Exploring cultural diversity of the people of India

Abstract

The People of India project of the Anthropological Survey of India has assigned the entire Indian population to 2753 communities distributed over 32 states/union territories. This article explores: (a) number of communities in relation to population size, (b) number of and similarity in the traits exhibited by different sets of communities, (c) clustering of the traits in relation to geography, food habits, subsistence strategy and (d) impact of modernization on the division of labour within the Indian society.