) at the regional level, studies by (1901) on the tribes and castes of the Bengal Presidency. The
anthropologists and statisticians following systematic sam- 1901 census covered three main regions – the Himalaya,
pling and statistical procedures were conducted after the where there is an admixture of Mongoloid blood; the Middle
initial national-level studies, and (3) population-specific Land, the river plains of northern India taken by the Aryans;
studies in different regions across the country including and the Deccan, the home of the Dravidian, the oldest of the
micro-evolutionary studies of individual populations fol- Indian races. The study revealed that there were 157 distinct
lowed the regional studies. languages, 22 of which were spoken by over a million
http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci
64 Page 2 of 14 K C Malhotra and T S Vasulu
people each. Because of the complexity of the castes and is broad; complexion dark; hair on face usefully plentiful;
religions and languages, Risley had opted for the physical stature medium; nose medium with a tendency to be broad.
measurements and types as the basis for the classification of 6. The Scytho-Dravidian type – of western India, com-
the people of India. One such anthropometric measure, e.g., prising the Maratha Brahmans, Kunbis and Coorgis; prob-
is the ratio of the width of the nose to its height for the ably formed by a mixture of predominately Scythian and
identification of the Aryan and Dravidian races (Trautmann Dravidian elements among the former three groups. These
1977; Hough 1910; Walsh 2011). people have traits such as the head being broad; complexion
Risley’s classification of ‘The People of India’ (1915, fair; hair on face rather scanty; stature medium; nose mod-
1908) included seven different types: three main categories erately fine and not conspicuously long.
and four intermixed groups. Overall, HH Risley’s classifi- 7. The Turko-Iranian type – represented by Baloch, Bra-
cation of the people of India included the following seven hui and Afghans of the Baluchistan Agency and the North
main physical types: West Frontier Province, formed by a fusion of predomi-
1. The Dravidian type – extends from Ceylon to the valley nantly Turkic and Persian elements. They are characterized
of the Ganges and pervading the whole of Madras, Hyder- by (or identified by) the following physical traits: stature
abad, the Central Provinces most of Central India and the above mean; complexion fair; eyes mostly dark, but occa-
Chota Nagpur belt. It is represented by the Paniyans sional grey; hair on face plentiful; head broad; nose mod-
(southern hills) and Santals of Chota Nagpur. This possibly erately narrow, prominent and very long.
is the original population of India probably modified as a Risley’s classification of the above seven types of castes
result of the varying extent of the admixture of Aryan, and tribes was based on a survey conducted primarily among
Scythian and Mongoloid elements. Typically, these popula- the four provinces of the North Western Province, the
tions are of short stature or below mean; the complexion Bombay Presidency, Ceylon and Burma, covering regions of
very dark, approaching black; hair plentiful with an occa- Punjab, Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan and Baluchis. This
sional tendency to curl; eyes dark; head long; nose very was based on a total sample size of 5784 individuals aged
broad, sometimes depressed at the root, but not so as to make between 25 and 45 from 87 diverse castes and tribes. Of the
the face appear flat. total sample, comprising 87 castes and tribes, at least about
2. The Indo-Iranian type – occupies the Punjab, Rajputana 70 individuals were measured from 45 castes and tribes, and
and Kashmir, which include Rajputs, Khatris and Jats. They the sample size for the remaining 42 tribes and castes was
are supposed to represent closely the traditional Aryans in small and inadequate (Mahalanobis 1934). Risley’s anthro-
India. These people are identified by the following traits: pometric survey included a total of 11 measurements; which
stature is mostly tall; complexion fair; eyes dark; hair on face included, stature, biacromial breadth (BAB) and (9) head
plentiful; head long; nose narrow and prominent, but not measurements, such as, bizygomatic breadth (BZB), cepha-
specifically long. lic breadth (CB), cephalic length (CL), frontal breadth (FB),
3. The Mongoloid type – of the Himalayas, Nepal, Assam height vertex to chin (Hvc), height vertex to tragus (Hvt),
and Burma represented by the Kanets of Lahoul and Kulu, height vertex to intr superciliary point (HVI) nose height
the Lepchas of Darjeeling, the Limbus, Murmis and Gurungs (NH), nasal width (Nm), nasomalar breadth (NW) and
of Nepal, the Bodo of Assam and the Burmese. The char- somotoscopic observations such as skin colour, eye colour,
