Few countries in the world can vie with India in the matter of geographical vastness and the immensity of ethnic variety. The not too infrequent migrations and incursions, political or otherwise, from outside and the consequent social intercourse with the native tribes have resulted in so much racial miscegenation over the centuries that there are innumerable types, each physically and socially different from the other.
To a young and enterprising anthropologist, what other country could be as fascinating as India affording unlimited material for study. Sir Herbert Risley was one such anthropologist of renown. He came to India as a member of the Indian Civil Service and started work in Chhota Nagpur, that strong-hold of Indian tribes, and by his diligent study of the native races rose to be the Director of Ethnology and thrice President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
About the Author:
Risley's The People of India is a monumental study of the ethnology of this country. He was a pioneer in the application of scientific methods to the classification of the races of India and the great value of his work lies in this, that it has continued to open out fresh fields of enquiry and give a new impetus to the study of man in India.
| Ethnic isolation of India | 1 |
| External factors | 3 |
| Internal factors | 4 |
| The race basis of Indian society | 5 |
| The data of Ethnology | 6 |
| Language and race | 7 |
| Indefinite physical characters | 13 |
| Definite physical characters | 16 |
| The data now available | 17 |
| Method of treatment adopted | 18 |
| Craniometry and Anthropometry | 19 |
| Anthropometry in India | 20 |
| General classification of mankind: the three primary types | 22 |
| Their application to India | 25 |
| Conditions favourable to anthropometry | 25 |
| Shape of the head | 26 |
| Its value as a test of race | 26 |
| Shape of the head in India | 27 |
| Shape of the nose: the nasal index | 28 |
| Correspondence with social groupings | 28 |
| Shape of face: orbitonasal index | 30 |
| Stature in Europe and India | 31 |
| The seven physical types | 32 |
| Limitations of the scheme | 34 |
| Turko-Iranian type | 35 |
| Indo-Aryan type | 37 |
| Seytho-Dravidian type | 38 |
| Aryo-Dravidian type | 37 |
| Mongolo-Dravidian type | 40 |
| Mongoloid type | 42 |
| Dravidian type | 44 |
| Origins of types | 47 |
| Dravidian | 48 |
| The Indo-Aryan type: its non-Indian origin | 48 |
| The mode of its entry into India | 50 |
| The Aryo-Dravidians: Dr. Hoernle's theory | 55 |
| The Mongolo-Dravidians | 56 |
| The Scytho-Dravidian type: its history | 57 |
| The possible origin | 58 |
| Social divisions: the tribe | 62 |
| Types of tribes | 62 |
| The Dravidian tribe | 63 |
| The Mongoloid tribe | 64 |
| The Turko-Iranian tribes: the Afghan type | 64 |
| The Baloch and Brahui type | 64 |
| Marriage in Baluchistan | 67 |
| The word "caste" | 67 |
| Definition of caste | 68 |
| M. Senart's description | 68 |
| An English parallel | 69 |
| Conversion of tribes into castes | 72 |
| Types of Caste | 75 |
| 75 |
| 76 |
| 78 |
| 82 |
| 86 |
| 88 |
| 92 |
| Totemism | 95 |
| 96 |
| 98 |
| 100 |
| 101 |
| 102 |
| 102 |
| 103 |
| 103 |
| Sir J.G. Frazer's theory of totemism | 105 |
| Totemism and Exogamy | 107 |
| Classification of castes | 109 |
| Method adopted in Census of 1901 | 111 |
| Its practical working | 113 |
| Its general results | 114 |
