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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}


'''Ethnic groups in South Asia''' are [[ethnolinguistics|ethnolinguistic]] groupings within the diverse populations of [[South Asia]], including the countries of [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name="UN">{{cite web|title=UN Geoscheme|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm}}</ref> While [[Afghanistan]] is variously considered to be a part of both [[Central Asia]] and South Asia, [[Afghans]] are generally not included among South Asians.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Danico |first1=Mary Yu |title=Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia |date=2014 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-8189-6 |page=838 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZleBAAAQBAJ&q=South+asian+americans+Afghanistan&pg=PA838}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate|first=Raj|last=Bhopal|journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=58|issue=6|pages=441–445|year=2004|doi=10.1136/jech.2003.013466|pmc=1732794|pmid=15143107}}</ref><ref name=BSA>{{cite web|url=http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|title=Language and the BSA: Ethnicity & Race|publisher=British Sociological Association|date=March 2005|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143029/http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|archive-date=27 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sarwal |first1=Amit |title=Bridging Imaginations: South Asian Diaspora in Australia |date=2012 |publisher=Readworthy Publications |isbn=978-81-935345-4-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jt99DwAAQBAJ&q=South+asian+diaspora |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Lindsay2001">{{cite journal |last=Lindsay |first= olin |date=2001 |title=The South Asian Community |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-621-x/89-621-x2007006-eng.pdf |journal=Profiles of Ethnic Communities in Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=Statistics Canada | access-date=9 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623200352/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-621-x/89-621-x2007006-eng.pdf| archive-date=23 June 2013}}</ref><ref> https://study.com/academy/lesson/asian-ethnic-groups.html "South Asia is home to the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka."</ref><ref> https://minorityrights.org/minorities/south-asians/ "In the UK the term South Asian usually refers to people from the Indian subcontinent."</ref><ref> https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.055159 "Individuals of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivian, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) ancestry account for almost a quarter of the world’s population, and the South Asian diaspora is one of the largest and most widespread across the globe."</ref>
'''Ethnic groups in South Asia''' are [[ethnolinguistics|ethnolinguistic]] groupings within the diverse populations of [[South Asia]], including the countries of [[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[India]], [[Maldives]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], and [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name="UN">{{cite web|title=UN Geoscheme|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm}}</ref> [[Afghanistan]] is variously considered to be a part of both [[Central Asia]] and South Asia, which means [[Afghans]] are not always included among South Asians, but when they are, South Asia has a total population of about 2.04 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations |url=https://population.un.org/wpp/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=population.un.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Danico |first1=Mary Yu |title=Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia |date=2014 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-8189-6 |page=838 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZleBAAAQBAJ&q=South+asian+americans+Afghanistan&pg=PA838}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Glossary of terms relating to ethnicity and race: for reflection and debate|first=Raj|last=Bhopal|journal=Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health|volume=58|issue=6|pages=441–445|year=2004|doi=10.1136/jech.2003.013466|pmc=1732794|pmid=15143107}}</ref><ref name=BSA>{{cite web|url=http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|title=Language and the BSA: Ethnicity & Race|publisher=British Sociological Association|date=March 2005|access-date=27 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143029/http://www.britsoc.co.uk/media/25564/EqualityandDiversity_LanguageandtheBSA_RaceMar05.doc?1429559280759|archive-date=27 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sarwal |first1=Amit |title=Bridging Imaginations: South Asian Diaspora in Australia |date=2012 |publisher=Readworthy Publications |isbn=978-81-935345-4-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jt99DwAAQBAJ&q=South+asian+diaspora |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Lindsay2001">{{cite journal |last=Lindsay |first= olin |date=2001 |title=The South Asian Community |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-621-x/89-621-x2007006-eng.pdf |journal=Profiles of Ethnic Communities in Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=Statistics Canada | access-date=9 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623200352/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-621-x/89-621-x2007006-eng.pdf| archive-date=23 June 2013}}</ref><ref> https://study.com/academy/lesson/asian-ethnic-groups.html "South Asia is home to the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka."</ref><ref> https://minorityrights.org/minorities/south-asians/ "In the UK the term South Asian usually refers to people from the Indian subcontinent."</ref><ref> https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.055159 "Individuals of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivian, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) ancestry account for almost a quarter of the world’s population, and the South Asian diaspora is one of the largest and most widespread across the globe."</ref>


The majority of the population in South Asia fall within two large [[language family|linguistic groups]]: [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] and [[Dravidian people|Dravidian]]. The [[Iranic peoples]] also have a significant presence in South Asia, largely in the northwestern and western parts of Pakistan who speak [[Iranic languages]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kachru |first1=Braj B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA34 |title=Language in South Asia |last2=Kachru |first2=Yamuna |last3=Sridhar |first3=S. N. |date=2008-03-27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Pakistan |date= 24 January 2024|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>
The majority of the population fall within three large [[language family|linguistic groups]]: [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]], [[Dravidian people|Dravidian]], and [[Iranic peoples|Iranic]]. The Indian, Nepalese, and Sri Lankan societies are traditionally divided into [[caste]]s or [[clan]]s; these categories have had no official status in India since independence in 1947, except for the [[Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes|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 [[Languages of India|mother tongues spoken]].