acteristic physical traits are: the head is broad; complexion hair colour and form, nasal root, etc. However, it is not clear
dark with yellowish tinge; hair on face scanty; stature small what method was adapted in selecting the individuals for the
or below average; nose fine to broad; face characteristically anthropometric survey. He had his own views and opinion
flat; eyelids often oblique. about the origin of diverse castes and tribes. There has been
4. The Aryo-Dravidian type – found in the United Pro- criticism about Risley’s classification:
vince of Agra and Oudh, in parts of Rajputana, in Bihar and 1. Risley considering caste as the basis of classifying the
Ceylon and constituting the upper caste Brahmin and the people of India has been criticized, in view of caste con-
lower caste Charmer as a result of the inter-mixture of versions, laxities of social rules and regulations that allows
varying proportions of Indo-Aryan and Dravidian types. The hypergamy, miscegenation, amalgamation of caste and tribal
characteristic physical traits are: the head form is long with a groups in connection with the practice of Hinduism and
tendency towards medium; the complexion varies from light other constraints which makes caste to be more of social
brown to black; the nose ranges from medium to broad, rather than biological identification for classification.
being always broader among the Indo-Aryans; the stature is 2. The use of anthropometric measurements for the clas-
lower than among that in the latter group, and is usually sification of complex social castes has also been criticized, as
below average. these measurements show greater diversity within rather
5. The Mongolo-Dravidian type – found in lower Bengal than among populations. This is more so in the case of
and Orissa, comprising the Bengal Brahmans and Kayasthas, several subcastes under a caste or caste cluster, which are
and the Muhammadans of eastern Bengal. They possibly merely socially recognized and can change over time or due
represent a blend of Dravidian and Mongoloid elements with to the reasons of admixture between subcastes and with
a strain of Indo-Aryan blood in the higher groups. The head other castes and marriage rules.
Relationship of typological classification to microdifferentiation in ethnic India Page 3 of 14 64
3. It has been argued that Risley had hardly considered the Brachycephalic Leucoderms (Homo brachymorphous), also
influence of environmental factors such as climate, soil, represented by the Indo-European groups that included the
food, etc., which widely vary across different regions of the Armenians, Georgenus, etc.
Indian subcontinent.
4. The racial classification being based on the historical
aspects of the Aryan migration for the classification of the
1.3 Alford Cord Haddon 1924
Indo-Aryan type in northern regions and neglecting other
such migrations (Iranian, Scythian, Hun, Mongol, Persian,
Another racial classification of the people had been pro-
etc.) has also been criticized.
posed by Alford Cord Haddon (1855–1940), a British
5. Risley considered Dravidian racial features among the
anthropologist, in 1924. Haddon did not agree with the
tribes of central India and northern plains, and possibly did
classification by Herbert Risley. According to Haddon, the
not consider or recognize the presence of Mon-Khmer
earliest people who inhabited the Indian subcontinent are
populations distributed over central India and extending to
represented by the pre-Dravidian jungle tribes. The classi-
Assam, whom he might have considered as the Dravidian
fication proposed by Haddon included three geographical
race.
regions and five racial types: (1) pre-Dravidian jungle
6. Based on the observation of the dolicocephalic head
tribes, (2) the Dravidians who are long headed and brun-
form among Rajputs and Jats, Risley argued against their
ette, (3) the Indo-Aryans who are fair complexioned and
possible origin and classification as Indo-Aryans.
long headed, (4) the Indo-Alphines who are broad headed
7. Risley considered Marathas, who had originated from
and (5) the Mongolians. In general, these five types are
Scythians and migrated to the south and intermingled, as
also regionally distributed and can be considered into the
belonging to the Dravidian types. However, there is hardly
following zones:
any historical evidence to support his contention.
1. The Himalayan region: There are two principal types:
8. Risley’s conclusions were unsatisfactory, and in some
Mongoloid and Indo-Aryan. The dominant group is the
cases, they are unclear and have been questioned. His con-
Mongoloid type common among Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim,
ception of India ‘as isolated from the rest of Asia and
Assam, etc. In Assam, there are two sub-types:
inhabited by barbarous tribes until the Aryan invasion c.
