Indo-Aryan peoples

{{Short description|Ethnolinguistic groups in South Asia}} {{pp-pc1}} {{Original research|date=January 2021}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox ethnic group | group = Indo-Aryan peoples | image = 240px | caption = 1978 map showing geographical distribution of the major Indo-Aryan languages. (Urdu is included under Hindi. Romani, Domari, and Lomavren are outside the scope of the map.) Dotted/striped areas indicate where multilingualism is common.{{hidden| | {{div col|colwidth=30em}} {{legend|#fe933c|Central}} {{legend|#fd15ac|Dardic}} {{legend|#effe27|Eastern}} {{legend|#ad27fe|Northern}} {{legend|#274ffe|Northwestern}} {{legend|#3bed69|Western}} {{legend|#fe1e1e|Southern}} {{div col end}} }} | population = '''~1.4 billion'''{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} | popplace = | region1 = India | pop1 = Over 1 billion | ref1 = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/ |title=India |work=The World Factbook |date=18 January 2026 |access-date=24 January 2021 |archive-date=18 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318202107/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india |url-status=dead }}</ref> | region2 = Pakistan | pop2 = Over 180 million | ref2 = <ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210110014011/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/pakistan |url-status = dead |archive-date = 10 January 2021 |title=Pakistan |work=The World Factbook |date=4 February 2022}}</ref> | region3 = Bangladesh | pop3 = Over 170 million | ref3 = <ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bangladesh/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210110162611/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bangladesh |url-status= dead |archive-date= 10 January 2021 |title=Bangladesh |work=The World Factbook |date=4 February 2022}}</ref> | region4 = Nepal | pop4 = Over 26 million | region5 = Sri Lanka | pop5 = Over 14 million | region6 = Afghanistan | pop6 = Over 2 million | region7 = Mauritius | pop7 = Over 725,400 | region8 = Maldives | pop8 = Over 300,000 | region9 = Bhutan | pop9 = Over 240,000 | ref8 = <ref name=UNHCR1>{{cite web |url =http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,MARP,,BTN,,469f386a1e,0.html |title=Population of Lhotshampas in Bhutan |year=2004 |publisher=UNHCR |access-date=23 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121016143502/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country%2C%2CMARP%2C%2CBTN%2C%2C469f386a1e%2C0.html |archive-date=16 October 2012 }}</ref> | langs = Indo-Aryan languages | rels = Predominantly Hindu and Muslim<br/>Large minority : Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, Christian and some non-religious atheist/agnostic | related = Iranian peoples }} {{Indo-European topics}}{{Distinguish|Indian people}} '''Indo-Aryan peoples''' (also known as '''Indic peoples''' in the context of Indo-European studies) are a diverse collection of peoples predominantly found in South Asia, who (traditionally) speak Indo-Aryan languages. Historically, Aryans were the pastoralists who spoke Indo-Iranian languages, migrated from Central Asia into South Asia, and introduced the Proto-Indo-Aryan language.{{sfn|Anthony|2007}}{{sfn|Erdosy|2012}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46616574|title=How ancient DNA may rewrite prehistory in India|publisher=bbc|date=23 December 2018|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/theres-no-confusion-the-new-reports-clearly-confirm-arya-migration-into-india/article61986135.ece|title=New reports clearly confirm 'Arya' migration into India|publisher=thehindu|date=13 September 2019|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/aryans-or-harappans-who-drove-the-creation-of-caste-system-dna-holds-a-clue/686393/|title=Aryans or Harappans—Who drove the creation of caste system? DNA holds a clue|publisher=theprint|date=29 June 2021|access-date=23 November 2022}}</ref> The early Indo-Aryan peoples were known to be closely related to the Iranian group that have resided west of the Indus River on the Iranian Plateau; an evident connection in cultural, linguistic, and historical ties. Today, the majority of Indo-Aryan speakers are found south of Hindu Kush and east of the Indus, across the modern-day regions of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and northern half of India as well as parts of Afghanistan (Kunar).<ref>{{cite book |url= |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |page=2 |year=2007 |author=Danesh Jain, George Cardona|publisher=Routledge}}</ref>

==History== === Proto-Indo-Iranians === {{main|Indo-Iranians|Proto-Indo-Europeans|Aryan|Indo-European migrations|Indo-Aryan migrations}}

{{Further|Genetics and archaeogenetics of South Asia|Peopling of India}}

[[File:Indo-Iranian origins.png|thumb|right|Archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian migrations (after EIEC). The Andronovo, BMAC and Yaz cultures have often been associated with Indo-Iranian migrations. The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard, OCP, and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryan migrations.]]

