Caste and Race in India c9.127

c9.127

Giuffrida-Ruggeri has suggested the following classification of the ethnic elements in India: (a) Negritos. Apparently there are no representatives of these. He thinks that they survive in tribes like the Bhils, the Gonds, etc.⁶ (b) Pre-Dravidians (Australoid-Veddaic); (c) Dravidians. They are connected with the Ethiopians, with the exception of the Somalis and Gallas.⁷ Under this category he includes the mesaticephalic and the brachycephalic peoples of the Canarese-Telugu regions.⁸ Being afraid of sea migration—witness his gibe at Elliot Smith⁹—he brings the Dravidians into India from Iran, and explains the "elevation of the cephalic index among the inhabitants of the south by a mixture with the brachycephalic Negritos, the most ancient population between India and the Persian Gulf".¹ He entirely misses the significance of the distribution of the dolichocephalic and mesaticephalic types explained above. (d) Tall dolichocephalic elements (Toda),² (e) dolichocephalic Aryans. Under this class he includes Kafirs, Dards, Rajputs, and the Kanet of Lahoul.³ (f) Brachycephalic Leucoderms. He accepts the hypothesis of Chanda,⁴ about immigration of the Alpine folk. It will have been quite clear from our discussion that such a classification is untenable. The ascertained facts of Indian anthropometry are far better accommodated by the classification that emerges out of our discussion.