1500 BC, has been proved to be erroneous by the discovery a. Dolichocephalic – Platyrrhine (pre-Dravidian) (long
of Mohenjo-daro’ (Hutton 1933) head, broad nose) representing groups such as Khasi
9. ‘P.C. Mahalanobis has analysed Risley’s anthropomet- Kuki, Manipuri, Kachari, etc.
ric data from Bengal and has found a number of more or less b. Dolichocephalic – Mesorrhine (long head, broad nose)
serious mistakes in the calculation of average values of and are represented by groups such as Naga and other
records of individual measurements. The data were collected hill tribes.
by four people and the method of collection and method- c. Mesocephalic-Platyrrhine (medium head, broad nose)
ology used was more on personal instructions, etc.’ (Ma- represented by the Khasi group
halanobis et al. 1941). d. Brachycephalic – Leptorrhine (round head, long nose)
e. Mesocephalic – Mesorrhine (medium head, medium
nose)
1.2 Vincenzo Giuffrida-Ruggeri’s classification – 1921 f. Brachycephalic – Platyrrhine (round head, broad nose)
g. Dolichocephalic – Leptorrhine (long head, long nose)
Vincenzo Giuffrida-Ruggeri (1872–1922), the European
2. Hindustan region or the northern plains: This is rep-
anthropologist, attempted the classification of Asiatic people
resented by one main type – the Indo-Afghan and repre-
based on the shape of their head – dolicho and brachy types:
sented by populations with light brown skin colour, black
dolichocephalic populations from Indo-Afghan, Indo-Iranian
and wavy head hair, long head or dolichocephalic, long face,
and Irano-Mediterranean and the Brachycephalic-type pop-
dark eyes, finely cut straight or convex prominent nose,
ulations such as Armeno-Pamirensis and Georgians (Giud-
stature with medium to tall height. This is represented by
durida-Ruggeri 1921; A.K 1922). He classified the people of
communities such as Jats, Rajputs, etc.
India into six major ethnic types: (1) Nigrito, represented by
3. Deccan region or the southern plateau: This consists of
the Veddas and some tribal populations from the southern
three sub-types:
region, e.g., Kadars; (2) Pre-Dravidian or Australoid-Ved-
daic, which is represented by tribal groups such as Santal, a. Negrito, characteristic of people like Kadars of the
Ho, Munda, etc.; (3) Dravidians, a linguistic reference southern region
populations who speak, primarily, Tamil and Telugu; (4) Tall b. Pre-Dravidian with features such as dark brown to black
Dolichocephalic elements, represented by populations from skin colour, dark and curly head hair, long head
the Nilgiri hills; (5) Dolichochephalic Aryans (Homo (dolichocephalic), dark eye colour, broad nose and
dolichomorphus), represented by Indo-European populations short stature, represented by tribal groups such as Bhil,
such as Indo-Afghans and Indo-Iranians, etc., and (6) Gond, Santal, Oraon, etc.
64 Page 4 of 14 K C Malhotra and T S Vasulu
c. Dravidian with features such as brownish skin colour, a. South Melanid represented by Chenchu and Yanadi
dark and curly head hair, dolichocephalic, dark eye tribes,
colour, medium nose with medium stature, including b. Kolid type with black brown skin colour, dark and curly
southern regional linguistic groups such as Malayalam, head hair, with short stature: the typical examples of the
Telugu, Tamil and Canarese populations of this type include the Santal, Ho and
Mundas, etc., from the central and the eastern regions.
4. Southern Brachycephals: This group is characteristic of
brown skin colour, medium head form (or mesocephalic) to 3. Indid or New Indians: Includes plain dwellers repre-
broad (brachycephalic) medium nose type and is represented sented by non-forest populations with morphological fea-
by, e.g., Panayan from Tamil Nadu, and Pavara of the Tin- tures of brown skin colour with a gracile appearance. It
nevelly coast. consisted of two sub-types:
5. Western Brachycephals: This group is characterized by
a. Gracile Indid – represented by Bengalis,
populations with a light brown skin colour, brachycephalic
b. North Indid – populations with features as light brown
head form, long nose and tall stature. Populations representing
skin colour and represented by Todas of the Nilgiris and
these groups are Nagar Brahmans of Gujarat to people from
Rajputs from Rajasthan, etc.
