Indian people
Encyclopedia
Indian people or Indisians constitute the Asian nation
and pan-ethnic group
native to India
, which forms the south of Asia
, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities
, reflecting the rich and complex history of India
. India, in its current boundaries, was formed out of a number of predecessors.
Substantial populations with Indian ancestry, as a result of emigration
, exist in many different parts of the world, most notably in Southeast Asia
, South Africa
, Australia
, England
, Middle East
and North America
. Population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora.
Modern anthropologists classify Indians as belonging to one of four major ethno-racial groups, which overlap significantly because of racial admixture: 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 major 2009 study published by Reich et al. using over 500,000 biallelic autosomal markers, 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.
has more than two thousand ethnic groups and every major religion
is represented, as are four major families
of languages
(Indo-European
, Dravidian
, Austro-Asiatic
and Tibeto-Burman languages
) as well as a language isolate
(the Nihali language
spoken in parts of Maharashtra
).
India's ethnic history is extremely complex; nevertheless, distinct racial divisions between peoples still exist as established by modern anthropologists, despite the fact that 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).
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is the birth place of Hinduism
, Buddhism
, Jainism
and Sikhism
, collectively known as Indian religions. Indian religions, also known as Dharmic religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism
and Buddhism
are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether, and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers. India is also the birthplace for the Jain, Lingayat, and Ahmadiyya
faiths.
India
is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion still plays a central and definitive role in the life of most of its people.
The religion of 80% of the people is Hinduism
. Islam
is practiced by around 13% of all Indians. Sikhism
, Jainism
and especially Buddhism
are influential not only in India but across the world. Christianity
, Zoroastrianism
, Judaism
and the Bahá'í Faith
are also influential but their numbers are smaller. Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, atheism
and agnostics also have visible influence along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people.
Religious majorities vary greatly by state. Jammu and Kashmir
and Lakshadweep
are Muslim
majority states; Nagaland
, Mizoram
and Meghalaya
are Christian
majority; Punjab
is mostly Sikh
; It is to be noted that while participants in the Indian census may choose to not declare their religion, there is no mechanism for a person to indicate that he/she does not adhere to any religion. Due to this limitation in the Indian census process, the data for persons not affiliated with any religion may not be accurate.
India contains the majority of the world's Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains
and Bahá'í. India is also home to the third-largest Muslim
population in the world after Indonesia
and Pakistan
. Muslims are the largest minority population.
, popular
, pop
, classical music
and R&B. India
's classical music
tradition, including Carnatic
and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras, it remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of spiritual inspiration, cultural expression and pure entertainment. India is made up of several dozen ethnic group
s, speaking their own language
s and dialect
s, having very distinct cultural traditions.
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance
and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.
Three best-known hindu
deities, Shiva
, Kali
, Ganesha
and Krishna
, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances
such as Bhangra, Garba
and special dances observed in regional festivals. India offers a number of classical Indian dance
forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. The presentation of Indian dance styles in film, Bollywood
, has exposed the range of dance in India to a global audience.
and social restrictions in India
in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous
hereditary groups, often termed jāti
s or caste
s. Within a jāti, there exist exogamous group
s known as gotra
s, the lineage or clan of an individual. In a handful of sub-castes such as Shakadvipi, endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used (e.g. banning endogamy within a surname).
The Indian caste system involves four castes and outcasted social groups. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities, though they persist in rural areas of the country, where 72% of India's population resides.
(Hindi, from Sanskrit , Bhārata Mātā), Mother India, or Bhāratāmbā (from अंबा ambā 'mother') is the national personification
of India
as a mother goddess
. She is usually depicted as a woman clad in an orange or saffron sari
holding a flag
, and sometimes accompanied by a lion
.
The image of Bharat Mata formed with the Indian independence movement
of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay, Bhārat Mātā, was first performed in 1873.
of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Asian Indian population in the United States grew from almost 1,679,000 in 2000 to 2,570,000 in 2007: a growth rate of 53%, the highest for any Asian American community, and among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States.
and Vancouver
. 3% of the total Canadian population is of Indian ancestry, a figure higher than both the United States and Britain.
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
and pan-ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
native to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, which forms the south of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, containing 17.31% of the world's population. The Indian nationality is in essence made up of regional nationalities
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
, reflecting the rich and complex history of India
History of India
The history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
. India, in its current boundaries, was formed out of a number of predecessors.
Substantial populations with Indian ancestry, as a result of emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
, exist in many different parts of the world, most notably in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora.
Genetics
Basu et al. (2003) emphasize that the combined results from mtDNA, Y-chromosome and autosomal markers suggest that "(1) there is an underlying unity of female lineages in India, indicating that the initial number of female settlers may have been small; (2) the tribal and the caste populations are highly differentiated; (3) the Austro-Asiatic tribals are the earliest settlers in India, providing support to one anthropological hypothesis while refuting some others; (4) a major wave of humans entered India through the northeast; (5) the Tibeto-Burman tribals share considerable genetic commonalities with the Austro-Asiatic tribals, supporting the hypothesis that they may have shared a common habitat in southern China, but the two groups of tribals can be differentiated on the basis of Y-chromosomal haplotypes; (6) the Dravidian tribals were possibly widespread throughout India before the arrival of the Indo-European-speaking nomads, but retreated to southern India to avoid dominance; (7) formation of populations by fission that resulted in founder and drift effects have left their imprints on the genetic structures of contemporary populations; (8) the upper castes show closer genetic affinities with Central Asian populations, although those of southern India are more distant than those of northern India; (9) historical gene flow into India has contributed to a considerable obliteration of genetic histories of contemporary populations so that there is at present no clear congruence of genetic and geographical or sociocultural affinities."Modern anthropologists classify Indians as belonging to one of four major ethno-racial groups, which overlap significantly because of racial admixture: 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
Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese is a collective term used to refer to related indigenous peoples who lived throughout most of the Great Andaman archipelago, the main and closely situated group of islands in the Andaman Islands. Numbering between 200 and 700, each of the Great Andamanese peoples maintained a...
, 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 major 2009 study published by Reich et al. using over 500,000 biallelic autosomal markers, 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.
Ethnic groups
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
has more than two thousand ethnic groups and every major religion
Religion in India
Indian religions is a classification for religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent; namely Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. These religions are also classified as Eastern religions...
is represented, as are four major families
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
of languages
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
(Indo-European
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
, Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
, Austro-Asiatic
Austro-Asiatic languages
The Austro-Asiatic languages, in recent classifications synonymous with Mon–Khmer, are a large language family of Southeast Asia, also scattered throughout India and Bangladesh. The name Austro-Asiatic comes from the Latin words for "south" and "Asia", hence "South Asia"...
and Tibeto-Burman languages
Tibeto-Burman languages
The Tibeto-Burman languages are the non-Chinese members of the Sino-Tibetan language family, over 400 of which are spoken thoughout the highlands of southeast Asia, as well as lowland areas in Burma ....
