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• B.S. Guha carried out racial survey of India as a part of the Census of India 1931.
• N. Majumdar conducted racial survey research in Bengal, U.P. and Gujarat.
Shrichakradhar.com
• Macfarlane, Chatterjee and Mitra did blood group survey.
• S. S. Sarkar conducted research on genetic and racial surveys.
• Karve conducted anthropometric studies in Maharashtra and published work in
1953.
In physical anthropology the different studies of socio-cultural and genetic
Anthropology in India variability defined the population of India. India is known for its
biological and cultural diversity. Among Indian population due to ethnic diversity the
ethnic composition is complex, but predominantly they can be divided into the Aryan, in
the north, and the Dravidian, in the south.
Anthropologists classified the racial elements in India on the basis of physical characters
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and anthropometric measurements. For example, H. H. Risley (1915) classified Indian
population into the races such as: Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Mongoloid, Aryo-Dravidian,
Mongolo-Dravidian, Scytho-Dravidian, Turko-Dravidian.
B. S. Guha (1937) classified the Indian population such races like Negrito, Proto-
Australoid, Mongoloid (Palaeo-Mongoloid, long-headed, broad-headed, Tibeto-
Mongoloid), Mediterranean (Palaeomediterranean, Mediterranean, Oriental), Western
brachycephals (Alpiniod, Armenoid, Dinaric) Nordics.
S. S. Sarkar (1961) classified the Indian population into the races such as Dolicocephals
(Australoid, Indo-Aryan, Mundari-speakers), Mesocephals (Irano-Scythian),
Brachycephals (Far Eastern, Mongolian).
There were lot criticisms on the racial classification of population. Although S.S. Sarkar
‘s classification was more convincing than any other classification but contemporary
anthropologists are still trying to solve the problem of racial classification of India.
D. N. Majumdar, not only specialized in social anthropology, he also contributed to the
sub-fields of physical anthropology and pre-history. In physical anthropology, he
researched on blood groups, anthropometric surveys and statistical analysis of
serological, health and disease. He carried out lot of physical anthropology work in Uttar
Pradesh and tried to find the biometrical correlates of caste hierarchy. He opposed the
concept of race and was not in the favour of single factor explanations of caste studies.
He also conducted studies on school children of Lucknow state and published on Race
elements in Bengal. According to scholars from disciplines such has mathematics and
statistics also joined the branch of physical/biological anthropology and helped to
standardize the tools and techniques of the discipline and to scientifically validate the
research hypotheses. This greatly helped in achieving the accuracy in accordance to the
requirements of the research. After the establishment of Anthropological Survey of India
and Department of Anthropology at University of Delhi research in Physical/Biological
Anthropology shifted to skeletal remains. Most of the skeletal remains were excavated
from Mohenjodaro and Taxila. Anthropological survey of India played a major role in
collecting the skeletal remains.

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