Coorg and people inhabiting the western coastal region.
4. Palaeo-Mongoloid: Showing incipient Mongoloid
traits, e.g., Palayans of the Wayanad region in Kerala.
1.4 Egon Freiherr von Eickstedt – 1934, 1952 In general, Eickstedt’s classification is regarded as more
systematic and a better approach to classification of the
The German physical anthropologist Egon Freiherr von people of India, as it covered major regions and diverse
Eickstedt (1892–1965) proposed a racial classification of the populations. It also followed representative samples from
Indian populations based on skin colour and physical types diverse regions. However, there has been criticism for a
and the geographical location, and these have been described more systematic representation of populations and proce-
in his book Rassenkunde und Rassengeschichte der Men- dures that could have been incorporated. This was followed
schheit (Ethnology and the Race History of Mankind) by BS Guha’s classification where the scope of the classi-
(1934). He considered the Melanide race as the earliest and fication was extended and some of the criticisms were
that it had descended from the Indo-Negroid or the Eastern addressed.
branch of the Negro race. It consisted of primarily three
main races and 18 sub-types (Eickstedt 1952, 1934).
1. Weddide or Ancient Indians: Represented, primarily, by 1.5 Biraja Sankar Guha – 1935
forest-dwelling tribes and consisted of two sub-types, namely,
During the 1931 census, the racial classification of Indian
a. Gondoid – consisting of tribes such as: Oraon, Bhils,
populations was undertaken by an Indian anthropologist, BS
Juangs, Gonds, Bhils, etc. (dark brown skin colour),
Guha (1894–1961) (Guha 1935). Guha’s racial classification
b. Malid type – represented by tribes from the southern
was based on a systematic approach, following better stan-
region and are characteristic of dark brown skin colour,
dardization and a more elaborate analysis when compared
curly head-hair, short stature; the populations include
with his predecessors (e.g. Eickstedt). The sample consisted
Kurumbas, Veddas, etc.
of a total of 38 characters, 63 coefficients of racial likeness
2. Melanid or Black Indians: Mixed group characterised measures of 2511 persons (2163 males, 348 females)
by black skin colour and composed by two sub-types: belonging to 39 groups (males of 34 groups and females of 5
Number State/region Year Number of groups Number of traits Sample size Reference
1 United provinces 1948 22 12/16 2836 PC Mahalanobis, DN Majumdar, CR Rao
2 Maharashtra 1951 I Karve and VM Dandekar
3 Bengal 1958 41 14/16 3240 DN Majumdar, CR Rao
4 Gujarat 1950 DN Majumdar
5 Tamil Nadu 1981 12 1150 LD Sanghvi, V Balakrishnan and I Karve
6 Central India 2013 22 8 6663 RK Gautham, DK Adak, M Pal and P Bharati
7 United provinces 1896 Castes, tribes 4906 Drake-Brockman
3.2 Bengal anthropometric survey, 1945 3.3 Other regional anthropometric studies
To investigate the ethnic composition of the populations of the 3.3.1 Biology of the People of Tamil Nadu – 1981: Dr
Bengal province, DN Majumdar undertook a anthropometric Sanghvi and his group had undertaken a major multi-
64 Page 10 of 14 K C Malhotra and T S Vasulu
Figure 3. Clustering of castes and tribes of Bengal province based on anthropometric characters.
