People of India
| In a country as diverse and complex as India, it is not
surprising to find that people here reflect the rich glories of the past,
the culture, traditions and values relative to geographic locations and the
numerous distinctive manners, habits and food that will always remain truly
Indian. According to five thousand years of recorded history, India has been
invaded by armies, traders and immigrants who brought with them their own
habits, faiths, practices and observances which have all contributed to the
rich texture of Indian life and living.
 From
the eternal snows of the Himalayas to the cultivated peninsula of far South,
from the deserts of the West to the humid deltas of the East, from the dry
heat and cold of the Central Plateau to the cool forest foothills, Indian
lifestyles clearly glorify the geography. The food, clothing and habits of
an Indian differ in accordance to the place of origin.
Deep-rooted family values continue to exist in Indian families. The
surname of an Indian is based on his caste or place of origin or his family
occupation. Men are still considered the head of a family and are consulted
for all decisions though they no longer continue to be the single
breadwinner. A wife will always serve her husband before she eats. Parents
are looked upon with respect and regard. Children
are financially supported by their parents throughout their education.
Indians
believe in sharing happiness and sorrow. A festival or a celebration is
never constrained to a family or a home. The whole community or neighborhood
is involved in bringing liveliness to an occasion. A lot of
festivals like Diwali, Holi, Id, Christmas, Mahaveer Jayanthi are
all celebrated by sharing sweets and pleasantries with family, neighbours
and friends. An Indian wedding
is an occasion that calls for participation of the family and
friends.Similarly, neighbours and friends always help out a family in times
of need.
Though ethnically Indians speak different
languages,
follow different religions, eat the most diverse varieties of food, there is
still a richness in Indian arts and culture which is unparalleled anywhere
else in the world. The beauty of the Indian people lies in the spirit of
tolerance, give-and-take and a composition of cultures that can be compared
to a garden of flowers of various colors and shades of which, while
maintaining their own entity, lend harmony and beauty to the India Garden.
|
 Indian population is
polygenetic and is said to be the melting pot of various racial mosaic. Few, if
any, can claim to belortg to any particular stock. Nevertheless, many Indians
pride themselves on their Aryan descent.
The species known as Ramapithecaswas found in tjne Slwalik foothills of the
northwestern Himalayas. This species believed to ie the first in the line of
hominids (human family) lived some 14 million years ago. Researches have found
that a species rescinbling the AustralopithecusUved in Indiasome 2 million years
ago. Even this discovery leaves an evolutionary gap of as much as 12 million
years since Ramawthecus.
Races in India (as per classical pattern) According to Dr. B. s. Guha. The
population of India is derived from 6 main ethnic groups:
Negrito,
Proto-Australoids or Austrics,
Mongololds,
MediteiTanean or Dravidian,
Western Brachycephals and
Nordic Aryans.
Negroids, the brachycephalic (broad headed) from Africa were the oldest people
to found only in patches among the hill tribes of south India (Irulas, Kodars,
Paniyans and Kurumbas) on the mainland. But they survive day of the Saka month
are given below: in the Andaman Islands, where they have retained their
language.
Proto - Australoids or Austrics were a race of people, with wavy hair
plentifully distributed over their brown bodies, long heads with low foreheads
and prominent eyeridges, noses with low and broad roots, thick jaws, large
palates and teeth and small chins.
The Austrics of india represent a race of medium height, dark (and in some cases
black) complexion with long heads and rather flat moses but otherwise of regular
features. Miscegenation with the earlier Negroids may be the reason for the dark
or black pigmentation of the skin and flat noses. Austric tribes spread over the
whole of india and then pass on to Burma, Malaya and the islands of South East
Asia. The Austrics form the bedrock of the people.
The Austrics laid the foundation of Indian civilization. They cultivated rice
and vegetables and made sugar from sugarcane. Their language has survived in the
Kol orMunda speech Mundari current in Eastern and Central India.
|