The introduction of the Indo-Aryan languages in the Indian subcontinent was the outcome of a migration of Indo-Aryan people from Central Asia into the northern Indian subcontinent (modern-day Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka). Another group of Indo-Aryans migrated further westward and founded the Mitanni kingdom in northern Syria{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=454}} (c. 1500–1300 BC); the other group was the Vedic people.{{sfn|Beckwith|2009|p=33 note 20}} According to Christopher I. Beckwith, the Wusun people of Inner Asia in antiquity could have been of Indo-Aryan origin.{{sfn|Beckwith|2009|p=376}}

The Proto-Indo-Iranians, from which the Indo-Aryans developed, are identified with the Sintashta culture (2100–1800 BCE),{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=390 (fig. 15.9), 405–411}}{{sfn|Kuz'mina|2007|p=222}} and the Andronovo culture,<ref name=Smith> {{cite journal |last=Smith |first=Frederick M. |title=The Origin of the Indo-Iranians by Elena E. Kuz'mina |journal=Religious Studies Review |volume=35 |number=1 |date=March 2009 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-0922.2009.01329_5.x |page=72|doi-access=free }} </ref> which flourished ca. 1800–1400 BCE in the steppes around the Aral Sea, present-day Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Proto-Indo-Aryan split off around 1800–1600 BCE from the Iranians,{{sfn|Anthony|2007|p=408}} moved south through the Bactria-Margiana Culture, south of the Andronovo culture, borrowing some of their distinctive religious beliefs and practices from the BMAC, and then migrated further south into the Levant and north-western India.<ref>George Erdosy (1995). "The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia: Language, Material Culture and Ethnicity", p. 279</ref>{{sfn|Anthony|2007}} The migration of the Indo-Aryans was part of the larger diffusion of Indo-European languages from the Proto-Indo-European homeland at the Pontic–Caspian steppe which started in the 4th millennium BCE.{{sfn|Anthony|2007}}<ref>Johannes Krause mit Thomas Trappe: ''Die Reise unserer Gene. Eine Geschichte über uns und unsere Vorfahren.'' Propyläen Verlag, Berlin 2019, p. 148 ff.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/all-indoeuropean-languages-may-have-originated-from-this-one-place/ |title=All Indo-European Languages May Have Originated From This One Place |website=IFLScience |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=26 December 2019}}</ref> The GGC, Cemetery H, Copper Hoard, OCP, and PGW cultures are candidates for cultures associated with Indo-Aryans.

The Indo-Aryans were united by shared cultural norms and language, referred to as ''aryā'' 'noble'. Over the last four millennia, the Indo-Aryan culture has evolved particularly inside India itself, but its origins are in the conflation of values and heritage of the Indo-Aryan and indigenous people groups of India.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Avari |first=Burjor |url= |title=India: The Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-Continent from c. 7000 BC to AD 1200 |date=2007-06-11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-25161-2 |pages=xvii |language=en}}</ref> Diffusion of this culture and language took place by patron-client systems, which allowed for the absorption and acculturation of other groups into this culture, and explains the strong influence on other cultures with which it interacted.

Genetically, most Indo-Aryan-speaking populations are descendants of a mix of Central Asian steppe pastoralists, Iranian hunter-gatherers, and, to a lesser extent, South Asian hunter-gatherers—commonly known as Ancient Ancestral South Indians (AASI). Dravidians are descendants of a mix of South Asian hunter-gatherers and Iranian hunter-gatherers, and to a lesser extent, Central Asian steppe pastoralists. South Indian Tribal Dravidians descend majorly from South Asian hunter-gatherers, and to a lesser extent Iranian hunter-gatherers.{{sfn|Reich et al.|2009}}{{sfn|Narasimhan et al.|2019}}<ref name="Yelmen_2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Yelmen |first1=Burak |last2=Mondal |first2=Mayukh |last3=Marnetto |first3=Davide |last4=Pathak |first4=Ajai K |last5=Montinaro |first5=Francesco |last6=Gallego Romero |first6=Irene |last7=Kivisild |first7=Toomas |last8=Metspalu |first8=Mait |last9=Pagani |first9=Luca |date=5 April 2019 |title=Ancestry-Specific Analyses Reveal Differential Demographic Histories and Opposite Selective Pressures in Modern South Asian Populations |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msz037 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1628–1642 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msz037 |issn=0737-4038 |pmc=6657728 |pmid=30952160}}</ref> Additionally, Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burmese speaking people contributed to the genetic make-up of South Asia.{{sfn|Basu et al.|2016}}

Indigenous Aryanism propagates the idea that the Indo-Aryans were indigenous to the Indian subcontinent, and that the Indo-European languages spread from there to central Asia and Europe. Contemporary support for this idea is ideologically driven, and has no basis in objective data and mainstream scholarship.{{sfn|Witzel|2001|p=95}}{{sfn|Jamison|2006}}{{sfn|Guha|2007|p=341}}{{sfn|Fosse|2005|p=438}}{{snf|Olson|2016|p=136}}

