South Asian ethnic groups

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South Asian ethnic groups are an ethnolinguistic grouping of the diverse populations of South Asia, including the nations of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.[1] Afghanistan, which is usually considered to be in Central Asia, is sometimes grouped with South Asia, but Afghans are generally not included among South Asian ethnic groups.[2][3][4][5][6]

The majority of the population fall within three large linguistic groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Iranic. The Indian, Nepalese and Sri Lankan societies are traditionally divided into castes or clans, which are based primarily on labour divisions; these categories have had no official status in India since independence in 1947, except for the scheduled castes and tribes, which remain registered for the purpose of affirmative action. In today's India, the population is categorised in terms of the 1,652 mother tongues spoken.

These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethno-linguistic group in India (North India, East India, West India, Central India), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Dravidians form the predominant ethno-linguistic group in southern India, the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan. The Iranic peoples also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Pakistan, with heavy concentrations in Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Dardic peoples are classified as belonging to the Indo-Aryan language group,[7] forming a minority among the Indo-Aryans, though they are also sometimes classified as external to the Indo-Aryan branch.[8] They are found in northern Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) and in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, India.

Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly speak languages belonging to the Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman language families, and largely live around Ladakh and Northeast India, Nepal, Bhutan and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. The Andamanese (Sentinel, Onge, Jarawa, Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal,[9] the Vedda in Sri Lanka, and the Nihali of central India, who number about 5,000 people. The people of the Hunza valley in Pakistan are another distinct population; they speak Burushaski, a language isolate.

The traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged, influenced by external cultures, especially in the northwestern parts of South Asia and also in the border regions and busy ports, where there are greater levels of contact with external cultures. There is also a lot of genetic diversity within the region. For example, most of the ethnic groups of the northeastern parts of South Asia are genetically related to peoples of East or Southeast Asia. There are also genetically isolated groups who have not been genetically influenced by other groups, such as the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands. The largest ethno-linguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest sub-group are the native speakers of Hindi languages, numbering more than 470 million.

These groups are based solely on a linguistic basis and not on a genetic basis.

List of ethnic groups on the basis of language[]

South Asian language families

Indo-Aryan people[]

The extent of Indo-Aryan languages in South Asia
  • Assamese people[10]
  • Awadhi people
  • Banjara people
  • Bhojpuri people
  • Bengali people
  • Bhil people
  • Chakma
  • Deccani people
  • Dhivehi people
  • Dogra people
  • Garhwali people
  • Gujarati people
  • Haryanvi people
  • Kamrupi people
  • Kashmiri people
  • Khas people
  • Konkani people
  • Kumaoni people
  • Kutchi people
  • Maithili people
  • Maldivian people
  • Marathi people
  • Magahi people
  • Nagpuri people
  • Odia people
  • Parsi people
  • Pahari people
  • Punjabi people
  • Rajasthani people
    • Marwaris
  • Rohingya people
  • Sindhi people
    • Memons
  • Saraiki people
  • Saurashtra people
  • Sinhalese people
  • Sylheti people
  • Tanchangya people
  • Tharu

Dardic people[]

The Dardic languages are largely seen as Indo-Aryan, but are sometimes seen as a separate Indo-Iranian branch.

Iranic people[]

Nuristani people[]

  • Nuristani people

Dravidian people[]

  • Badagas
  • Brahui people
  • Dongria Kondha
  • Gondi people
  • Irulas
  • Kannadigas
  • Khonds
  • Kodava
  • Kurukh/Oraon
  • Malayali
  • Malto people
  • Sauria Paharia people
  • Tamil people
    • Indian Tamils
      • Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka
    • Sri Lankan Tamils
  • Telugu people
  • Toda people
  • Tuluvas

Austroasiatic people[]

Tibeto-Burmese people[]

  • Tibetans and Tibetan-speaking peoples
    • Tibetan Ladakhis
    • Uttarakhandi Bhotiya
    • Sikkimese people
    • Monpa
      • Takpa
      • Tshangla
    • Sherpas
    • Bhotiyas
    • Sherdukpen
    • Aka
    • Miji
    • Tibetan Muslim
  • Bodo-Kachari people
    • Bodo People
    • Dimasa
    • Garo
    • Hajong
    • Sonowal
    • Sutiya
  • Chepang
  • Gurung
  • Khowa
  • Kirat people
  • Lepcha people
  • Magar people
  • Memba
  • Naga people
  • Newar people
  • Nishi
  • Tamang
  • Thakali
  • Tripuri
  • Meitei (Manipuri)
  • Karbi people or Mikir
  • Thami
  • Zo people

Andamanese and Nicobarese groups[]

  • Great Andamanese of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Jangil of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Jarawa of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Onge of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Sentinelese of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Semitic people[]

