Demographics of India - Ethnic Groups

Ethnic Groups

See also: South Asian ethnic groups, Ethnic relations in India, Historical definitions of races in India, and Caste system in India

Ethnic groups of India This tree diagram depicts the relationships of the major ethnic, linguistic and religious groups in India. For example, an H under Gujarati implies a Hindu, Gujarati-speaking Indian of Indo-Aryan ancestry. However this is not a hard and fast rule. For example, in India many members of the Muslim community are of Arab, Iranian or Turkish, and Afghan origins and the Christian community are of Jewish and European origins. This list excludes caste groups like the Dalits which is a socio-political identity across linguistic, religious and racial lines. In addition, it should be noted that the terms 'Indo-Aryan' and 'Dravidian' refer to linguistic and ethno-racial differences that exist between both groups. Indians Indo-Aryans Mongoloids Dravidians Tribals Konkani (कोंकणे) Marathi (मराठी माणसं) Gujarati (ગુજરાતી લોકો) Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) Kashmiri (کٲشُر) Hindi (हिन्दी) Oriya (ଓଡିଆ) Bengali (বাঙালী) Assamese (অসম) Meghalayans Mizo Tripuri (ত্রিপুরা) Manipuri (মনিপুরি) Naga Lepcha(Róng) (རྫོང) Arunachali (རྫོང་ཁ་) Tamizh (தமிழர்) Telugu (తెలుగు) Kannadiga (ಕನ್ನಡಿಗ) Malayali (മലയാളി) H, C H, M, B, J H, M, J S, H, M S, H, M H, M H, C H, M, A H, M C, H, T C, T H, T H, C C, T B, H B, T, H H, C, M, A H, C H, C H, C, M, A

The national Census of India does not recognize racial or ethnic groups within India, but recognizes many of the tribal groups as Scheduled Castes and Tribes (see list of Scheduled Tribes in India). Nevertheless, modern anthropologists classify Indians as belonging to one of four major ethno-racial groups, which significantly overlap because of racial admixture between populations: Caucasoids, Australoids, Mongoloids and Negritos. The Caucasoids are largely confined to the north and generally speak Indo-Aryan languages; Australoids are found in the south and generally speak Dravidian languages; Mongoloids are largely confined to the Northeastern region of the country and for the most part, speak Tibeto-Burman languages; and Negritos are found on the Andaman Islands located on the southeastern side of the country. These speak a language known simply as Great Andamanese, a linguistic isolate not related to any known language. And finally, Austro-Asiatic languages are spoken by only tribals or Adivasis, who can be of either Australoid or Mongoloid racial stock.

According to a 2009 study published by Reich et al., the modern Indian population is composed of two genetically divergent and heterogeneous populations which mixed in ancient times (about 1,200-3,500 BC), known as Ancestral North Indians (ANI) and Ancestral South Indians (ASI). ASI corresponds to the Dravidian-speaking population of southern India, whereas ANI corresponds to the Indo-Aryan-speaking population of northern India. This demonstrates that there is a genetic basis to ethno-linguistic labels such as "Indo-Aryan" and "Dravidian".

For a list of ethnic groups in the Republic of India (as well as neighboring countries) see ethnic groups of the Indian subcontinent or the tree diagram above.