disciplinary project on a single cultural linguistic region of OB, Nasal Length NL, Nasal Breadth NB, Total Facial
Tamil Nadu, in the southern region for its importance to the Length TFL, Upper Facial Length UFL, Orbio-nasal Breadth
Dravidian culture and also its possible influence on and ONB, Orbito-Nasal Arch ONA, Auricular Height AH,
relationship with the Harrappan culture. The study con- Horizontal Circumference of Head HCH. The anthropo-
ducted during 1959–1970 included 15 major populations metric study included 11 indices: Cephalic CI, Nasal NI,
groups from nine (out of the 12) districts. Of the 15 popu- Upper Facial UFI, Total Facial TFI, Length-Height LHI,
lations, 12 were the major populations groups, especially, (1) Breadth-Height BHI, Fronto-Parietal FPI, Cranio-Facial
Brahmin – Iyer and Iyengar, (2) Non-Brahmin groups of CFI, Fronto-Zygomatic FZI, Gonio-Zygomatic GZI, and
high rank – Vellalah, Naidu, Mudaliar and Chettiar, (3) Non- Orbio-Nasal ONI. The blood group traits tested were:
Brahmin lower rank group such as Vanniyan, Kallan and A1A2BO, MN, Rehusus RH, P, Secretion status ABHS, and
Mutraha, (4) Harijan group – Parayan, Chakkiliyan, and (5) HbAS haemoglobin variants. Overall, the data have sug-
Tribe – Irulan. gested 2 or 3 waves of immigration with consequent mixing,
Overall, 15 measurements of head and face and 12 supplanting and adjustments in social rank (Sanghvi et al.
somatoscopic observations were recorded on 1150 adult 1981) among the diverse caste and tribes of the people of
men from 5 districts and 11 populations (Sanghvi et al. Tamil Nadu.
1981). Information on parental consanguinity and blood
and saliva samples, haemoglobin variants, ABH secretion 3.3.2 Indo-Soviet collaborative study: Apart from the
test, PTC taste, and red-green colour blindness were col- above, other studies were conducted in different regions,
lected from 2254 individuals, mostly from school although the details of these studies are not readily available.
children. A collaborative study between Indian and Soviet scientists
The traits included were: Stature ST, Head Length HL, was conducted between 1971 and 1983 by the Indian Sta-
Head Breadth HB, Minimum Frontal Breadth FB, Bizygo- tistical Institute, Kolkata, and Institute of Ethnography,
matic Breadth BZB, Bigonial Breadth BB, Orbital Breadth Moscow. The study measured about 5500 individuals
Relationship of typological classification to microdifferentiation in ethnic India Page 11 of 14 64
belonging to 55 populations. Anthropological Survey of Kachi and Jat as one cluster, and six other castes forming
India conducted an All India Anthropometric Survey during another cluster, whereas several others were separated.
1963–1967 which included 195 groups and measured
46,789 individuals. The details of the measurements by
region and trait have been published in 11 volumes by the 3.4 General features of the regional study
Anthropological Survey of India.
The regional studies examined affinities and diversity among
3.3.3 Central India study: Morphometric variation among castes and tribes. None of the studies have identified any of
the people of the central Indian region has been recently the racial types. All studies identified populations at the level
published (Gautam et al. 2013) based on the data from the of various castes, varnas, jati, tribes, and religious and
Anthropological Survey of India by Basu et al. (1994). The migrant groups. All these studies used summary statistical
study included 6663 individuals (males aged 18–70 years) estimates of various distance measures for investigating the
from 22 occupational caste group distributed in 38 districts. affinity and were conducted by anthropologists and statisti-
The sample size varied from 50 (12 groups) to a maximum cians. The overall findings of the studies are: there is an
of 114 (among Brahmins). Based on eight anthropometric enormous variation observed among diverse populations
traits, the study investigated the relative affinity and diversity with respect to the anthropometric measurements and for the
among 22 castes by employing size, shape and generalized several observational traits. Populations within the state or
Mahalanobis distance statistics. Results of the coefficient of region formed distinct clusters and the number of clusters
variation showed variation among the castes with respect to varied in each region. In all regions, the tribal populations
the nasal breadth, nasal length, nasal index and weight, but formed distinct clusters. There is a greater variation between
no marked variation with respect to other anthropometric individuals within a caste or subcaste than between castes.
variables. The clustering obtained showed four major clus- Tribal populations showed less heterogeneity in their phys-
ters that included Ahir, Brahmin, Charmer (Jat), Gujar, ical traits than among castes.