| Social precedence of Hindus in Bengal | 114 |
| Social precedence among Muhammadans | 121 |
| Case of Baluchistan | 123 |
| Distribution of social groups | 125 |
| Diffused groups | 125 |
| Localised groups | 126 |
| Muhammadan groups | 126 |
| Proverbs in general: various definitions | 128 |
| Classified as general and particular | 129 |
| Indian proverbs of caste | 130 |
| A village portrait gallery | 130 |
| The Brahman | 130 |
| The Baniya | 131 |
| The Kayasth | 132 |
| The Jat | 132 |
| The Kumbi or Kurmi | 133 |
| The Barber | 133 |
| The Goldsmith | 134 |
| The Potter | 134 |
| The Blacksmith | 134 |
| The Carpenter | 135 |
| The Oil-presser and dealer in oil | 135 |
| The Tailor | 135 |
| The Washerman | 135 |
| The Fisherman | 136 |
| The Weaver | 136 |
| The Tanner and Shoemaker | 137 |
| The Dom | 138 |
| The Mahar and Dhed | 139 |
| The Pariah | 139 |
| The Bhil | 139 |
| Comparative Proverbs | 140 |
| The Parsi | 142 |
| The Ascetics | 143 |
| The Muhammadans | 144 |
| In Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province | 144 |
| In Sind and Gujarat | 146 |
| In the Punjab | 146 |
| In the United Provinces | 147 |
| In Behar | 147 |
| In Madras | 147 |
| Provincial and local Proverbs | 148 |
| General Proverbs | 149 |
| Bibliography of Indian Proverbs | 152 |
| Contrasts between India and Europe | 154 |
| Endogamy | 156 |
| Exogamy | 161 |
| Hypergamy | 163 |
| Influence of hypergamy | 165 |
| Female infanticide and exogamy | 171 |
| Female infanticide and hypergamy | 173 |
| Origin of hypergamy | 178 |
| Prohibition of widow marriage unknown in Vedic times | 182 |
| Causes of its revival | 182 |
| Considerations of property, of spiritual benefit, of sacramental doctrine | 183 |
| Influence of hypergamy | 184 |
| Practice of lower castes | 184 |
| Feeling of the people as to extension of widow marriage | 185 |
| Prevalence of infant marriage | 186 |
| Origin of infant marriage | 187 |
| Mr. Nesfield's theory | 188 |
| Antiquity of the custom: its possible causes | 189 |
| The case for infant marriage | 192 |
| The physiological side of the question | 193 |
| Abuses in Bengal | 194 |
| Reform in Rajputana | 195 |
| Rules of the Walterkrit Sabha | 196 |
| As to expenses | 196 |
| As to betrothal | 197 |
| As to age | 198 |
| Legislation: Mr. Ghose's scheme | 199 |
| The Mysore Act | 200 |
| The Baroda Act | 201 |
| Its practical working | 202 |
| Sardar Arjun Singh's Scheme | 203 |
| Indian views of it | 204 |
| Prospects of reform | 205 |
| Difficulties of legislation | 206 |
| The two forms of polyandry | 207 |
| Matriarchal polyandry | 207 |
| The ceremonial husband | 209 |
| The actual husband | 209 |
| Fraternal polyandry in Tibet and Sikkim | 210 |
| Origin of polyandry | 212 |
| Statistics of marriage | 212 |
| Among Hindus | 213 |
| Among Muhammadans | 213 |
| Stratification of caste | 216 |
| Hinduism and Islam | 217 |
| Railways and religion | 218 |
| Fetishism | 219 |
| Shamanism | 220 |
| Animism | 222 |
| The best term available | 222 |
| Ideas underlying Animism | 223 |
| Impersonal elemental forces | 225 |
| Origin of unworshipped Supreme Beings | 226 |
| Beginnings of religion | 227 |
| The ghost theory | 228 |
| Growth of ancestor-worship | 228 |
| Animism in India | 231 |
| Relation between Animism and popular Hinduism | 232 |
| Illustration of Animistic ideas | 233 |
| The Sri Panchami and Animism | 235 |