) as well as a language isolate
Language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
(the Nihali language
Nihali language
Nihali, also known as Nahali or erroneously as Kalto, is a language isolate spoken in west-central India by around 2,000 people out of an ethnic population of 5,000...
spoken in parts of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
).
India's ethnic history is extremely complex; nevertheless, distinct racial divisions between peoples still exist as established by modern anthropologists, despite the fact that 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
Scheduled Castes and Tribes
The Scheduled Castes , also known as the Dalit, and the Scheduled Tribes are two groupings of historically disadvantaged people that are given express recognition in the Constitution of India...
(see list of Scheduled Tribes in India).
A
- Aathi Thamilar Peravai
- Ahir
- AchariAchariAchari or Aasari are last names used by all of Kammalans/ Vishwakarmas/ Vishwabrahmins native to the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala in India. In southern India Achari is a term used to indicate Guru....
- AdivasiAdivasiAdivasi is an umbrella term for a heterogeneous set of ethnic and tribal groups claimed to be the aboriginal population of India. They comprise a substantial indigenous minority of the population of India...
- Agri people
- AharwarAharwarThe Ahirwar, or Aharwar are a Hindu caste found in North India. The historian Robert Vane Russell noted that the Ahirwar are among the Bharia groups with a name connoting descent from a mixed marriage or outside entrance into the clan, with Ahirwar meaning, "descendants of an Ahir".The Ahirwar was...
- AimolAimolThe people of Aimol are settled in different regions in different districts of Manipur and some in Assam and Nagaland. Some people live in Senapati district and some are in Churachandpur district. Most of them are found in Chandel in the South-eastern part of Manipur...
- Anglo-IndianAnglo-IndianAnglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...
- Arab (Gujarat)Arab (Gujarat)A large number of people with Arab origins have over time have settled in the state of Gujarat in India, and now form one of the large communities Muslim in that state. They are also known as Chavuse, especially in Saurashtra...
- Ashtagrama IyerAshtagrama IyerThe Ashtagrama Iyers are a group of Vadama Iyers or South Indian Brahmins with their roots in the Ashtagrama villages situated in the Kolar district of Karnataka.-History:...
- Asur peopleAsur peopleAsur people are a tribal/Adivasi people living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand, mostly in the Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu and Latehar districts....
- AwadhisAwadhisThe Awadhi people are speakers of the Awadhi dialect of Hindi. They live in Awadh in India, as well as Nepal. 2.4% of Nepalis are Awadhi-speakers, mostly from Terai region....
B
- BadhiBadhiThe Badhi are a Hindu caste found in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India. Historically they appear to have been stone grinders but today they are mainly carpenters and laborers. The Badhi are primarily Hindu and are also vegetarians....
- BagataBagataThe Bagata are one of the Scheduled Tribes of India. They live primarily in Andhra Pradesh. They are also known as Bagat, Bagatha, Bagodi, Bhakta or Bogad.The Bagata mainly speak Telugu but they also speak such languages as Oriya...
- Bagdi (caste)Bagdi (caste)The Bagdis are indigenous people descended from people with Dravidian links found in the Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. The Bagdis are populous in Bankura, Birbhum and other districts in the western fringe of West Bengal...
- Bagri (clan)
- BakarwalBakarwalBakarwal is a nomadic tribe based in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountains of South Asia. They are mainly goatherds and shepherds. They are called as Dhangar in rest of India.- Etymology :...
- BanjaraBanjaraThe Banjara are a class of usually described as nomadic people from the Indian state of Rajasthan, North-West Gujarat, and Western Madhya Pradesh and Eastern Sindh province of pre-independence Pakistan...
- BanjariBanjariBanjari are a scheduled tribe in Orissa, India. They are part of Banjara ethnic group....
- BazigarBazigarBazigars are a nomad gipsy-folk of India, found throughout North India. They live a life apart from the surrounding Hindu population, and still preserve a certain ethnical identity, scarcely justified by any indications given by their physique...
- Bengali peopleBengali peopleThe Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
- Betta KurubaBetta KurubaThe Betta Kuruba are an Indian caste. Betta means hill and Kuruba is the caste in Kannada. Betta Kurubas means kurubas of the hills. They live in the high reaches of western ghats of south India. They are classified under the Scheduled Tribes of India....
- Bhandari casteBhandari casteThis Marathi speaking community is mainly found in the state of Maharashtra in India. They are of similar race to that of Ezhavas of Kerala, edigas and billavas of Karanataka. They are basically into toddy shopping, brewing arrack etc. However they were warriors of many kingdoms in central...
- BishnoisBishnoisThe Bishnois are known as the conservationists to whom the preservation of animal and vegetable life is a religion and has been so from the early 15th century. Their spiritual mentor, Guru Jambheshwar was a wise ecologist. He formulated Bis + noi = Bisnoi tenets from which the community derives...
- BhilalaBhilalaThe Bhilala are located in several states in western central India, but mainly in the districts of Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar of Madhya Pradesh and in Dhulia and Jalgaon in Maharashtra. Their language, also called Bhilala, is a sub-group of the Bhil language, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan family...
- BhotiyaBhotiyaThe Bhotiya are groups of ethno-linguistically Tibetan people living in the trans-Himalayan region that divides India from the People's Republic of China, and were originally a hill tribe. Their name, Bhotiya, derives from the word Bod , which is the Classical Tibetan name for Tibet...
- BhutiaBhutiaThe Bhutia are ethnic Tibetans who speak Sikkimese, a Tibetan dialect fairly mutually intelligible to standard Tibetan. In 2001, the Bhutia numbered around 70,300...
- Biate (tribe)Biate (tribe)The Biate people are an indigenous tribal people, or "hill tribe", of Assam. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. Though they are less in term of population, they have their own identity with a rich and distinctive history, culture, dialect and religious heritages. They are also one...
- Bihari peopleBihari peopleThe Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
- Bodo peopleBodo peopleThe Bodos are an ethnic and linguistic community, early settlers of Assam in the North-East of India. According to the 1991 census, there were 1.2 million Bodos in Assam which makes for 5.3% of the total population in the state. Bodos belong to a larger ethnic group called the Bodo-Kachari. The...
- British in IndiaBritish in India-List of British people who lived or were born in India:*Augustus De Morgan*Engelbert Humperdinck *Diana Rigg*Derek Prince*Hugh Bignell, cricketer*Annie Besant*William Makepeace Thackeray*Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis...
- BrokpaBrokpaThe Brokpa are a small community of Dard people residing in the Dha-Hanu valley about 163 km southwest of Leh in Ladakh. They are thought by some to be the purist descendants of the ancient Indo-Europeans....
- Bunt (community)Bunt (community)Bunt , previously spelled Bant, are a community of erstwhile nobility, feudatory and gentry from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala...
- Butt (tribe)
- BaisoyaBaisoyaThe Baisoya are a Gujar clan in India. Alwar, Rajasthan was under the rule of Gurjar king Karna Singh in 972 CE.- Etymology :Baisoya is a Sanskrit word, a portmanteau of bai and soya...
- Bainsla
C
- Chakma peopleChakma peopleThe Chakmas , also known as the Changhma , are a community that inhabits the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the North-East India. The Chakmas are the largest ethnic group in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, making up more than half the tribal population. Chakmas are divided into 46 clans or...
