India has been a melting pot of people since the beginningof its history.
What are Indian people origins?
Although India is made up of varied ethnic groups, the majority of it's people are of pravidians and indoaryan ancestry. The Dravidians have lived in India since pre-historic times. The Indo-aryans were first arrived in the subcontient about 1500 b.c. The two people aiffered in appearance, langage, and customs.The Indo-aryans were taller,with lighter skin color and more prominent noses.They spoke a langage related to the modern European lanaguager.Thier religious belifes evouled into Hinduism.The Indo-aryans because the dominent people of India ,particularly in the north.Southern India remained principally pravidian.
Where the people live?
India is largely a nation of villages, where nearly two-thirds of the people live.India villages vary in size. Many are small, but others are almost towns by western standars.At the same time, there has been a rapid growth in the number and size of India's cities.Some such as Calcutta,Bombay,Delhi, and Madras,rank among the greatest cities of the world.
What language do people speak?
The major languages ofIndia may be divided into two broad groups. Those of the northern, western, and eastern India are deprived from ancient Sankrit, an Indo-European language and the sacred language of Hinduism. They include Assamese, Bengali, Gujarat, Hindi, Kasmiri, Konkani, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Urdu. The languages of the south-Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu- belong to the Dravidian family, although they have been influenced by Sanskrit. Kasmiri and Urda also contain many words from Arabic and Persian. Hindi, the national language, is spoken by about 30 percentof the population. Most educated Indians speak English as well as Hindi and their regional language. Indian children are taught bothe their regional language. and Hindi in the primary and lower-secondary levels of school. Later they may also learn English, Sanskrit, or Persian.
What is the Caste System?
The peculiar Indian institution ofthe caste system developed out of the early Aryan custom of seperating people according to the work they did. Members of each caste tend to follow a certain occupation. For example, servants, janitors, and other menialworkers belong to the lower castes, while educators and administrators are often members of the higher castes. Families that make up a caste usually live in the same neighborhood.
The castes are herditary social classes. An Indian born in a low-caste family can't change to a higher caste by education or wealth. In fact,the entire Indian social structure is rigidly restricted by the caste system.
The group known as Dalits wereonce called untochables, because they were outside the bounds of caste- or outcasts. the use of the term "untochables" was outlawed at independence and many Dalts have benefited fromgovernment affirmation action programs since 1951.