A History of Assam c7.s1.22

c7.s1.22

Although Aryan languages are now predominant in both the great river valleys this is due mainly to the influence of Hindu priests and to the more advanced character of these languages, as compared with the ruder and less efficient tribal dialects; and the strain of Aryan blood is very thin. It is, however, apparent in some of the higher castes. The Kalitas of the Brahmaputra valley, who number nearly a quarter of a million, have often a distinctly Aryan appearance, and, they are possibly to some extent the descendants of the first Aryan immigrants by women of the country.