- ChandalaChandalaChandala is a Sanskrit word for someone who deals with disposal of corpses, and is a Hindu lower caste, formerly considered untouchables. Currently it is a term used specifically in Indo-Aryan speaking regions of India. Sandala has become a swear word in the colloquial usage of the Tamil language...
- CharanCharanChāraṇ is the term for a caste living in the Gujarat and Rajasthan states of India. According to Shrimada Bhagwata Skand Charans were created along with other divine forms such as Yaksha, Gandharvas, Kinnara, Sidhdhas, Apsara, etc. and lived with them in Heaven...
- ChaushChaushThe Chaush are a Sunni Muslim community of Hadhrami Arab descent found in the Deccan region of India. An extension of these Arab descendants are also found in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is a Turkish word used particularly during the Ottoman era of the Balkans, 'Chaush' or Čauši were...
- ChhachiChhachiChhachi or Chachi or Chhachhi are a sub section of the Kohli Khokhran clan. Khokharan Chhachi's live in India and Pakistan and are Hindu, Sikh or Muslim. The Khokharan are an ancient clan from the areas of West Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and Afghanistan. The Khokharan clan consists of Anand,...
- ChibChibThe Chib Rajput , is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan found in the northern parts of India and Pakistan. They are mostly a Kashmiri or Punjabi tribe found in both India and Pakistan...
- ChechiChechiChechi or Chechhi is a gotra among the Gurjars. According to Ajmer patels they are Lor Gurjars . The Chechis are spread all over the world specially Central Asia. Some Chechis live in Northern California.According to Rajputana Gazetteer Pushkar was held by Chechis until about 700 years ago....
- ChauhanChauhanChauhan, Chouhan or Chohan , , - is a clan who ruled parts of northern India in the Middle Ages. The clan is most famous for Rajput King Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan...
D
- Denotified tribes of IndiaDenotified tribes of IndiaDenotified tribes , also known as vimukta jati, are the tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 , as Criminal Tribes and "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once a tribe became "notified" as criminal, all its members were required to...
- DerawalDerawalDerawals are a community of people who originated from the Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan region which is now in Pakistan.This region includes the districts of Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and Rajanpur...
- DevadigaDevadigaDevadiga are Tulu speaking Hindu community of temple musicians and Temple attendants who mainly hail from the region of Tulu Nadu in the south west of India which comprises the districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada in the Indian state of Karnataka and Kasaragod taluk of Kerala.-Origins:The name...
- DhadhorDhadhorDhadhor are a subcaste of the Yadav caste, who are mainly found in the eastern states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. Members were traditionally buffalo breeders....
- DhaliwalDhaliwalDhaliwal is a large Jatt clan found mainly in the Malwa portion of Punjab, Haryana also it's gotra in Yaduvanshi Ahirs It is considered to be an old Jatt clan with history dating back over 1000 years.-Lineage, origin and history:...
- DhangarDhangarThe Dhangar caste is primarily located in the Indian state of Maharashtra...
- DhankaDhankaThe Dhanka are an Adivasi group in India. They number slightly over 400,000 people. Over half of the Dhanka live in Gujarat state with smaller populations in Maharashtra and Rajasthan and a small population in Madhya Pradesh....
- DhimalDhimalDhimal or Dhemal is a little known indigenous community of the Terai. They mainly reside in Morang and Jhapa districts of Nepal and Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India...
- Dhivehi people
- Dimasa people
- DograDograThe Dogras are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group in South Asia. Being a diversified group, the Dogras include both Savarnas such as Brahmins, Rajputs and Non-savarnas. The Dogras also incluide merchant castes such as Mahajans...
- Dom peopleDom peopleThe Dom of the Middle East are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group. Some authors relate them to the Domba people of India.- Culture :...
- DombaDombaThe Domba or Dom are an ethnic or social group, or groups, scattered across India. They are usually segregated from the mainstream community as outcastes.The Domba are sometimes also called "Chandala". Both terms also came to be used in the sense of "outcaste" in general...
- Dor RajputDor rajputDor Rajput are a Hindu Rajput clan of India. They are kshatriya Rajputs of Agnivanshi lineage.-History:...
E
- East Indians
- Ethnic communities in KolkataEthnic communities in KolkataKolkata, though comparatively young compared to the Indian city states like Delhi and Hyderabad, has nevertheless been a melting pot for international and Indian communities, even more so than the upscale and cosmopolitan Bombay and Delhi...
- EzhavaEzhavaThe Ezhavas are a community with origins in the region presently known as Kerala. They are also known as Ilhava, Irava, Izhava and Erava in the south of the region; as Chovas, Chokons and Chogons in Central Travancore; and as Tiyyas, Thiyas and Theeyas in Malabar...
G
- GadabasGadabasThe Gadabas are one of the Scheduled Tribes of India. They live primarily in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.There are approximately 67,000 Gadabas. They are involved in both slash and burn and plow cultivation...
- Gakhar HindusGakhar HindusGakhars are a Punjabi community living in India with an ancient recorded history, originally belonging to the areas of West Punjab which now fall in the territory of Pakistan...
- GamitGamitThe Gamits or Gavits are a small Indian tribal population residing in Surat, Bharuch and Tapi districts of south Gujarat and Dhule and Nandurbar districts of north Maharashtra. These indigenous people speak Gamit, which has no written script and belongs to Bhil subgroup of the central Indo Aryan...
- GaneriwalGaneriwalGaneriwal, is a community of people from Rajasthan, India. They are also known as Agrawals. In terms of population, Ganeriwals are a relatively small group. They originate from Rajasthan: their ancestors come from a village named Ganeri in that state. They are one of the oldest Marwari...
- GardiGardiGardis are a sub-caste of the Bhil community of the Deccan Plateau in India.-About the Gardi:The Gardi is Daniel Gardel Gómez community essentially was a hunting tribe. Gardis originally were members of the Bhil community who worked for the local tribal chiefs as personal guards in their private...
- Gav-ParadhiGav-ParadhiThe Gav-Paradhi are one of the Paradhi Tribes of India. Unlike the other Paradhi tribes they were not classed as a 'Criminal Tribe' by the British Raj government, under Criminal Tribes Act 1871...
- GhanchiGhanchi- Ghanchi Muslim Jamaat Name :BHADAR KHATIYA , BOMBAY HALAI , DALAL , DETHARIYA , GODHRA , HALAI , JAMNAGAR , JUNAGADH , KADIWAL , KUTCHI , LUNAWADA , MANGROLIA , MODASA , MODAN , PRABHAS PATAN , RADHANPURA , RAJKOT , SORTHIYA , ZALAWAD , ZALAWADIA - Origin :The name is of Hindi origin, and means...
- Ghanchi (Muslim)Ghanchi (Muslim)The Ghanchi are a Gujarati Muslim community found in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India. A small number of Ghanchi are also found in the city of Karachi in Pakistan. - Origin :...