| Sources of Animistic usages | 236 |
| Pantheism | 237 |
| Transmigration and Karma | 238 |
| Lucian on Karma | 239 |
| Ancient Paganism and modern Hinduism | 242 |
| Adaptiveness of Paganism | 243 |
| Weaker than Hinduism in metaphysics and ethics | 244 |
| Stronger in national sentiment | 245 |
| Statistics of religion | 246 |
| Increase of Muhammadans | 246 |
| Influence of conversion | 247 |
| Influence of Christianity on the low castes | 249 |
| Causes of its failure with the high castes | 250 |
| Nationalism and the Arya Samaj | 253 |
| The Samaj and the Khatris | 254 |
| The future of Hinduism | 255 |
| The origins of caste | 257 |
| The Indian theory | 258 |
| Its historic elements | 259 |
| Its probable origin | 261 |
| The Indian and Iranian classes | 262 |
| Sir Denzil Ibbetson's theory | 263 |
| Mr. Nesfield's theory | 265 |
| M. Senart's theory | 267 |
| Caste not merely occupation. The guilds of Medieval Europe | 269 |
| Caste under the Roman Empire | 270 |
| Castes not merely developed tribes | 272 |
| The genesis of caste: the basis of fact | 273 |
| The genesis of caste: the influence of fiction | 276 |
| Summary | 276 |
| European idea that caste is breaking up | 278 |
| Founded on misconceptions of facts | 279 |
| Not shared by Sir Henry Cotton | 282 |
| Whose views are confirmed by statistics and by the best Indian opinion | 283 |
| Apparent antagonism of caste and nationality | 284 |
| Caste and monarchy | 285 |
| Caste and democracy | 286 |
| Caste and nationality | 286 |
| The factors of nationality | 287 |
| Community of origin | 288 |
| Language | 289 |
| Political history | 290 |
| Religion | 291 |
| Intermarriage | 292 |
| The basis of Indian nationality | 293 |
| Has it any parallel in history? | 294 |
| The example of Gaul | 295 |
| The example of Japan | 296 |
| The future of Indian Nationalism | 299 |
| I. Proverbs Relating to Caste | 305 |
| II. Maps of Castes | 334 |
| III. Anthropometric Data | 344 |
| IV. Infant Marriage Laws | 403 |
| V. Modern Theories of Caste | 407 |
| VI. Kulin Polygamy | 423 |
| VII. The Santal and Munda Tribes | 441 |
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Few countries in the world can vie with India in the matter of geographical vastness and the immensity of ethnic variety. The not too infrequent migrations and incursions, political or otherwise, from outside and the consequent social intercourse with the native tribes have resulted in so much racial miscegenation over the centuries that there are innumerable types, each physically and socially different from the other.
To a young and enterprising anthropologist, what other country could be as fascinating as India affording unlimited material for study. Sir Herbert Risley was one such anthropologist of renown. He came to India as a member of the Indian Civil Service and started work in Chhota Nagpur, that strong-hold of Indian tribes, and by his diligent study of the native races rose to be the Director of Ethnology and thrice President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
About the Author:
Risley's The People of India is a monumental study of the ethnology of this country. He was a pioneer in the application of scientific methods to the classification of the races of India and the great value of his work lies in this, that it has continued to open out fresh fields of enquiry and give a new impetus to the study of man in India.
