In the Kohistani region of Pakistan, there live several tribes who take great pride in being related to the original Aryans of yore. In the picture below I will show you three young men who belong to this ethnic group. None of them would look out of place in Europe.
This particular photograph was taken in the Upper Swat Valley by the French photographer François C. Villaret. Now of course, the question referred to India specifically. Still, Pakistan used to be just another part of India until the partition, and India has its fair share of remarkably pale and light-skinned individuals. The majority of people on the Indian subcontinent is fairly dark, but certainly not all of them. A good friend of mine, right here on Quora, has a younger brother whose hair used to be almost blonde as a child.
There are very pale, caucasian-looking people with light hair in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and in particular in Iran, the original “birthplace of the Aryans”. The photograph above shows a selection of some very beautiful young Iranian women. Quite a few of them have naturally light hair, some blonde, others light brown. Quite a few of them have light-colored eyes, some startlingly green, almost feline in shape and color.
It is a fallacy that Europe is where all the light-haired and light-eyed folks live, and that the Middle East and Asia is full of dark people. Because you can encounter men and women there pale and light enough to pass for Europeans. To the point where it is hard not to see a genetic link between Europe and the Far East.
Malana : Well, inhabitants of Malana , a village in Himachal Pradesh treats themselves as pure Aryans.
Pure : As a rule; they do not touch outsiders or allow them to enter their shrine and households.
Superiority : They claim themselves to be superior than any other race.
Deity : All conflicts or major issues are adjudicated by Jamlu Devta , local deity.
Democracy : They claim themselves to be the inhabitants of the oldest democracy.
Strict : They stick to their own social customs and penalize errant outsiders with heavy fines.
Facts : Malana is also notorious for Malana Cream - an infamous drug.
It is among the most inaccessible places across India.
Pic Credits : Google Images / Web
The term "Aryans" in the context of India refers to a group of ancient peoples who are believed to have migrated into the Indian subcontinent around 1500 BCE. This migration is associated with the Indo-Aryan branch of the larger Indo-European family. Here are some key points about the Aryans in India:
- Linguistic and Cultural Influence: The Aryans are credited with the development of the Sanskrit language and the composition of the Vedas, which are the oldest sacred texts of Hinduism. Their arrival marked a significant cultural shift in the region.
- Social Structure: The Aryans are often associated with the establishment of a social hierarchy that later evolved into the caste system. The Vedic society was organized into four main varnas (social classes): Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (merchants), and Shudras (laborers).
- Religious Practices: The Aryans practiced a form of religion centered around rituals and sacrifices dedicated to various deities. The Vedic texts contain hymns and rituals that reflect their spiritual beliefs and practices.
- Historical Debate: The concept of Aryans has been the subject of much debate among historians and archaeologists. The "Aryan Invasion Theory," which suggested that Aryans invaded and conquered the indigenous populations, has been largely revised. Many scholars now view the migration as a more complex process of cultural exchange rather than a violent invasion.
- Impact on Indian Civilization: The arrival of the Aryans laid the groundwork for the development of Hinduism and significantly influenced Indian culture, language, and social structures that have persisted through the centuries.
Understanding the Aryans is crucial for studying the early history of India and the evolution of its diverse cultures and religions.
The Aryans (old Indo-Iranians) were a middle Bronze Age people who are associated with the early influx of migrants from the Sintashta-Andronovo region to the areas where the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex and are associated with the Cemetery H, Swat V, Gandhara Grave, Copper Hoard, Mitanni and the Painted Greyware cultures. These sites are located in three main regions: Northwestern India, Northern Iran and present-day Syria.
The Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex was a result of early Indo-Iranian migration from the Sintashta-Andronovo region and later migration from the Tazabagyab region. These people were horse-chariotsmen which gave them greater mobility to migrate. The people of the Tazabagyab-Bactriana Margiana Complex identified themselves as the Aryans; the inscriptions of the Mitanni, the sūktas of the Rigveda and gathas of the Zend-Avesta are proof of this.
The people of the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex inhabited Northern Iran, those who remained in the region were speakers of Old Avestan and proliferated both pre-Zoroastrian Indo-Iranian culture and Zoroastrian culture.
However there were two major migrations from this region. One group migrated into Northwestern India and have been identified as the people of the Cemetery H, Swat V, Gandhara Grave, Copper Hoard and Painted Greyware cultures. These were the Aryan Rigvedic people.
At the same time the Rigveda was being composed in Northwestern India, Aryan chariotsmen migrated from the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex and invaded the Hurrian-speaking city of Mitanni now situated in present-day Syria.
The initial migration into the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex and the later migrations into Northwestern India and present-day Syria correspond with the expansion of the Aryan people. Therefore it is only populations with ancestry from the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex who are descended from the Aryan people.
