The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.160

v1.c15.160

The routes which lead from the east into the country of the Ganges seem not to have been affected to the same extent by climatic changes. The invaders from this quarter belonged to the Southern group of the Mongolian race, the home of which was probably in N.W. China. They came into India partly from Tibet down the valley of the Brahmaputra, and partly from China through Burma by the Mekong, the Salween, and the Irrawaddy. To other obstacles which impeded their progress were added the dense growth of the jungle and its wild inhabitants. Tribal migrations from these regions can scarcely be said to have ceased altogether even now. But they are held in check by the British occupation of Upper Burma. The movements to the south-west and south of the Kachins, a Tibeto-Burman tribe, from the north of Upper Burma have in recent times afforded an illustration of the nature of these migrations (*Imp. Gaz.* xiv, pp. 253–5).