| Ethnic isolation of India | 1 |
| External factors | 3 |
| Internal factors | 4 |
| The race basis of Indian society | 5 |
| The data of Ethnology | 6 |
| Language and race | 7 |
| Indefinite physical characters | 13 |
| Definite physical characters | 16 |
| The data now available | 17 |
| Method of treatment adopted | 18 |
| Craniometry and Anthropometry | 19 |
| Anthropometry in India | 20 |
| General classification of mankind: the three primary types | 22 |
| Their application to India | 25 |
| Conditions favourable to anthropometry | 25 |
| Shape of the head | 26 |
| Its value as a test of race | 26 |
| Shape of the head in India | 27 |
| Shape of the nose: the nasal index | 28 |
| Correspondence with social groupings | 28 |
| Shape of face: orbitonasal index | 30 |
| Stature in Europe and India | 31 |
| The seven physical types | 32 |
| Limitations of the scheme | 34 |
| Turko-Iranian type | 35 |
| Indo-Aryan type | 37 |
| Seytho-Dravidian type | 38 |
| Aryo-Dravidian type | 37 |
| Mongolo-Dravidian type | 40 |
| Mongoloid type | 42 |
| Dravidian type | 44 |
| Origins of types | 47 |
| Dravidian | 48 |
| The Indo-Aryan type: its non-Indian origin | 48 |
| The mode of its entry into India | 50 |
| The Aryo-Dravidians: Dr. Hoernle's theory | 55 |
| The Mongolo-Dravidians | 56 |
| The Scytho-Dravidian type: its history | 57 |
| The possible origin | 58 |
| Social divisions: the tribe | 62 |
| Types of tribes | 62 |
| The Dravidian tribe | 63 |
| The Mongoloid tribe | 64 |
| The Turko-Iranian tribes: the Afghan type | 64 |
| The Baloch and Brahui type | 64 |
| Marriage in Baluchistan | 67 |
| The word "caste" | 67 |
| Definition of caste | 68 |
| M. Senart's description | 68 |
| An English parallel | 69 |
| Conversion of tribes into castes | 72 |
| Types of Caste | 75 |
| 75 |
| 76 |
| 78 |
| 82 |
| 86 |
| 88 |
| 92 |
| Totemism | 95 |
| 96 |
| 98 |
| 100 |
| 101 |
| 102 |
| 102 |
| 103 |
| 103 |
| Sir J.G. Frazer's theory of totemism | 105 |
| Totemism and Exogamy | 107 |
| Classification of castes | 109 |
| Method adopted in Census of 1901 | 111 |
| Its practical working | 113 |
| Its general results | 114 |
| Social precedence of Hindus in Bengal | 114 |
| Social precedence among Muhammadans | 121 |
| Case of Baluchistan | 123 |
| Distribution of social groups | 125 |
| Diffused groups | 125 |
| Localised groups | 126 |
| Muhammadan groups | 126 |
| Proverbs in general: various definitions | 128 |
| Classified as general and particular | 129 |
| Indian proverbs of caste | 130 |
| A village portrait gallery | 130 |
| The Brahman | 130 |
| The Baniya | 131 |
| The Kayasth | 132 |
| The Jat | 132 |
| The Kumbi or Kurmi | 133 |
| The Barber | 133 |
| The Goldsmith | 134 |
| The Potter | 134 |
| The Blacksmith | 134 |
| The Carpenter | 135 |
| The Oil-presser and dealer in oil | 135 |
| The Tailor | 135 |
| The Washerman | 135 |
| The Fisherman | 136 |
| The Weaver | 136 |
| The Tanner and Shoemaker | 137 |
| The Dom | 138 |
| The Mahar and Dhed | 139 |
| The Pariah | 139 |
| The Bhil | 139 |
| Comparative Proverbs | 140 |
| The Parsi | 142 |
| The Ascetics | 143 |
| The Muhammadans | 144 |
| In Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province | 144 |
| In Sind and Gujarat | 146 |
| In the Punjab | 146 |
| In the United Provinces | 147 |
| In Behar | 147 |
| In Madras | 147 |
| Provincial and local Proverbs | 148 |
| General Proverbs | 149 |
| Bibliography of Indian Proverbs | 152 |
| Contrasts between India and Europe | 154 |
| Endogamy | 156 |
| Exogamy | 161 |
| Hypergamy | 163 |
| Influence of hypergamy | 165 |
| Female infanticide and exogamy | 171 |
| Female infanticide and hypergamy | 173 |
| Origin of hypergamy | 178 |
| Prohibition of widow marriage unknown in Vedic times | 182 |
| Causes of its revival | 182 |
| Considerations of property, of spiritual benefit, of sacramental doctrine | 183 |