The largest population of the Aryan people are in India. The descendants of the Aryan people in India are identified as those of Rigvedic lineage from Northwestern India such as Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and other high-caste Hindu populations. The Parsis and Zoroastrians of Persia are a vestige of the Aryan people. A considerable percentage of the Persian population are also descendants of the Aryan people. In Syria traces of Aryan Mitanni descent remain albeit at a low percentage.
The Aryans were the descendants of Indo-European horse-chariotsmen who revered the horse. They worshipped fire and this seems to be a common practise between the Aryans of the Zend-Avesta and Aryans of the Rigveda. They practised elaborate horse sacrifices and other animal sacrifices dedicated to their gods, rituals they perpetuated from their Indo-European forefathers of the Central Asian steppes. The ritual plant Soma/Haoma played an important function in the religion of the Aryans as it is mentioned in the Zend-Avesta and Rigveda. They spoke an Indo-Iranian proto-language which evolved into Avestan in Iran and Vedic Sanskrit in India. The religion of the Aryans was polytheistic however for the Aryans of Iran this was to end as Zarathustra introduced monotheism to his people. The ancient Aryan religion has also since faded in India being replaced with the Vedanta philosophies which oppose the strict Aryan polytheism of the early Vedas.
The gods of the Aryan people are those mentioned by the Avestan Aryans, Rigvedic Aryans and the Mitanni Aryans. This is because the religion of the Aryans in each region evolved over time, the gods they shared in common are the gods the Aryans living in the Tazabagyab-Bactriana-Margiana Archaeological Complex and attest to the original Aryan polytheistic religion.
- Mitra- god of light
In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, Mitra is one of the gods invoked.
Mitra is one of the principle gods of the Rigvedas, mentioned 28 times individually.
Mithra is a god of the old Avestan people, later became a yazata of the Zoroastrian religion.
Therefore Mitra is one of the original Aryan gods.
- Varuna: god of divine law
In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, Varuna is one of the gods invoked
Varuna is one of principle gods of the Rigvedas, mentioned 46 times individually.
Varuna is known as Apam Napat in the Avesta the same term is also found in the Rigvedas. Varuna identifies with Ahura Vouruna.
Therefore Varuna is one of the original Aryan gods.
- Indra: god of the storms
In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni, Indra is one of the gods invoked.
Indra is one of the principle gods of the Rigvedas, mentioned 286 times individually.
Indra is a daeva of the Avestan Aryans.
Therefore Indra is one of the original Aryan gods
- Nasatya: the divine horsemen
In a treaty between the Hittites and the Mitanni the Nasatya are invoked.
The Nasatya are one of the principle gods of the Rigvedas, mentioned 56 times individually.
Reference to the below DNA distribution, almost everyone in India is to a greater or lesser degree “Aryan” (Blue and Red).
Everyone in the land is also “Dravidian” to a greater or lesser extent (orange).
Further east is progressively more East Asian, and the west (Pakistan) is more Middle Eastern.
So in summary we can say almost everyone in India is both “Aryan” and “Dravidian”, except tribal populations of the north east and inland Odisha.
It would be interesting to know the DNA makeup of the North Sentinelese, but it appears nobody wants to go to collect a sample. It would be an interesting discovery with profound implications should they be found to be pure “Aryan”
Proto Aryans were Sintashta people. Sintashta Culture was an Indo-Iranian culture. They had %60 Yamnaya(PIE) genetic admixture and also they had non IE, EEF and SHG genetic from native Europeans. They were mixed population. The Sintashta people were lighter than Proto Indo-Europeans. Proto-Indo-Europeans had mostly brown eyes and brown hairs, also they had middle white skin. But Proto Indo-Iranians had %25 light hair and eyes. Also they had fair and olive skin. because they mixed with native Europeans.
A skull reconstruction from Sintashta Culture
(Yamnaya + Native non-IE Europeans)
Two skull reconstruction from the Yamnaya culture
(Caucasian Hunter-gatherers + Eastern Hunter-Gatherers)
A skull reconstruction from Globular Amphora Culture, Poland ( non Indo-European culture in Europe before Yamnaya invasion/migration)
A skull reconstruction from Funnel Beaker culture, Denmark ( non Indo-European culture in Europe before Yamnaya invasion/migration)
We know that Proto Indo-Iranians brought Indo-Iranian languages but are Sintashta people Aryan or is Aryan culture formed later BMAC/Andronovo synthesis? We don't know.
There are two possibility
I. Aryans were directly Sintashta(Proto Indo Iranians) people
II. Aryans were synthesis between BMAC/Oxus people and Indo-Iranians.
I think the second option seems more likely. Because we know that many things about the Aryan high culture emerged after the mixing of the Indo-Iranians with the BMAC people.
BMAC/Oxus people looked like this
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