The People of India

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Few countries in the world can vie with India in the matter of geographical vastness and the immensity of ethnic variety. The not too infrequent migrations and incursions, political or otherwise, from outside and the consequent social intercourse with the native tribes have resulted in so much racial miscegenation over the centuries that there are innumerable types, each physically and socially different from the other.

To a young and enterprising anthropologist, what other country could be as fascinating as India affording unlimited material for study. Sir Herbert Risley was one such anthropologist of renown. He came to India as a member of the Indian Civil Service and started work in Chhota Nagpur, that strong-hold of Indian tribes, and by his diligent study of the native races rose to be the Director of Ethnology and thrice President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.

About the Author:

Risley's The People of India is a monumental study of the ethnology of this country. He was a pioneer in the application of scientific methods to the classification of the races of India and the great value of his work lies in this, that it has continued to open out fresh fields of enquiry and give a new impetus to the study of man in India.