- GhotisGhotisGhotis , also called Paschimbangiyas or Edeshis , are a social group native to West Bengal , India. Their dialects, folk traditions and cuisine are distinct from those of the Purbabangiyas or the natives of erstwhile eastern Bengal.The term came into greater use after many people from Bangladesh...
- GhumanGhumanGhuman are a Rajput tribe, found in Pakistan and Northern Indian States of Punjab and Haryana. Ghumman is a Chandravanshi Rajput clan of Janjua Rajput lineage in Punjab that claims Lunar origin by direct descent from Raja Sanpal Janjua of Janjua Rajput ancestry...
- Gondi peopleGondi peopleThe Gondi, Goindi or Gond people are people in central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and Western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India.The Gondi language is related to...
- GoraaGoraaGoraa and Gora are alternative spellings for a gotra among the Ror Kshatriyas of North India.- History :Gora and Badal are the central heroes of many "Bardic Tales" in the history of Rajputana. These two warriors played a great role and won eternal fame while trying to protect Rani Padmini from the...
- Gujarati peopleGujarati peopleGujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
- Gurjar (also known as Gujjar or Gujar)
- GurkhaGurkhaGurkha are people from Nepal who take their name from the Gorkha District. Gurkhas are best known for their history in the Indian Army's Gorkha regiments, the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas and the Nepalese Army. Gurkha units are closely associated with the kukri, a forward-curving Nepalese knife...
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- HalbiHalbiHalbi or Halba is a tribal community of India. It is mostly found in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.The word Halba is derived from word hal . The Halba were farmers and landlords. The Halba tribes was the one of the major and most influential tribal group of...
- HanjraHanjraHanjrah is a clan of Jats found in the Punjab, Pakistan and Northern Indian state of Punjab.Raja Jagnath, was the younger son of Raja Giyal, the conqueror of Makhiala...
- HauzelHauzelHauzel is a clan found to be within the Paite tribe of north-east India particularly in Manipur and Mizoram areas. They are also found in the Chin State of Burma as a Tedim-Chin sub-clan. The Hauzels are most concentrated in Lamka, the second largest town of Manipur, India.In Mizoram many of them...
- Hill ReddisHill ReddisThe Hill Reddis or Konda Reddis are one of the Scheduled tribes of India. They live in Andhra Pradesh state. It should be noted that the Konda Reddis must be distinguished from and are entirely unrelated to the Hindu caste also known by the name Reddi. They tend to live in the Godavari district as...
- HilpulayanHilpulayanThe Hilpulyan are an Adivasi group in Kerala, India. They have the lowest education level, the most unsanitary living-conditions and generally the lowest income level of any Adivasi group in Idukki District. Most work as manual laborers on the farms of others and supplement their food and other...
- HindkowansHindkowansHindkowans or known locally as "Chachi's" are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group native to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan...
- Ho peopleHo peopleThe Ho people are a tribe of people belonging to the Indian state of Jharkhand.They are the fourth most numerous scheduled tribe Jharkhand after Santals, Oraons, and Mundas, and constitute around 10.5 percent of the total population in the state, numbering 7,087,068 in the 2001 census...
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- Ismailis
- India tribal belt
- Indo-Greeks
- Irani
- Iraqi biradriIraqi biradriThe word Birâdrî means Brotherhood originating from the word Birâdar meaning "Brother" in Persian. In Pakistan and India it is used to denote a number of social strata among Muslims....
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- Jat
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- Kadia (community)Kadia (community)Kadia is a Hindu community in Gujarat State of India. They are specialised in masonry works, artistic carvings and sculpting as well as artistic wooden works.- History and origin :...
- Kadia KumbharKadia KumbharKadia Kumbhar are a minority Hindu community found in Gujarat State of India. They generally speak Gujarati language. They are one the Backward Classes of Gujarat. Their total population is estimated to be only 11,000....
- Kadia Kumbhar Kshatriya
- Kadia kshatriyasKadia kshatriyasKadia Kshatriyas are a minority group of the Hindu community in Gujarat State, India...
(Mistri or Gurjar Kshatriyas) - KadiyanKadiyanKadiyan is a Ror Kshatriya gotra found in the states of Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh in Northern India.- Location :Kadian, Kadyan, Kadiyan are alternate spellings for a clan of the Ror Kshatriyas. The Kadiyan clan has three villages in the fertile belt of Haryanain Bhiwani Distt.Mithi village...
- KahloonKahloonKahlon is a surname used in Punjab in India and Punjab in Pakistan.-History of Kahlon:The Kahlon's claim descent from Raja Vikramajit, through Raja Jag Deo of Daranager, of the Lunar Dynasty.The home of the clan is Batala in the Gurdaspur District...
- KaibarttaKaibarttaKaibarta — The Kaibartas are found to be one of the aboriginal ethnic groups that inhabited in Orrisa, Bengal and Assam from unknown past. The most established theory is that the Kaibartas are Dravidians or they belong to Dravidian stalk...
- KalsiyanKalsiyan- About Kalsiyan Khap :The Kalsiyan Khap of Gujjars live in Kairana Distt. PrabudhnagarU.P. It is estimated that there are around 84 villages, where the Rana Chauhan Gujjars of Kalsiyan Khap lives. The main source of their livelihood is agriculture.The Kalsiyans are now focusing on education...
- KamaiKamaiKamais are a Himalayan people who are Aryan in origin. The Kamais resemble the Damais closely in physical features and are found in Sikkim and Kalimpong in India. They are mostly Hindus and their traditional occupations were as smiths, namely goldsmiths and blacksmiths. They are believed to be the...
- KambojKambojThe Kambojs , also Kamboh, are an ethnic community of the Punjab region. They may relate to the Kambojas, an Iranian tribe known to the people of Iron Age India and mentioned in ancient Sanskrit texts and epigraphy. Kamboj is frequently used as a surname in lieu of the sub-caste or the gotra name...
- KaniyarKaniyarKaniyar are a caste of India with origins in the states of Kerala and Karnataka. There are regional variations in the name used to define them. The Kerala Public Service Commission considers Kaniyar Panicker to be one group in their list of designated Other Backward Classes, and Kalari...
- Kannada VaishyaKannada VaishyaThe Kannada Vaishya in Uttara Kannada are a small sect of people. They are mainly found in Ankola and Karwar taluks of the district.They say their ancestors came from Goa. They are different from Arya Vaishyas of Mysore area. Some are engaged in small business like preparation of beaten rice, its...
- Kannadiga
- Kashmiri MuslimsKashmiri MuslimsKashmiri Muslims are Kashmiri people who are Muslims, currently living in Kashmir or those originally with Kashmiri kinship and descent living in Pakistan. Kashmiris are ethinically and culturally closer to central asian culture than Indian or Pakistani culture with significant influence of the...
- Kashmiri PanditKashmiri PanditThe Kashmiri Pandits are a Hindu Brahmin community originating from Kashmir, a mountainous region in South Asia.-Background:The Hindu caste system of the region was influenced by the influx of Buddhism from the time of Asoka, around the third century BCE, and a consequence of this was that the...