64 Page 12 of 14 K C Malhotra and T S Vasulu
3.5 Biological affinities among the populations castes, tribes and other endogamous, isolated, migrated and
at the ‘varna’/caste cluster level small populations across India by several anthropologists,
human biologists and human geneticists. Some of these
Continuing with the regional studies of affinity and diversity, studies have also investigated genetic demographic aspects.
some studies have considered the affinity among castes and Some have investigated the micro-evolutionary phenomena
subcastes based on the social structure of the Indian popu- among regional populations based on physical traits (e.g.,
lations. The Indian population structure is composed of three stature, cephalic index, nasal index and other facial and
broad divisions that include castes, tribes and religious head measurements), observational traits (e.g., cleft chin,
groups (figure 4). Under each caste, there are several ‘var- ear-lobe attachment, hypertrichosis, tongue pigmentation,
nas’, and each varna is again composes of several caste shape of the nose, prognothism, hand clasping and hand
clusters; each caste consisting of several ‘jatis’, which folding, relative length of the index and ring finger, etc.),
consist of several exogamous units. The formation of castes blood groups and biochemical traits, and was later followed
and its several subdivisions is influenced by the fission– by DNA studies. Some examples of these studies were
fusion process. The historical anecdotes also indicate that the carried out in different parts of the country: for example,
formation of subcastes and castes is characterized by the studies by Crooke (1896), Chatterjee (1934), Chowdhuri
fission and fusion process. Therefore, it is interesting to (1936), Majumdar (1938, 1949), Chatterjee (1948),
investigate the biological differences, e.g., the anthropo- Majumdar (1950), Karve (1954), Das (1961), Rakshit
metric differences, based on the social structure of Indian (1975), Bhanu (2004), Reddy Chengal (1993), Basu et al.
populations. One such study examined the social structure (1994), Gupta and Dutta (1966), Bhasin (2006), Ganguly
hypothesis of the fission and/or fusion, a characteristic (1976), Rao (1969, 1970a, b), Malhotra (1978a, b, c),
aspect of regional castes and subcastes. This hypothesis has Gadgil and Malhotra 1982, Bhasin (2006), Perkins et al.
been tested with the anthropometric data among, e.g., (2011), etc.
Brahmins of Maharashtra, Kumbhars of Maharashtra, and
Dhangars of Maharashtra (Karve and Dandekar 1951; Mal-
hotra et al. 1996; Malhotra 1979). For example, the
endogamous castes of the Dhangar caste-cluster has been
studied for anthropological genetics (1970–1974). A total of References
2380 individuals, the sample size varied from 50 (Gadhari-
Nikhar, GN) to 449 (Hatkar HT) from 20 endogamous castes AK 1922 Prof. V. Giuffrida-Ruggeri (1872–1922), Obituary (9th
(177 villages spread over 82 tahils and 26 districts) of Feb, 1922). Nature 109 183
Maharashtra, were measured for 14 anthropometric charac- Basu A, Mukherjee DP, Dutta PC, Bose DK, Basu MP, Ghosh GD,
ters. The clustering obtained from the D2 distance analysis Kumar GC and Haq F 1994 All India anthropometric survey:
showed a geography-based clustering of the castes. The case North zone basic anthropometric data, Vol I (Madhya Pradesh,
Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India)
of the caste-cluster consisting of several subcastes could be
Bhanu BV 2004 People of India: Maharashtra Part I, Vol 30
due not to fission, but to a lack of fusion, and this hypothesis
People of India (Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India)
was tested among eight endogamous groups of the same Bhasin MK 2006 Genetics of castes and tribes of India: Indian
rank in Maharashtra, based on anthropological genetic traits population milieu. Int. J. Hum. Genet. 6 233–274
(anthropometric, anthropomorphic, blood groups, colour Census of India 1931 Part III: Ethnographical, racial affinities of
blindness) of the total sample size that varied from 786 to the people of India. Report, Vol I, Sec. A. (Simla: Government of
1580 of Brahmin subcastes. The clustering pattern obtained India) 1935
from distance measures suggested independent origins for Chatterjee BK 1934 A comparative study of the somatic affinities
five of the eight groups and those supported by the scanty of the Mithili and Kanaujia Brahmans of Bihar. Anthropol. Bull.-