== List of historical Indo-Aryan peoples == {{See also|List of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes}} {{div col|colwidth=18em}} ===A=== * Anga ===B=== * Bahlika * Bharata * Buli ===C=== * Caidya ===D=== * Dewa ===G=== * Gāndhārī * Gangaridai * Gupta ===K=== * Kamboja * Kalinga * Kasmira * Kekaya * Khasa * Kikata * Koliya * Kosala * Kuru ===L=== * Licchavi ===M=== * Madra * Magadhi * Malava * Mallaka * Mātsyeya * Mitanni * Moriya ===N=== * Nāya * Nishadha ===O=== * Odra ===P=== * Paktha * Pala * Panchala * Paundra * Puru ===S=== * Salva * Salwa * Saraswata * Sauvira * Shakya * Shunga * Sindhu * Sudra * Surasena ===T=== * Trigarta ===U=== * Utkala ===V=== * Vanga * Vatsa * Vidarbha * Videha * Vrishni ===Y=== * Yadavas * Yadu * Yaudheya {{div col end}}

== Contemporary Indo-Aryan people == {{div col|colwidth=18em}} ===A=== * Agariya people * Andh people * Angika people * Assamese people * Awadhi people ===B=== * Baiga people * Bakarwal people * Banjara people * Barda people * Barua people * Bathudi people * Bazigar people * Been people * Bede people * Bengali people * Bharia people * Bhil people * Bhojpuri people * Bhottada people * Bhoksa people * Bhuiya people * Bhunjia people * Binjhia people * Bishnupriya Manipuri people * Bote people * Bonaz people * Brokpa people * Bundeli people ===C=== * Chakma people * Chickwa people

===D=== * Daingnet people * Damoria people * Danuwar people * Darai people * Deccani people * Deshi people * Dhakaiya people * Dhivehi people * Dhodia people * Dogra people * Dom people ===G=== * Gaddi people * Gamit people * Garhwali people * Gawri people * Goalpariya people * Gujarati people * Gurjar people

===H=== * Hajong people * Halba people * Halpati people * Haranashikari people * Haryanvi people * Hill Kharia people * Hindki people

===J=== * Jadgal people * Jatapu people * Jaunsari people ===K=== * Kalash people * Kamrupi people * Kashmiri people * Katkari people * Kewat people * Kharwaria people * Khas people * Kishtwari people * Kho people * Khotta people * Kohistani people * Konkani people * Kumal people * Kumauni people * Kutchi people * Koch Rajbongshi people * Kokna people * Koli people * Kotia people * Kauravi people

===L=== * Lampucchwa Tharu people * Lasi people * Lawati people * Lodha people * Lom people

===M=== * Magahi people * Maithil people * Majhi people * Majhwaria people * Mal Paharia people * Marathi people * Marwari people * Meena people * Meghwal people * Memon people * Mewati people * Miya people * Moria people * Muhajir people ===N=== * Nagpuria people * Nashya Shaikh people ===O=== * Odia people ===P=== * Pahari people * Palula people * Pangwala people * Panika people * Parya people * Pardhi people * Pashayi people * Pawra people * Punjabi people ===Q=== * Qhandeshi people ===R=== * Rajasthani people * Rajuar people * Rana Tharu people * Rathwa people * Relli people * Rohingya people * Romani people

===S=== * Sadan people * Saharia people * Sansi people * Saraiki people * Sarak people * Sarazi people * Saurashtra people * Shina people * Sindhi people * Sinhalese people * Sounti people * Surjapuri people * Sylheti people

===T=== * Tadvi Bhil people * Tanchangya people * Thari people * Tharu people * Tirahi people * Torwali people ===V=== * Vaghri people * Valmiki people * Van Gujjar people * Vedda people (Debated)<ref>{{cite web |title=Veddah Language (Ved) |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ved/ |website=Ethnologue |publisher=SIL International |access-date=15 February 2026}}</ref>

===W=== * Warli people * Watal people {{div col end}}

== See also == {{div col|colwidth=30em}} *Proto-Indo-Europeans *Indo-Iranians *Dardic peoples *Aryan *Indo-Aryan languages *Indo-Aryan migrations *Indigenous Aryanism *Aryan race *Aryavarta *Dasa *Dravidian peoples *''Early Indians'' *South Asian diaspora *Northern South Asia {{div col end}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

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== External links == *[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/RAJARAM/Har1.pdf Horseplay at Harappa – People Fas Harvard – Harvard University] (PDF) *[http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl1723/17231220.htm A tale of two horses] – ''Frontline'' {{India topics}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indo-Aryan Peoples}} Category:Indo-Aryan peoples Category:Indo-Iranian peoples Category:Ancient peoples of India Category:Ancient peoples of Pakistan Category:Ancient peoples of Nepal