- Kashmiri peopleKashmiri peopleThe Kashmiri people are a Dardic linguistic group living in Kashmir Valley in Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of the Pakistani territory of Azad Kashmir who speak the Kashmiri language...
- KatkuriKatkuriKatkuri is a clan that hails from the Deccan region of India. Katkuri's are part of the Motati Reddy caste and are highlighted in many Indian mythological works for their strong will power and excellence at war....
- KattunayakanKattunayakanKattunayakan is a primitive tribal group of the southern states of India. They live mainly in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. This community is believed to be the modern representatives of the ancient Pallavas....
- KhakhaKhakhaThe Khakha Rajputs of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan are clan of Muslim Rajputs who have inhabited the Kashmiri region since the 13th century after the conquer of Janjua warlord Raja Khakha of the region of Upper Jhelum Valley of Kashmir.They are a branch of the powerful Janjua Rajput dynasty of Northern...
- Khasi
- KharwarKharwarKharwars are found in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Chhattisgarh,Madhyapradesh.The community claim to have originally suryavanshi kshatriya and chero rule also trace their descent from the suryavanshi kshatriya .They wear the janeo or...
- Khudabadi Sindhi SwarankarKhudabadi Sindhi SwarankarThe Khudabadi Sindhi Swarankar is a Kshatriya Hindu cultural group of India, historically associated with the city of Khudabad as well as city of Hyderabad of Sindh region of modern Pakistan prior to the Partition of India...
- Kodaku people
- Koireng TribeKoireng TribeThe Koirengs are a sparsely scattered tribe around the surrounding foothills of the Imphal valley of Manipur, NE India. The present geographical location of their dwellings include:*Longa Koireng a.k.a Thanglong Village ,...
- Kom peopleKom people (India)The Kom are a community of people mainly found in Manipur, North-East India. They are scattered over all the districts of Manipur. They have very close cultural similarities with non-Naga tribes of Manipur, native tribes of Tripura and the Mizos . They are a sub-tribe of Komrem/Komhrem...
- KondhaKondhaThe Kondha are indigenous tribal groups of India. They live in Orissa, a state in Eastern India. Their highest concentration is found in the blocks of Rayagada, Kashipur, Kalyansinghpur, Bissamcuttack and Muniguda....
- Konkani peopleKonkani peopleKonkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....
- Kumauni peopleKumauni peopleKumauni or Kumaoni are people from Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India.They include all those who speak the Kumaoni language or any of its numerous dialects, living in the Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat, Pithoragarh, Nainital,Bijnor,Udham Singh Nagar,Moradabad, districts of Uttarakhand,...
- KurichiyaKurichiyaKurichiya or Kurichiyar also known as Hill Brahmins or Malai Brahmins are a matrilineal tribe of Kerala distributed mainly in Wayanad and Kannur districts of Kerala, India. Kurichiyans are one of the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala practicing agriculture.-Etymology :The name Kurichiyan was given by the...
- Kutch Gurjar Kashtriya
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- LabbayLabbayLabbay, Labbai, Labba, Labbabeen is an Islamic community from southern India. A trading community spread through the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Labbays follow either the Hanafi or Shafi'i school of Fiqh.-Identity and origins:Their name is derived from the...
- Lai people
- Limbu peopleLimbu peopleThe Yakthung or Limbu tribes and clans belong to the Kirati nation or to the Kirat confederation.They are indigenous to the hill and mountainous regions of east Nepal between the Arun and Mechi rivers to as far as Southern Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim....
- List of Jat clans
- Lodha MuslimsLodha MuslimsThe Lodha Muslim are a tribal or Adivasi community found in the state of West Bengal in India. They are Muslim converts from the Hindu Lodha tribe.-Origin:...
- Lodha peopleLodha peopleLodha people are a tribal/Adivasi people living primarily in the Indian states of West Bengal and Orissa, mostly in the Paschim Medinipur district. A section of the Lodha has converted to Islam, and form a distinct community of Lodha Muslims.-Demographics:...
- LohanaLohanaThe Lohana also referred to as Luvana are an Indian caste,largely classified as merchants and are categorized as Vaishya or Bania caste although their ancient history proves that they are Kshatriya of Suryavanshi descant, claiming their lineage from Lava, son of Rama...
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- MadraMadraMadra, Mada or Madraka is the name of an ancient region and its inhabitants, located in the north-west division of the ancient Indian sub-continent.-Uttaramadra division:...
- MadrakMadrakMadrak is the name of ancient king of Āryāvarta, as per Vishnu Puran Madrak related to Anu Vansh. After a long time Madrak established as a lord of Sumerians and gotra of ancient Aryan royals. Madrak is lord of Aryan king Cyrus the great of Anushayan Aryavrata nowadays in Persian territory...
- Mahl peopleMahl peopleMaldivians , also called Maldive Islanders are a nation and ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands comprising what is now the Republic of Maldives and the island of Minicoy in Union territory of Lakshadweep, India...
- MahtamMahtamMahatams are a clan found among Punjabis of India and Pakistan . They are Hindus as well as Muslims, and in the 1920s the former were mainly cultivators and the latter were clearers of the jungle....
- Mal Paharia peopleMal Paharia people-Society:The Mal Paharias who live in the southern hills of Damin-i-koh and in the south and east of Santhal Parganas have been Hinduised.The Mal Paharias survive on agriculture and forest produce....
- Malak teliMalak teliMalak teli is a Muslim community currently residing in great numbers in the region of northwest India - Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, Northern Rajasthan, Sindh and Punjab. Their profession has been oil pressing and ginning which, most of the community members, are still practising...
- MalayarayanMalayarayanThe term "Malai Arayan" or "Malayarayan" are a term belongs to a tribal communityScheduled Tribe who lives in parts of Kottayam,Idukki and Pathanamthitta Districts of Kerala a State of southern India.They are listed as part of Scheduled Tribes by the Govt of India considering the ethnicity.Majority...
- Mannan peopleMannan peopleThe Mannan people are one of the Scheduled Tribes who live in Idukki District in Kerala, India. The Mannan have a hereditary king who leads them. They are said to be descendants of Pandyan King and mother tongue is Tamil....
- Marathi peopleMarathi peopleThe Marathi people or Maharashtrians are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, that inhabit the Maharashtra region and state of western India. Their language Marathi is part of the southern group of Indo-Aryan languages...
- Mech tribeMech tribeMech tribe is one of the scheduled tribes of India and belong to Bodo-Kachari group of tribes. They belong to Mongoloid race and speak mainly Bodo language, which is a Tibeto-Burman dialect but have got influenced by the Assamese language. The Mech people live in the Dooars region of West Bengal...
- MeenasMeenasMeenas, Meena, Meenoat or Mina is a caste and community mainly found in Rajasthan, India. The name Mina is derived from Meen,meaning 'fish' in Sanskrit, and the Minas claim descent from the Matsya Avatar, or fish incarnation, of Vishnu.Meenas celebrate Meenesh Jayanti in the name of Vishnu on 3...
- Meitei peopleMeitei peopleThe Meeteis or Meiteis are the majority ethnic group of Manipur, India, and because of this are sometimes referred to as Manipuris. Generally speaking, Meitei is an endonym and Manipuri is an exonym...