These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in India ([[North India]], [[East India]], [[West India]], and [[Central India]]), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chitta |first=Sridhar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fR1YEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA173 |title=The Knowledge in the Vedas |date=2022-01-07 |publisher=StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-92661-61-7 |pages=173 |language=en}}</ref> Dravidians form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in [[South India|southern India]], the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan.<ref name="SwanSmith2001">{{cite book |last1=Swan |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UIuWj9fQfQC&pg=PA227 |title=Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems |last2=Smith |first2=Bernard |date=26 April 2001 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-77939-5 |page=227 |author-link1=Michael Swan (writer) |author-link2=Bernard Smith (art historian) |access-date=18 October 2016}}</ref>
These groups are also further subdivided into numerous sub-groups, castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in India ([[North India]], [[East India]], [[West India]], and [[Central India]]), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chitta |first=Sridhar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fR1YEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA173 |title=The Knowledge in the Vedas |date=2022-01-07 |publisher=StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-92661-61-7 |pages=173 |language=en}}</ref> Dravidians form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in [[South India|southern India]], the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan.<ref name="SwanSmith2001">{{cite book |last1=Swan |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UIuWj9fQfQC&pg=PA227 |title=Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems |last2=Smith |first2=Bernard |date=26 April 2001 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-77939-5 |page=227 |author-link1=Michael Swan (writer) |author-link2=Bernard Smith (art historian) |access-date=18 October 2016}}</ref> The [[Iranic peoples]] also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Afghanistan and the northwestern and western parts of Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kachru |first1=Braj B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA34 |title=Language in South Asia |last2=Kachru |first2=Yamuna |last3=Sridhar |first3=S. N. |date=2008-03-27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Pakistan |date= 24 January 2024|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan/ |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>


Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly speak languages belonging to the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] and [[Tibeto-Burman languages|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, and Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a [[language isolate]], as do the [[Kusunda people|Kusunda]] in central Nepal,<ref>D.E. Watters, ''Notes on Kusunda (a language isolate of Nepal)'', Kathmandu 2005</ref> the [[Vedda people|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.
Minority groups not falling within either large group mostly speak languages belonging to the [[Austroasiatic languages|Austroasiatic]] and [[Tibeto-Burman languages|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, and Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a [[language isolate]], as do the [[Kusunda people|Kusunda]] in central Nepal,<ref>D.E. Watters, ''Notes on Kusunda (a language isolate of Nepal)'', Kathmandu 2005</ref> the [[Vedda people|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.
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*[[Pahari people (Kashmir)]]
*[[Pahari people (Kashmir)]]
*[[Pahari people (Nepal)]]
*[[Pahari people (Nepal)]]
*[[Pahari-Pothwari ]]
*[[Parsi people]]
*[[Parsi people]]
*[[Punjabi people]]
*[[Punjabi people]]
**[[Hindkowans]]
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*[[Saraiki people]]
*[[Rajbongshi people]]
*[[Rajbongshi people]]
*[[Rajasthani people]]
*[[Rajasthani people]]
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*[[Sindhi people]]
*[[Sindhi people]]
**[[Memons]]
**[[Memons]]
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*[[Saraiki people]]
*[[Saurashtra people]]
*[[Saurashtra people]]
*[[Sinhalese people]]
*[[Sinhalese people]]
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***[[Indo-Fijian#Diaspora|Indo-Fijian American]]
***[[Indo-Fijian#Diaspora|Indo-Fijian American]]
**[[Nepalese American]]
**[[Nepalese American]]
**[[Afghan Americans]]
**[[Bhutanese Americans]]
**[[Bhutanese Americans]]
**[[Maldivian Americans]]
**[[Maldivian Americans]]
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**[[Nepalese Canadian]]
**[[Nepalese Canadian]]
**[[Pakistani Canadian]]
**[[Pakistani Canadian]]
**[[Afghan Canadian]]
**[[Sri Lankan Canadian]]
**[[Sri Lankan Canadian]]
**[[Tamil Canadian]]
**[[Tamil Canadian]]
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**[[British Nepalese]]
**[[British Nepalese]]
**[[British Pakistani]]
**[[British Pakistani]]
**[[British Afghans]]
**[[British Tamil]]
**[[British Tamil]]
**[[Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom]]
**[[Sri Lankans in the United Kingdom]]
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*[[Languages of Pakistan]]
*[[Languages of Pakistan]]
*[[Languages of Sri Lanka]]
*[[Languages of Sri Lanka]]
*[[List of ethnolinguistic regions of South Asia]]
*[[List of indigenous peoples#South Asia|List of indigenous peoples of South Asia]]
*[[List of indigenous peoples#South Asia|List of indigenous peoples of South Asia]]
*[[List of Scheduled Tribes in India]]
*[[List of Scheduled Tribes in India]]