historical records about these castes (Karve and Malhotra 2 (Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta)
1968). In general, these studies show insignificant differ- Chatterjee AN 1948 The variation in stature and cephalic index
ences in physical traits between castes and subcastes at the among Bengalee college students; in Proc. of the 25th Indian
varna and jati levels. Science Congress, Part II. Presidential address
Chowdhuri A 1936 Preliminaries to a study of the racial problems
in India. Man India 16 16
Crooke W 1896 Castes and Tribes of the North Western Provinces
4. Micro-evolutionary studies among the people and Oudh
of India Das BM 1961 Outlines of physical anthropology (Allahabad: Kitab
Mahal)
The third phase of the biological investigation of the pop- Eickstedt EF 1952, 1934 Von. Die Rassengeschichte von Indien mit
ulation structure of India is mostly focused on the micro- besonder Berucksichtigung von Mysore. Zeits. Morph. Anth. 32
evolutionary trends at the individual population level and 77–124
the factors that influence the micro-evolutionary changes. Fisher RA 1936 The coefficient of racial likeness and the future of
Indeed, numerous studies have been conducted among craniometry. J. Roy. Anth. Inst. 66 57–63
Relationship of typological classification to microdifferentiation in ethnic India Page 13 of 14 64
Gadgil M and Malhotra KC 1982 Adaptive significance of the Majumdar DN 1938 The relationships of the Austric-speaking
Indian caste system: An ecological perspective. South Asian tribes of India with specific reference to the measurements of
Study Hos and Saoras. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 7 6
Ganguly PK 1976 Physical anthropology of the Nicobarese Majumdar DN 1949 Part 1. The filed study, UP anthropometric
(Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India) survey. Sankhya 9 93–110.
Gautam RK, Adak DK, Pal M and Bharati P 2013 Morphometric Majumdar DN 1950 Race elements in cultural Gujarat (Gujarat
variation among the central Indian populations. Hum. Biol. 2 Research Society)
153–175 Majumdar DN and Rao CR 1958 Bengal anthropometry survey: A
Giuddurida-Ruggeri V 1921 First outlines of a systematic statistical study (Jun., 1958). Sankhya, Indian J. Stat. 19 201–408
(Calcutta: Anthropology of Asia) Malhotra KC 1978a Microevolutionary dynamics among the
Guha BS 1935 Census of India 1931, 1-India, Part III, Ethno- Gadavas of Goa; in: Evolutionary models and studies in human
graphical (Simla: Govt. India Press) diversity (eds) Meier RJ, Otten CM and Hameed FA (The
Guha BS 1937, 1944 Racial elements in the population. issue Hague: Mouton Publishers) pp 315–323
22 Oxford pamphlets of Indian affairs. (H. Milford 1944) Malhotra KC 1978b Founder effect, gene drift and natural selection
p 30 among four nomadic Mendelian isolates; in: Evolutionary
Gupta P and Dutta PC 1966 Anthropometry in India (Calcutta: models and studies in human diversity (eds) Meier RJ, Otten
Anthropological Survey of India) CM and Hameed FA (The Hague: Mouton Publishers)
Hough W 1910 The People of India. By Sir Herbert Risley. Am. pp 279–314
Anthropol 12 105–108 Malhotra KC 1978c Morphological composition of the people of
Hutton JH 1933 Ethnographic notes; in: Census of India, 1931, Vol India. J. Hum. Evol. 7 45–53
I-India, Part III-Ethnographical (ed.) BS Guha (Simla: Govt. Malhotra KC 1979 Qualitative finger dermatoglyphic variation
India Press) p 306 among 21 endogamous Dhangar castes of Maharashtra, India;
Karve I 1954 Anthropometric measurements in Karnataka and in: Dermatoglyphics – fifty year later (eds) Werteleck V, Plato
Orissa and a comparison of these two regions with Maharashtra. CC, Alan R (New York: Liss, Inc.) pp 335–346
J. Anthropol. Soc.Bom. Bombay 8:47–75. Malhotra KC, Reddy BM and Bhanu BV 1996 Anthropometric
Karve I and Dandekar VM 1951 Anthropometric measurements of affinities among the 20 endogamous groups of Dhangars of
Maharashtra. Deccan College Monograph series 8 (Pune: Maharashtra, India. Zeits. Morphol. Anthropol. 81 79–90
Deccan College) Pearson K 1926 On the coefficient of racial likeness. Biometrika 18
Karve I and Malhotra KC 1968 A biological comparison of eight 105–117
endogamous groups of the same rank. Curr. Anthropol. 9 Penrose LS 1954 Distance, size and shape. Ann Eugenics 18
109–124 337–343
Keith Sir A 1928 The evolution of the human races. J. R. Anthropol. Perkins JM, Khan KT, Smith GD and Subramanian SV 2011
Inst. GB Ireland 58 305–321 Patterns and trends of adult height in India in 2005–2006. Econ.