- MemonMemonMemons are an ethnic group who trace their roots largely to Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar in South Asia, and are sometimes seen as transitional between the three regions. Memons predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam...
- MilhiemMilhiemThe Milhiems are an ethnic group living in parts of Northeast India and Myanmar. Some writers refer to them as Milhem, Meriem, Mirem, Marrem or Miriam. They belong to the "Old Kuki tribes" of Manipur. The Milhiems believe that they descend from a common ancestor who came from a cave which they call...
- MistrisMistri (caste)The Mistri or Mistris are a Hindu caste found in state of Gujarat in India.-Names of casts known as Mistri:There are two different casts by same name:-...
- MizoMizoThe Mizo people are linguistically of the Kuki peoples native to north-eastern India, western Burma including Tahan and eastern Bangladesh; who speak the Mizo language...
- MughalMughal (tribe)The term Mughal is simply a Turkic word and many groups in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh use the term Mughal to describe themselves...
- Muslims of ManipurMuslims of ManipurThe Manipuri Muslims locally known as Pangal are a cultural group and religious minority who have been living peacfully with the majority community- the Meitei who are co-valley dwellers and with hill inhabitants- Naga and Kuki who are Christians. Muslims have been living in Manipur, North East...
- MuthuvanMuthuvanThe Muthuvan people were loyal subjects of the dynasty of Madurai, according to tribal legend. When the dynasty was deposed, the surviving royal members migrated to Travancore, central Kerala, and established the famed Poonjar dynasty. On their way to Kerala, the Muthuvas carried the idols of...
N
- Nadavara
- Namadhari naikNamadhari naikNamadhari naik is a Hindu Vaishnava community predominantly found in Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Daksina Kannada District of Karnataka State in India and are numerically a majority community in the district . They are also known as Halepaika and are referred to as the same in most of the literature...
- Namassej
- NarikuravaNarikuravaThe Narikuravar are a community of people from Tamil Nadu, India.The main occupation of the people who originally belong to the indigenous tribes, is hunting. But as they were prohibited entry into the forests to pursue this livelihood, they were forced to take up other alternatives such as...
- Nepali IndianNepali IndianNepali Indian are people who are citizens or full-time residents of India whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in the South Asian nation of Nepal...
- Nomadic tribes in IndiaNomadic tribes in IndiaThe word Nomadic Tribes refers to the people who were forced to live a wandering life by the Indian Caste System. The Nomadic and Denotified Tribes consist of about 60 million in India, out of which about five million lives in Maharashtra...
- Norteiro peopleNorteiro peopleNorteiro people are people who live in the former Portuguese exclaves in the western littoral of South Asia;The word Norteiro, meaning "Northerner," comes from the Portuguese. The term refers to the city of Baçaim, which was styled the "Court of the North" and stood second only to the city of Goa ...
O
- Oriya peopleOriya peopleThe Oriya, known classically by various names , are an ethnic group of eastern India and of eastern Indo-Aryan stock...
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- PalnitkarPalnitkarPalnitkar is one of the many last names used a certain subcaste of Brahmins in India. This subcaste is called Konkanastha Chitpavan.Palnitkars as most of the Konkanastha Chitpavan Brahmins originate in the Konkan strip located on western seacoast of India about 300–500 miles south of Mumbai...
- PanesarPanesarPanesar is a clan of the Ramgarhia tribe that inhabits Punjab India and most of their lives in doaba areas of Punjab. Tarkhans normally work as carpenters. Tarkhans mainly follow Sikhism....
- PangalPangalThe Pangals, also pronounced as Pangans are the minority ethnic group of people reside in Northeast India and also found in Bangladesh. Pangals are also known as Meitei -Pangal or Manipuri Muslim....
- PangliPangliPangli is a Jat clan originating in the Punjab state in north India. Current day settlements of Panglis have been confirmed in:-Jagat Pur Jattan near Phagwara, Punjab - IndiaVillage Panglian near Kohara on Chandigarh Road Ludhiana, Punjab - India...
- ParsiParsiParsi or Parsee refers to a member of the larger of the two Zoroastrian communities in South Asia, the other being the Irani community....
- PathaniPathaniA Rajput clan from the Kumaun Himalayas Not to be confused with Pathanias of HimanchalPathani of the Attigoan and Kamsyar region of Gangolihat tehsil Pithoragarh district of the Kumaon Himalayas of Uttarakhand belong to the Chandravanshi clan of Kshatriyas Kumaoni Rajputs .Pathani people are...
- PatnūlkararPatnulkararPatnūlkaras are a Hindu community of weavers from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They are generally of Gujarati origin.- History :The word Patnūlkaran means "silk-thread people". These people are first mentioned as Pattavayaka, the Sanskrit equivalent of Patnulkaran in the Mandasor inscriptions of...
- PendharkarPendharkarPendharkar is a family name used by a group of people from Maharashtra, India. Pendharkars are Maharashtrian Karhade Brahmins.Pendharkars are now migrated all over the world, still a majority of them are in Maharashtra. Previously 'Konkani' and now 'Marathi' is their...
- Phase PardhiPhase PardhiPhase Pardhi or Phasse Pardhi are a tribe in India. The tribe often faces harassment by Indian law enforcement agencies. The tribe is found mostly in Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh. The Phasse are a sub tribe of the Pardhi caste, which includes sub-castes like Gav-Paradhi, Berad-Paradhi,...
- PulayarPulayarThe Pulayar , also Pulayar, Pulaya, or Pulayas or Holeya or Cheramar, are one of the main social groups found in Kerala, Karnataka and in historical Tamil Nadu or Tamilakam.- Traditions :...
- Punjabi peoplePunjabi peopleThe Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
- NarwaNarwaNarwa is a Jatt/Rajput Gotra of India/Pakistan. The Jatt section use the name Narwa while the Rajput section call themselves Narma. Places like Narwal are founded by Narwa Jatts....
- MarrarMarrarMarrar is a Jatt tribe of Pakistan and India. According to the book Glossary of tribes Castes of Punjab and NW Province Marrars were Sombansi Rajputs. Many Rajput tribes during wars and famine began to cultivate their lands and hence began being termed as Jatts...
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- Rana (clan)Rana (clan)Rana is a family name, originally a Hindu ancestry now found in all religions such as Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism etc. Rana is a surname used by the Rajputs of India, Pakistan and Nepal...
- RorRorThe Ror is a Kshatriya community and numbers between 750,000 and 1,000,000. They hold nearly 270 villages in Haryana and 52 more in Western Uttar Pradesh and the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand....
- Rajasthani peopleRajasthani peopleRajasthani people are the native inhabitants of Rajasthan region of India. They form an ethnic group which is a result of assimilation of Scytho-Dravidian, Aryo-Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Greeks, Indo-Iranians and Austro-Asiatic ancestries...
S
- S'gawS'gawThe S'gaw or Paganyaw are an ethnic group of Burma and Thailand. They speak the S'gaw Karen language.-Classification:The S'gaw are a Karen ethnic group, part of the larger Tibeto-Burman ethnicity...
