Racial influence on Indian culture has played a major role in shaping the Indian history and society as well. Fundamental thing about culture is its intimate association with historic development. The Indian history explains the reason why the Indian culture is so rich and multicoloured. End number of races has poured into India. They have lent their original contribution to it and have been assimilated in the Indian milieu. India has been called a museum of races.
Different Types of Races in India
There has been a classification of Indian races recently. They are the Negritos, the Proto-Austroloids, the Mongoloid, the Mediterranean, the Western Brachycephals and the Nordic. Negritos are extinct though a small group survives in the Andamans, among the aboriginals of Kochi, Travancore Hills, Assam and the Rajmahal Hill tribes in Eastern Bihar. The Proto-Austroloids have steep forehead, snub nose with wide nostrils, retreating chin and thick-set body. The Mongoloid groups are found in Assam, Chittagong Hills. They have long head, flat nose, high cheek-bones and oblique slit-eyes. The Mediterranean people are found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana and Gangetic Valley. The Brachycephals are found in Bengal, Orissa, Coorg and Gujarat. They are short-headed. The Nordics who gave India its Aryan speech, organisation, imagination, adaptability and basis of Indian culture were strong in North-West-Frontier, Punjab, Rajputana Kashmir and in Maharashtra among the Chitpawan Brahmans and Upper Ganges Valley. They are tall, fair skinned with eyes either light brown or black.
Racial Contributions to Indian Culture
Some of the fundamental features of Indian culture have been derived from them. It is believed that their temperament is marked by superstitions, cheerfulness, love of music and gaiety, submissiveness, hard work, respect for convention and belief in the soul. They have dark skin and snub nose. They have also influenced the Aryan speech in many ways.
So far as the Hindu culture is concerned much of its basis is a contribution from the Dravidians. Among the articles of food, the Dravidians have given us wheat, rice, milk, pulses, vegetables, cotton dress, dwellings, customs like the- familiarity of the wife with her brother-in-law and respect for the brother-in-law elder to her husband, wedding customs, phonetic sounds and myths in the Indian Puranas. The Dravidians have adopted Sanskrit language and in common with the Aryans their Varna- System.
The racial factors have considerably influenced our culture. Aryans have given us through their philosophical, religious and spiritual ideas the original and fundamental basis of Indian culture.