Mahalanobis PC 1922 Anthropological observations on the Anglo- Hum. Biol. 9 184–191
Indians of Calcutta, Part I, analysis male stature. Rec. Indian Rakshit HK 1975 Bio-anthropological research in India (Calcutta:
Museum 23 1–96 Anthropological Survey of India)
Mahalanobis PC 1925a Presidential Address to Anthropology Rao DC 1969 Tongue pigmentation in man: A new genetic trait.
Section of Ind. Sc. Congress Curr. Sci. 39 161–162
Mahalanobis PC 1925b Analysis of race mixture in Bengal. Rao DC 1970a Tongue pigmentation in man. Hum. Hered. 20 8–12
Presidential address to Anthropological section of Ind. Sc. Rao DC 1970b Genetics of tongue pigmentation in man. Hum.
Congress. Benares. J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 23 301–333 Hered. 20 590–599
Mahalanobis PC 1930 A statistical study of certain anthropometric Reddy Chengal P 1993 A genetic study on the relationship between
measurements from Sweden. Biometrika 22 98 total finger ridge count and its variability. Int. J. Anthropol. 8
Mahalanobis PC 1931 Anthropological observations on the Anglo- 87–93
Indians of Calcutta, Part II, analysis of Anglo-Indian head Risley HH 1891a The tribes and castes of Bengal: Ethnographic
length. Rec. Indian Museum 23 97–149 glossary. 2 vols. (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Press)
Mahalanobis PC 1933 A revision of Risley’s anthropometric Risley HH 1891b The tribes and castes of Bengal: Anthropometric
data relating to the tribes and castes of Bengal. Sankhya 1 data. 2 vols. (Calcutta: Bengal Secretariat Press)
76–105 Risley HH 1908, 1915 The people of India, 2nd edition (ed.) W
Mahalanobis PC 1934 A revision of Risley’s anthropometric data Thacker (Calcutta & Simla: Spink & Co.)
relating to the Chittagong hill tribes. Sankhya 1 267–276 Roy SC 1934 Caste, race and religion in India. Man. India. 14:
Mahalanobis PC 1940 Anthropological observations on the Anglo- 39–63, 75–220, 271–311; 1937: Man in India 17: 147–176,
Indians of Calcutta, statistical analysis of measurements of seven 212–254; 1938: Man in India 18: 85–105
characters. Rec. Indian Museum 23 151–187 Sanghvi LD, Balakrishnan V and Irawati Karve 1981 Biology of
Mahalanobis PC and Bose C 1941 Correlation between anthropo- the people of Tamil Nadu. Ind. Soc. Hum. Genet, Pune and Ind
metric characters in some Bengal castes and tribes. Sankhya 5 Soc Anthrop Soc, Calcutta (Calcutta: IMPRINTA)
249–260 Sarkar SS 1954 The aboriginal races of India (Calcutta: Bookland
Mahalanobis PC, Majumdar DN and Rao CR 1949 Anthropometric Ltd.)
survey of the United Provinces, 1941: A statistical study. Sarkar SS 1958 Race and race movements in India. In: The cultural
Sankhya, Indian J. Stat. (1933–1960). 9 89–324 heritage of India. Calcutta I: 17–32
64 Page 14 of 14 K C Malhotra and T S Vasulu
Sarkar SS 1961 A racial classification of India. Bull. Anthropol. Walsh JE 2011 A Brief History of India, Facts on File, ISBN 978-0-
Surv. India 10 27–34 8160-8143-1
Seltzer CC 1937 A critique of the coefficient of racial likeness. Am. World Health Organization (WHO) 1995 Physical status: The
J. Phys. Anthropol. 23 101–109 use and interpretation of anthropometry. WHO Technical
Trautmann TR 1977 Aryans and British India (University of Report Series No. 854 (Geneva: World Health Organisation,
California Press) WHO)