- Sait
- SambavarsSambavarsSambavars are a group of people who are living in the southern states of India especially in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is believed that this people are the descendants of Sambuvaraya, a Tamil king. These people form the majority social group in the Kanyakumari district. The word Sambavar came...
- SangwanSangwanSangwan or sangwa is a clan or gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh in India. The Sangwan clan is also settled in Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan...
- Sansi
- Saurashtra peopleSaurashtra peopleSourashtra or "Sourashtras" refers to a community of people who speak the Saurashtra language. They had their original homes in Gujarat and migrated to Madurai and other places of Tamil Nadu...
- Sauria Paharia peopleSauria Paharia peopleThe Sauria Paharia people are a tribal people of Jharkhand in India. They are found mostly in Santhal Parganas.-Link with Oraons:...
- SathwaraSathwaraThe Sathwara or Sathvara or Satwara are a Hindu caste found in the state of Gujarat in India.- History and origin :There are several traditions as to the origin of the Sathwara community. According to one such tradition, they are descended from a Rajput who took a Kurmi wife and then left North...
- SavjiSavji“Savji” or “Somavanshi Sahastrarjun Kshatriyas” are people who belong to the Kshatriya community within the Hindu caste system in India. They claim their linage to legendary puranic king Sri Sahasrārjuna also called Kartavirya Arjuna or Sahastrabahu of the Haihaya vansha...
- Seraiki people
- ShivnetraShivnetraThe Shivnetras are an almost extinct community which originated from Varanasi in Northern India.Similar to the Kshatriyas but somewhat more controversial in social context,...
- Shunta TribeShunta Tribe-Introduction:The Udeep Tribe of India represent about 300 families living in northern India. Based solely in the Himichal Pradesh of northern India, the Udeep live in two different towns each controlled by a separate clan. The town of Junkow is home to the Kulkarni clan while the Chhattispur...
- SiddiSiddiThe Siddi, Siddhi, or Sheedi , also known as Habshi, are an Indian and Pakistani ethnic group of Afro-Arab and/or Black African descent. The Siddi population is currently estimated to be 20,000–55,000, with Gujarat and Hyderabad in India the main population centre. Siddis are mainly Sufi Muslims,...
- Sindhi peopleSindhi peopleSindhis are a Sindhi speaking socio-ethnic group of people originating from Sindh, a province Formerly of British India, now in Pakistan. Today Sindhis that live in Pakistan belong to various religious denominations including Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity...
- SinlungSinlungSinlung, sometimes called Chhinlung or Khul, is the ancestral home of the Zonhnathlak. The Hmars trace their origin to Sinlung. Numerous poems, songs and tales about this place have been made and handed down from generation to generation. However, the exact location of Sinlung is still open to debate...
- SukteSukteThe Sukte are a Kuki people in Manipur state in India. They were listed as Salhte in the 1947 Constitution where they are among the groups given Adivasi status. They are commonly referred to as the Tiddim Chin by others, but they use the name Sukte for themselves.Only five people were counted in...
- SutharSutharThe Suthar or Sutar is a Hindu caste within the Vishwakarma community of India. They are also found in the province of Sindh in Pakistan . They are also known as Mistry in Saurashtra.-The Origin :...
- Syrian Malabar NasraniSyrian Malabar NasraniThe Syrian Malabar Nasrani people, also known as Saint Thomas Christians, "'Nasrani Mappila'" and Nasranis, are an ethnoreligious group from Kerala, India, adhering to the various churches of the Saint Thomas Christian tradition...
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- Tai ethnic groups in IndiaTai ethnic groups in IndiaThe following is a list of Tai ethnic groups in India.*Ahom people*Phake*Khamti*Aiton*Khamyang*Turung...
- Tamil peopleTamil peopleTamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
- Tari TribeTari TribeTari is a Kashmiri tribe and family name in the Kashmir region of India and Pakistan....
- Tea-tribesTea-tribesThe Tea-tribes are found mainly in the districts of Darrang, Sonitpur, Nagaon, Jorhat, Golaghat, Dibrugarh, Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj Tinsukia and almost all the districts of Assam in India. Santhali speakers are also found in parts of Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts...
- Telugus in IndiaTelugus in IndiaThe Telugus are dominant in the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh i.e. Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Medak, Warangal, Rangareddy, Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, Khammam, Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, East Godavari, Guntur, West Godavari, Krishna, Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam,...
- Thakar
- Thondaimandala Mudaliar
- Tiddim (Hai-Dim)Tiddim (Hai-Dim)The Tiddim, or Tedim, are an ethnic group of Myanmar. They speak the Tiddim Chin language which had a total of about 345,000 speakers in 1990. Some 190,000 of these lived in Burma with about 155,000 of them residing in India. The Tiddim are numbered at about 230,000 people...
- Toto tribeToto tribeThe Toto is a primitive and isolated tribal group residing only in a small enclave called Totopara in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India. Totopara is located at the foot of the Himalayas just to the south of the borderline between Bhutan and West Bengal...
- TuluvaTuluvaThe Tuluva -Geographic Distribution :Though most of the Tuluva population is found in the Tulu Nadu region, migrant poplulations are found the world over. In recent times, the first period of migration started at the beginning of the 20th century to places such as Mumbai and Chennai and other...
U
- UlladanUlladanThe Ulladan are an Adivasi group in Idukki District, Kerala, India. Most of them are agricultural workers and forest gatherers. However some have moved to the plains and work as wood-cutters or yacht-makers...
- Uttarakhand BhotiyaUttarakhand BhotiyaUttarakhand Bhotiya are an ethno-linguistic group of people resided in the upper Himalayan valleys of the Kumaon and Garhwal of Uttarakhand Himalayas. These include the Shaukas of Kumaon and Tolchhas and Marchhas of Garhwal. Their name, Bhotiya, derives from the word Bod , which is the Classical...
V
- Vataliya Prajapati
- Vishwakarma (caste)
W
- Waraich
- WararWararThe Warar is a Jat clan.They moved from Pakistan and settled in North India and mainly in the village Mullia wali, in the Firozpur District of Punjab State during the 1947 Partition of India....
Y
- YerukalaYerukalaYerukala, Yerukula, Erukala, Erukula, or Kurru is a community found largely in the Southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. Yerukalas are indigenous people of South India. They call themselves ‘Kurru’. They are called as ‘Yerukula’ in Andhra Pradesh after their women’s...
Religion
IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is the birth place of Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
, collectively known as Indian religions. Indian religions, also known as Dharmic religions are a major form of world religions along with Abrahamic ones. Today, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
are the world's third- and fourth-largest religions respectively, with over 2 billion followers altogether, and possibly as many as 2.5 or 2.6 billion followers. India is also the birthplace for the Jain, Lingayat, and Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya is an Islamic religious revivalist movement founded in India near the end of the 19th century, originating with the life and teachings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad , who claimed to have fulfilled the prophecies about the world reformer of the end times, who was to herald the Eschaton as...
faiths.
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion still plays a central and definitive role in the life of most of its people.
