User:Yusufbade/ArticleEdit 1

Races of modern India
According to a 2009 study published by David Reich et al., the modern Indian population is composed of two genetically divergent and heterogeneous populations which mixed in ancient times (about 1,200–3,500 BC), known as Ancestral North Indians (ANI) and Ancestral South Indians (ASI). Specifically, as of the year 2000, the Indian racial demographic was comprised of approximately 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, and 3% Mongoloid or other. As the subcontinent's population continues to increase dramatically, projected to surpass China in that category by as early as 2021, these racial classifications are to become less polarized.

In modern day India, races have had little documented effect on social prosperity and individual advancement. Instead, the caste system, with its roots from over 3,000 years ago and bolstered by the British Raj, continues to influence society, dictating a person's economic success and political engagement. Although attempts have been made following Indian independence in 1947 to mitigate pervasive discrimination between upper and lower classes, the system remains racially omnipresent. While these subdivisions are primarily determined at birth based on ethnicity and socioeconomic status, they certainly reify racial groupings. In fact, the word Caste stems from the Spanish/Portuguese word "casta," meaning "race." In modern India, quotas that were imposed several years ago remain in effect, restricting lower class mobility in running for political office, attending prestigious universities, and being afforded job opportunities.

This societally ubiquitous system is fundementally based on racism, although democratic politicians would argue otherwise. According to research conducted by the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), an analysis of DNA samples from over 20 different Indian population tribes and castes reveal that the caste system divides those of North Indian, South Indian, Austro-Asian and Tibeto-Burman genetic origin. Given this, any amount of social engineering has been rendered more of less ineffective, as it is unable to circumvent the embedded racial divisions.

Beyond the caste system, India has a systemic racist attitude toward Africans, and more largely this with darker skin. Africans are commonly thrown racial slurs, such as "monkey" or "cannibals," women are thought to be prostitutes, and men are often see as drug dealers. Similarly, African students find it increasingly difficult to find housing near universities and are disproportionally considered in admissions processes. Despite these real racist underpinnings in Indian society, officials disavow any racism against Africans. In response, Indian political sociologist, Ashis Nandy states, “Once you get into the game of disliking communities, cultures and civilizations, once you start thinking of yourself as a besieged majority, a majority acting like a cornered minority, you have laid the basis of a racist society."

Therefore, definitionally, races in India have been predominantly comprised of the Indo-Aryans, Dravidians, and Mongoloids. Looking further, over 70 racial subgroups exist, making any version of a socially categorizing system inherently rooted in racial differences. Moreover, African discrimination has always been pervasive in Indian society and continues to be the case. In fact, even skin-whitening products, often called "fairness paste," have skyrockets in sales.