India is a multi-racial country. When one travels from Kashmir to Kannyakumari or from Kutch to Arunachal Pradesh one not only comes across serene and cultivated beautiful landscapes, rivers, settlements, houses, temples, mosques, churches and Gurudwaras; one also comes across of beautiful men and women dressed in their traditional attire. Dr. B. S. Guha, the first Director of Anthropological Survey of India, who travelled far and wide to undertake strenuous fieldwork in order to map the racial features of the people of India, has written that Indian population primarily show 6 major racial features, namely Negrito, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloid, Mediterranean, Western Brachicephals and Nordic Aryan.

This sort of racial admixture suggests that Indian; population consists of diverse ethnic categories. Simultaneously it also suggests that people of diverse racial and sub-racial categories have come to Indian sub-continent and have settled down at different points of historical time.

Negrito elements are found amongst certain tribal communities and low-ranking castes mainly inhabiting peninsular India. It should be mentioned here that the Negroid population are not presented in the country as a pure race. Negrito elements are found among some Indians as indicated ‘above. Proto-Australoid racial elements among larger section of Indian population who inhabit peninsular and middle India and low castes in rest part of the country.

It would be appropriate to mention that the population of Greater Andaman and Lakshadwip represent Negrito and Proto-Australoid racial features more. The car- Nicoberese demonstrate more mongoloid features, both Palaeo-Mongoloid and Tibeto-Mongoloid. The population in 7 North-eastern States overwhelmingly exhibit Tibeto-Mongoloid characteristics. The Brahmins of adjoining States, such as West Bengal, North Orissa and parts of Bihar carry Mongoloid features.

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The people of Northern India, particularly in the plains including those who inhabit Western parts of the country possess Brachycephal racial characteristics, namely Alpenoids, Dinarics, Armenoids and Nordics. It has been appropriately said that now-a-days race has been a myth than reality.

Frequent migration and inter-marriage have contributed to the admixture of racial elements. What is being emphasized here is that Indian population carries with it a large variety of racial characteristics; as if India is the home of global population.