The religion of 80% of the people is Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
is practiced by around 13% of all Indians. Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
, Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and especially Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
are influential not only in India but across the world. Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
are also influential but their numbers are smaller. Despite the strong role of religion in Indian life, atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and agnostics also have visible influence along with a self-ascribed tolerance to other people.
Religious majorities vary greatly by state. Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
and Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala...
are Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
majority states; Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
, Mizoram
Mizoram
Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the...
and Meghalaya
Meghalaya
Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...
are Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
majority; Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
is mostly Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
; It is to be noted that while participants in the Indian census may choose to not declare their religion, there is no mechanism for a person to indicate that he/she does not adhere to any religion. Due to this limitation in the Indian census process, the data for persons not affiliated with any religion may not be accurate.
India contains the majority of the world's Zoroastrians, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and Bahá'í. India is also home to the third-largest Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population in the world after Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Muslims are the largest minority population.
| Religious Composition | Population | (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Hindus | 827,578,868 | 80.5% |
| Muslims | 138,188,240 | 13.4% |
| Christians | 24,080,016 | 2.3% |
| Sikhs | 19,215,730 | 1.9% |
| Buddhists | 7,955,207 | 0.8% |
| Jains | 4,225,053 | 0.4% |
| Other religions & persuasions | 6,639,626 | 0.6% |
| Religion not stated | 727,588 | 0.1% |
| Total | 1,028,610,328 | 100.0% |
Music and dance
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folkFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, popular
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
and R&B. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's classical music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
tradition, including Carnatic
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras, it remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of spiritual inspiration, cultural expression and pure entertainment. India is made up of several dozen ethnic group
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
s, speaking their own language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s and dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s, having very distinct cultural traditions.
Dance in India covers a wide range of dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
and dance theatre forms, from the ancient classical or temple dance to folk and modern styles.
Three best-known hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
deities, Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
, Ganesha
Ganesha
Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...
and Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, are typically represented dancing. There are hundreds of Indian folk dances
Indian folk dances
Indian folk and tribal dances are simple dances, and are performed to express joy. Folk and tribal dances are performed for every possible occasion, to celebrate the arrival of seasons, birth of a child, a wedding and festivals. The dances are extremely simple with minimum of steps or movement. The...
such as Bhangra, Garba
Garba
Garba can mean;* Garba , a form of dance originating in Gujarat, India. The term "garba" holds the semantic field 'womb' and is part of the Sanskrit compounds: Hiranyagarbha, Tathagatagarbha, Garbhagriha and Garbhadhatu.-Places:*Garba, Central African Republic*Garba, Sichuan* Garba, the Hungarian...
and special dances observed in regional festivals. India offers a number of classical Indian dance
Classical Indian dance
Indian classical dance is a relatively new umbrella term for various codified art forms rooted in Natya, the sacred Hindu musical theatre styles, whose theory can be traced back to the Natya Shastra of Bharata Muni .- Definitions :...
forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. The presentation of Indian dance styles in film, Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
, has exposed the range of dance in India to a global audience.
Caste system
The Indian caste system describes the system of social stratificationSocial stratification
In sociology the social stratification is a concept of class, involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions."...
and social restrictions in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in which social classes are defined by thousands of endogamous
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
hereditary groups, often termed jāti
Jati
Jāti is the term used to denote clans, tribes, communities and sub-communities in India. It is a term used across religions. In Indian society each jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or tribe, although religious beliefs Jāti (in Devanagari: जाति Tamil:சாதி) (the...
s or caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s. Within a jāti, there exist exogamous group
Exogamous group
Exogamous group is a section of society within which marriages are prohibited. A marriage within an exogamous group is regarded as incestuous.Examples of exogamous groups are:* Gotras and Clans in the castes in India.* "Fis" among the Albanians...
s known as gotra
Gotra
In the Hindu society, the term Gotra broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor. Panini defines gotra for grammatical purposes as apatyam pautraprabhrti gotram , which means "the word gotra denotes the progeny beginning with the son's son"...
s, the lineage or clan of an individual. In a handful of sub-castes such as Shakadvipi, endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used (e.g. banning endogamy within a surname).
The Indian caste system involves four castes and outcasted social groups. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities, though they persist in rural areas of the country, where 72% of India's population resides.
National personification
Bharat MataBharat Mata
Bhārat Mātā , Mother India, or Bhāratāmbā is the national personification of India as a mother goddess...
(Hindi, from Sanskrit , Bhārata Mātā), Mother India, or Bhāratāmbā (from अंबा ambā 'mother') is the national personification
National personification
A national personification is an anthropomorphization of a nation or its people; it can appear in both editorial cartoons and propaganda.Some early personifications in the Western world tended to be national manifestations of the majestic wisdom and war goddess Minerva/Athena, and often took the...
of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
as a mother goddess
Mother goddess
Mother goddess is a term used to refer to a goddess who represents motherhood, fertility, creation or embodies the bounty of the Earth. When equated with the Earth or the natural world such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother.Many different goddesses have...
. She is usually depicted as a woman clad in an orange or saffron sari
Sari
A sari or sareeThe name of the garment in various regional languages include: , , , , , , , , , , , , , is a strip of unstitched cloth, worn by females, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. It is popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal,...
holding a flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
, and sometimes accompanied by a lion
Asiatic Lion
The Asiatic lion also known as the Indian lion, Persian lion and Eurasian Lion is a subspecies of lion. The only place in the wild where the lion is found is in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India...
.
The image of Bharat Mata formed with the Indian independence movement
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
of the late 19th century. A play by Kiran Chandra Bandyopadhyay, Bhārat Mātā, was first performed in 1873.
Indian diaspora
Population estimates vary from a conservative 12 million to 20 million diaspora.United States
According to the American Community SurveyAmerican Community Survey
The American Community Survey is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, sent to approximately 250,000 addresses monthly . It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census...
of the U.S. Census Bureau, the Asian Indian population in the United States grew from almost 1,679,000 in 2000 to 2,570,000 in 2007: a growth rate of 53%, the highest for any Asian American community, and among the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States.
Britain
The British Indian community had grown to number over one million. According to the 2001 UK Census, 1,053,411 Britons had full Indian ethnicity (representing 1.8% of the UK's population). An overwhelming majority of 99.3% resided in England (in 2008 the figure is thought to be around 97.0%). In the seven year period between 2001 and 2009, the number of Indian-born people in the UK increased in size by 38% from 467,634 to around 647,000 (an increase of approximately 180,000).Canada
There are over 1.2 million Indian people in Canada, the majority of which live in Greater TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. 3% of the total Canadian population is of Indian ancestry, a figure higher than both the United States and Britain.
See also
- List of Indians
- Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian OriginNon-resident Indian and Person of Indian OriginA Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...
- Ethnic groups in South Asia
- Ethnic groups in AsiaEthnic groups in AsiaThere are an abundance of ethnic groups throughout Asia, with adaptations to the climate zones of Asia, which can be Arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical or tropical. The ethnic groups have adapted to mountains, deserts, grasslands, and forests. On the coasts of Asia, the ethnic groups have...
- South AsiaSouth AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...