Ethnic groups in India

Pashtuns are an Iranian ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically referred to as Afghans even into the 1970s, although the constitution of 1923 began the use of 'Afghans' as a demonym for all citizens of the Kingdom, regardless of their ethnic group, to create an Afghan national identity.

Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangladesh and the Indian regions of West Bengal, Tripura, Barak Valley of Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and parts of Meghalaya, Manipur and Jharkhand. Most speak Bengali, a classical language from the Indo-Aryan language family.

The Tamils ( ), also known by their demonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving languages, with over two thousand years of written history, dating back to the Sangam period (between 300 BCE and 300 CE). Tamils constitute about 5.7% of the Indian population and form the majority in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. They also form significant proportions of the populations in Sri Lanka (15.3%), Mal

The Punjabis (Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. They generally speak Standard Punjabi or various Punjabi dialects on both sides.

Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom in northwestern South Asia (200 BCE–10 CE)

citizens or residents of India

Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit rājaputra meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. However, the derivation from rājaputra is misleading because although many Rajputs belonged to some ruling clans, the majority of the Rajput community were common agricultural laborers whose main source of income was farming. The term Rajput covers various patrilineal clans historically associated with warriorhood: se

Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of present-day Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, history, ancestry, and language. The historical homeland of Sindhis is bordered by southeastern Balochistan; the Bahawalpur region of Punjab; the Marwar region of Rajasthan; and the Kutch region of Gujarat.

thumb|A Safavid Iran|Safavid depiction of the [[Padishah (Emperor) of Dast-i Qipchaq ("Steppe of the Kipchaks"). Tabriz or Qavin, circa 1550. British Museum, Padishah (Emperor) of Dast-i Qipchaq, (1550). Possible portrait of Kazakh khan]] thumb|The Cumania in Eurasia, 1200|alt=The Desht-i Kipchak in Eurasia, 1200

Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to western India

Aspect of human geography in India

Indian ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking

The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnic group native to the southern Indian state of Kerala, and the union territory of Lakshadweep. They are predominantly native speakers of the Malayalam language, one of the eleven classical languages of India. The state of Kerala was created in 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act. Prior to that, since the 1800s existed the Kingdom of Cochin, the Travancore, Malabar District, and South Canara of the British Raj. The Malabar District was annexed by the British Indians through the T

Kashmiri people () are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language and originating from the Kashmir Valley region, which is located in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

indigenous (Scheduled) tribe from India

The Gurjar (or Gujjar, Gujar, Gurjara) are an agricultural ethnic community, residing mainly in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were traditionally involved in agriculture, pastoral and nomadic activities and formed a large heterogeneous group. The historical role of Gurjars has been quite diverse in society: at one end they have been found related to several kingdoms and, at the other end, some are still nomads with no land of their own.

ethnic group

Bhil or Bheel are various indigenous groups inhabiting western India, including parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and in Sindh, Pakistan. Additionally they are also found in distant places such as Bengal and Tripura. Though they now speak the Bhili language, an Indo-Aryan language, the aboriginal language that the Bhil originally spoke is lost. Bhils are divided into a number of endogamous territorial divisions, which in turn have a number of clans and lineages.

Indigenous (Scheduled) tribe in South Asia

Tribal people and linguistic group

ethnic group

ethnic group

The Siddi (), also known as the Sheedi, Sidi, or Siddhi, are an ethnic group living in Pakistan and India. They are primarily descended from the Bantu peoples of the Zanj coast in Southeast Africa, most of whom came to the Indian subcontinent through the Indian Ocean slave trade. Others arrived as merchants, sailors, indentured servants, and mercenaries.

Tibetic ethnic group of Pakistan

ethnic group

ethnic group

confederation of ethnic groups who inhabit Kachin State (Myanmar), Yunnan Province (China) and Arunachal Pradesh and Assam (India)

ethnic group

The Kannadigas or Kannadigaru (), often referred to as Kannada people, are a Dravidian ethnic group primarily native to the southern Indian state of Karnataka and its surrounding regions. They natively speak Kannada, which belongs to the Dravidian language family. Kannada stands among 30 of the most widely spoken languages of the world as of 2001.

ethnic group native to northeastern India

Bihari () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic groups: Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magahis. They are also further divided into a variety of hereditary caste groups. In Bihar today, the Bihari identity is seen as secondary to caste/clan, linguistic and religious identity but nonetheless is a subset of the larger Indian identity. Biharis can be found throughout India, and in the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. During the Partition of India in 1947, many Bihari Muslims mi

indigenous (Scheduled) tribe from India

Maldivians (, ) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group and nation native to the Maldive Islands, constituting the Republic of Maldives and the island of Minicoy (within Lakshadweep, a union territory of India). They share a common ancestry, history, culture and language.

Indian indigenous (Scheduled) tribe inhabiting in the state of Odisha

Hindu community native to Kashmir

Ethnic group, indigenous native from Nepal

ethnic group

indigenous ethnic groups of the Himalayas

tribe

ethno-linguistic group

ethnic group

Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: Kṣetrī) historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of whom trace their origin to migration from medieval India. Chhetri was a caste of administrators, governors, warriors and military elites in the medieval Khas Kingdom and Gorkha Kingdom (later unified Kingdom of Nepal). The nobility of the Gorkha Kingdom mainly originated from Chhetri families. They also had a strong presence in civil administration affairs. The bulk of prime

Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. They got the status of Scheduled Tribe by the Government of India in 1954.

ethnic group that originated from Rajasthan, India

thumb|A Bhutia woman with precious coral headdress, agate Buddhist prayer beads, turquoise earrings and silk chuba before 1915 in Darjeeling

Tribe group in Bangladesh

group of clans of North India and Pakistan

Chamar (, or Jatav, ) is a community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action that originated from the group of trade persons who were involved in leather tanning and shoemaking. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the northern states of India and in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal.

indigenous (Scheduled) tribe from India

thumb|right|250px|A senior official in Sikkim, ethnic Bhotiya, 1938

thumb|Badagas celebrating the festival of Hetha Habba. The Badagas are an ethno-linguistic community living in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. Throughout the district the Badugas live in nearly 400 villages, called Hattis. The Badagas speak a language called Badaga.

The Brokpa (), sometimes called Minaro, is an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group mostly found in the Indian-administered union territory of Ladakh around the villages of Dha and Hanu. Some of the community is also across the Line of Control in the Pakistan-administered Baltistan, in the villages around Ganokh. They speak an Indo-Aryan language called Brokskat. The Brokpa are mostly Vajrayana Buddhist but some are Muslim.

ethnic group

ethnic group from India

ethnic group from the border regions of Bangladesh, India and Myanmar

ethnic group

The Maithils (Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan cultural and ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the Mithila region, which comprises Northern and Eastern Bihar and Northeastern Jharkhand in India & in Nepal constituting Madhesh Province in addition to some Terai districts of Bagmati and Koshi Provinces.