  • Arabs or mixed Arab and Indo-Aryan or Dravidian
    • Arabs in Gujarat
    • Sri Lankan Moors (trace ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka)
    • Iraqi biradri - a community of Muslims in north India (trace ancestry from Arab tribe of Bani Tamim)
    • Labbay Arab traders who settled in South India
    • Konkani Muslims trace their ancestry to Arab traders.
    • Boras trace ancestors to Arab traders and merchants.
    • Chaush trace ancestors to traders from Yemen.
    • Syrian Malabar Nasranis are descendants of both Brahmin, Nair and Jewish converts to Christianity. (Some mixed later with Persians and Europeans later on)[citation needed]
    • Knanaya Syriac Christians who trace their origins to Mesopotamia
  • Indian Jews
    • Cochin Jews (Malayali Jews)
    • Bene Israel (Marathi Jews)
    • Baghdadi Jews (Arab Jews in Bengal)
    • Bnei Menashe (Mizo and Kuki Jews)
    • Bene Ephraim (Telugu Jews)
    • Paradesi Jews (European Jews in India)

Tai people[]

Turkic peoples[]

  • Turkish Indian
  • Rowther are alleged descendants of Seljuk Turks in Turko-Persian tradition. They have since become the tradition of Turko-Indian in 12th Century.
  • Mughal (Moghul) (A Sunni Islamic dynasty of Asia which originated in Central Asia)
    • Chughtai Tartars (Those people who originated in Uzbekistan and fought for Chagatai Khan who was son of Genghis Khan).
    • Barlas (A Turkified Mongol tribe to which Babur belonged)
    • Changezi (Those who were in army of Hulagu Khan)

Afro-Asian groups[]

  • Chaush
  • Sheedis/Siddis, an ethnic community of Black African descent, found primarily in Pakistan, Gujarat, and Karnataka.
  • Sri Lanka Kaffirs

European and Eurasian people[]

  • Anglo-Burmese
  • Anglo-Indian
  • Bangladeshi-Armenians
    • Dhakaiya Armenians
  • Burgher people
  • French-Indian
  • Luso-Indian
  • Romani people
  • Eurasians

Austronesian people[]

  • Sri Lankan Malays

East Asian people[]

Chinese[]

Linguistically isolate groups[]

  • Hunza people
  • Kusunda
  • Nahali
  • Vedda

Diaspora[]

Many South Asian ethnic groups and nationalities have substantial diasporas outside of South Asia.

See also Bangladeshi diaspora, Indian diaspora, Nepalese diaspora, Pakistani diaspora, Punjabi diaspora, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, Tamil diaspora.

Two (or possibly three) other people groups have ethnic and linguistic ties with the region:

  • Dom people
  • Romani people
  • Lom people (who speak a language both related to Indo-Aryan and Armenian)

See also[]

National demographics:

  • Demographics of Bangladesh
  • Demographics of Bhutan
  • Demographics of India
  • Demographics of the Maldives
  • Demographics of Nepal
  • Demographics of Pakistan
  • Demographics of Sri Lanka

References[]

  1. ^ "UN Geoscheme".
  2. ^ Danico, Mary Yu (2014). Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. p. 838. ISBN 978-1-4522-8189-6.
  3. ^ Bhopal, Raj (2004). "Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate". Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 58 (6): 441–445. doi:10.1136/jech.2003.013466. PMC 1732794. PMID 15143107.
  4. ^ "Language and the BSA: Ethnicity & Race". British Sociological Association. March 2005. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  5. ^ Sarwal, Amit (2012). Bridging Imaginations: South Asian Diaspora in Australia. Readworthy Publications. ISBN 978-81-935345-4-0.
  6. ^ Lindsay, olin (2001). "The South Asian Community" (PDF). Profiles of Ethnic Communities in Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  7. ^ G. Morgenstierne Irano-Dardica. Wiesbaden 1973; Morgenstierne, G. Indo-Iranian frontier languages. (Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning. Publ. Ser. B: Skrifter, no. 11, 35, 40) Oslo: H. Aschehoug, 1929 sqq, reprint Oslo 1973, C. Masica The Indo-Aryan languages, New York 1991, p. 21; R.L. Trail and G.R. Cooper, Kalasha Dictionary, Islamabad & High Wycombe 1999 p. xi; The Indo-Aryan languages, edited by George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain. London, New York: Routledge, 2003
  8. ^ G.A. Grierson, The Pisaca Languages of North-Western India, Asiatic Society, London, 1906, repr. Delhi 1969, p. 4-6; still repeated in: History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Ahmad Hasan Dani, Vadim Mikhaĭlovich Masson, János Harmatta, Boris Abramovich Litvinovskiĭ, Clifford, 1999
  9. ^ D.E. Watters, Notes on Kusunda (a language isolate of Nepal), Kathmandu 2005
  10. ^ Yasmin Saikia (9 November 2004). Fragmented Memories. ISBN 0822333732.

External links[]

Media related to Ethnic groups in India at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Ethnic groups in Pakistan at Wikimedia Commons Media related to Ethnic groups in Nepal at Wikimedia Commons

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