| Influence of hypergamy | 184 |
| Practice of lower castes | 184 |
| Feeling of the people as to extension of widow marriage | 185 |
| Prevalence of infant marriage | 186 |
| Origin of infant marriage | 187 |
| Mr. Nesfield's theory | 188 |
| Antiquity of the custom: its possible causes | 189 |
| The case for infant marriage | 192 |
| The physiological side of the question | 193 |
| Abuses in Bengal | 194 |
| Reform in Rajputana | 195 |
| Rules of the Walterkrit Sabha | 196 |
| As to expenses | 196 |
| As to betrothal | 197 |
| As to age | 198 |
| Legislation: Mr. Ghose's scheme | 199 |
| The Mysore Act | 200 |
| The Baroda Act | 201 |
| Its practical working | 202 |
| Sardar Arjun Singh's Scheme | 203 |
| Indian views of it | 204 |
| Prospects of reform | 205 |
| Difficulties of legislation | 206 |
| The two forms of polyandry | 207 |
| Matriarchal polyandry | 207 |
| The ceremonial husband | 209 |
| The actual husband | 209 |
| Fraternal polyandry in Tibet and Sikkim | 210 |
| Origin of polyandry | 212 |
| Statistics of marriage | 212 |
| Among Hindus | 213 |
| Among Muhammadans | 213 |
| Stratification of caste | 216 |
| Hinduism and Islam | 217 |
| Railways and religion | 218 |
| Fetishism | 219 |
| Shamanism | 220 |
| Animism | 222 |
| The best term available | 222 |
| Ideas underlying Animism | 223 |
| Impersonal elemental forces | 225 |
| Origin of unworshipped Supreme Beings | 226 |
| Beginnings of religion | 227 |
| The ghost theory | 228 |
| Growth of ancestor-worship | 228 |
| Animism in India | 231 |
| Relation between Animism and popular Hinduism | 232 |
| Illustration of Animistic ideas | 233 |
| The Sri Panchami and Animism | 235 |
| Sources of Animistic usages | 236 |
| Pantheism | 237 |
| Transmigration and Karma | 238 |
| Lucian on Karma | 239 |
| Ancient Paganism and modern Hinduism | 242 |
| Adaptiveness of Paganism | 243 |
| Weaker than Hinduism in metaphysics and ethics | 244 |
| Stronger in national sentiment | 245 |
| Statistics of religion | 246 |
| Increase of Muhammadans | 246 |
| Influence of conversion | 247 |
| Influence of Christianity on the low castes | 249 |
| Causes of its failure with the high castes | 250 |
| Nationalism and the Arya Samaj | 253 |
| The Samaj and the Khatris | 254 |
| The future of Hinduism | 255 |
| The origins of caste | 257 |
| The Indian theory | 258 |
| Its historic elements | 259 |
| Its probable origin | 261 |
| The Indian and Iranian classes | 262 |
| Sir Denzil Ibbetson's theory | 263 |
| Mr. Nesfield's theory | 265 |
| M. Senart's theory | 267 |
| Caste not merely occupation. The guilds of Medieval Europe | 269 |
| Caste under the Roman Empire | 270 |
| Castes not merely developed tribes | 272 |
| The genesis of caste: the basis of fact | 273 |
| The genesis of caste: the influence of fiction | 276 |
| Summary | 276 |
| European idea that caste is breaking up | 278 |
| Founded on misconceptions of facts | 279 |
| Not shared by Sir Henry Cotton | 282 |
| Whose views are confirmed by statistics and by the best Indian opinion | 283 |
| Apparent antagonism of caste and nationality | 284 |
| Caste and monarchy | 285 |
| Caste and democracy | 286 |
| Caste and nationality | 286 |
| The factors of nationality | 287 |
| Community of origin | 288 |
| Language | 289 |
| Political history | 290 |
| Religion | 291 |
| Intermarriage | 292 |
| The basis of Indian nationality | 293 |
| Has it any parallel in history? | 294 |
| The example of Gaul | 295 |
| The example of Japan | 296 |
| The future of Indian Nationalism | 299 |
| I. Proverbs Relating to Caste | 305 |
| II. Maps of Castes | 334 |
| III. Anthropometric Data | 344 |
| IV. Infant Marriage Laws | 403 |
| V. Modern Theories of Caste | 407 |
| VI. Kulin Polygamy | 423 |
| VII. The Santal and Munda Tribes | 441 |
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