Revision as of 14:19, 22 May 2024

Ethnic groups in South Asia are ethnolinguistic groupings within the diverse populations of South Asia, including the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.[1] Afghanistan is variously considered to be a part of both Central Asia and South Asia, which means Afghans are not always included among South Asians, but when they are, South Asia has a total population of about 2.04 billion.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

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; 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 ethnolinguistic group in India (North India, East India, West India, and Central India), Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.[11] Dravidians form the predominant ethnolinguistic group in southern India, the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka and a small pocket of Pakistan.[12] The Iranic peoples also have a significant presence in South Asia, the large majority of whom are located in Afghanistan and the northwestern and western parts of Pakistan.[13][14]

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, and Great Andamanese) live in some of the Andaman Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal,[15] 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 ethnolinguistic group in South Asia are the Indo-Aryans, numbering around 1 billion, and the largest subgroup 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

Andamanese groups

Main article: Andamanese peoples

Austroasiatic people

Main article: Austroasiatic peoples of South Asia

Austronesian people

Dravidian people

Main article: Dravidian peoples

Indo-Aryan people

Main article: Indo-Aryan peoples
The extent of Indo-Aryan languages in South Asia

Iranic people

Nuristani people

Main article: Nuristani peoples

Semitic people

Tai people

Tibeto-Burman people

Turkic people

See also: Indo-Turkic people

Afro-Asian groups

Main article: Afro-Asians in South Asia

European and Eurasian people

East Asian people

Chinese

Linguistic isolate groups

Diaspora

Main article: South Asian diaspora

Many South Asian ethnic groups and nationalities have substantial diasporas.

See also Bangladeshi diaspora, Indian diaspora, Nepalese diaspora, Pakistani diaspora, Afghan diaspora, Bihari diaspora, Malayali diaspora, Punjabi diaspora, Sindhi diaspora, Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, Tamil diaspora, and Telugu diaspora.

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

See also

National demographics:

References

  1. ^ "UN Geoscheme".
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects - Population Division - United Nations". population.un.org. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  3. ^ Danico, Mary Yu (2014). Asian American Society: An Encyclopedia. SAGE Publications. p. 838. ISBN 978-1-4522-8189-6.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Language and the BSA: Ethnicity & Race". British Sociological Association. March 2005. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  6. ^ Sarwal, Amit (2012). Bridging Imaginations: South Asian Diaspora in Australia. Readworthy Publications. ISBN 978-81-935345-4-0.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ https://study.com/academy/lesson/asian-ethnic-groups.html "South Asia is home to the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka."
  9. ^ https://minorityrights.org/minorities/south-asians/ "In the UK the term South Asian usually refers to people from the Indian subcontinent."
  10. ^ https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.055159 "Individuals of South Asian (Bangladeshi, Bhutanese, Indian, Maldivian, Nepalese, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan) ancestry account for almost a quarter of the world’s population, and the South Asian diaspora is one of the largest and most widespread across the globe."
  11. ^ Chitta, Sridhar (7 January 2022). The Knowledge in the Vedas. StoryMirror Infotech Pvt Ltd. p. 173. ISBN 978-93-92661-61-7.
  12. ^ Swan, Michael; Smith, Bernard (26 April 2001). Learner English: A Teacher's Guide to Interference and Other Problems. Cambridge University Press. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-521-77939-5. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  13. ^ Kachru, Braj B.; Kachru, Yamuna; Sridhar, S. N. (27 March 2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-139-46550-2.
  14. ^ "Pakistan", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 24 January 2024
  15. ^ D.E. Watters, Notes on Kusunda (a language isolate of Nepal), Kathmandu 2005
  16. ^ Yasmin Saikia (9 November 2004). Fragmented Memories. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822333732.

16. Vij SB, Webb ML. Culturally competent occupational therapy practice for South Asians in the United States of America: A narrative review. Indian J Occup Ther 2022;54:4-9.

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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