About 4,500 years ago, India’s people civilization began, over the centuries; this civilization has grown and developed to incorporate many different cultures and customs, and forging itself into one diverse and unique society. India is a country sustains a large population of great diversity. In India you will find people speaking thousand of languages, intricate networks of communities, practice of all of the world's great religions, and take part in a multifarious social structure that integrates the caste system, a stiff system of social hierarchy.

India is considered as the world’s most heavily populated country, with a population of 1.1 billion people, and an average population density of 311 persons per sq km (805 per sq mi). An estimated 73 percent of India's inhabitants live in rural areas.  Between 1981 and 1991, the population raised by nearly 24 percent and down slightly from 25 percent growth between 1971 and 1981. It is expected that the rate of growth will slow even further in the coming decades, but India’s population nevertheless is predicted to continue to increase. In 1997 the annual growth rate was 1.6 percent.

The origin of Indian people can not be found easily. Over the years India has be inhabited and invaded by many different races of people. In the Siwalik foothills of the north western Himalayas the race known as Ramapithecus was found which is consider as the first in the line of human civilization in India, living 14 million years ago. Another race of early human, the Austrapithecus lived in India some 2 million years ago has been found by the researchers.

In India there are many ethnic groups the main of which are:
1. Negrito
2. Proto - Australoids or Austrics
3. Mongoloids
4. Mediterranean or Dravidian
5. Western Brachycephals
6. Nordic Aryans

Negroids
The people coming to India from Africa are  Negroids or the Brachycephalic. They have survived their original habitat in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Some of the examples are Onges, Jarawas Sentinelese and the Great Andamanese. In the southern part of Mainland India some hill tribes are found are the Kodars, Paniyans, Irulas and Kurumbas.

Pro- Australoids or Austrics
In India after Negroids, the Austrics came. The physical structures of these people is different. They have wavy hair, elongated heads with low foreheads, nose with low and broad roots, thick jaw , medium height and dark completion they started the agricultural system in India and cultivated rice, vegetables and made sugar from sugarcane.  These people came to India form Myanmar and the islands of south East Asia.

Mongoloids
In the Northern part of India, in the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura the people of Mongoloid back ground are found. In the northern part of West Bengal, Sikkim and Ladakh these people are also found. These people have a yellowish completion, high cheekbones, sparse body hair, and oblique eyes and have medium height. Their origin is from china, Tibet and Mongolia.

Dravidians
In India these people are consider to have come before the Aryans from South India. Paleo-Mediterranean, the true Mediterranean, and the Oriental Mediterranean are the sub-groups of this group. They are supposed to have built up the city civilization of the Indus Valley and consider to be the people of the same stock as the people of Asia Minor and Crete and Pre-Hellenic Aegean’s of Greece.

Western Bracycephals
These are the people with broad heads living mainly in the western side of the country, their groups include the Alpinoids, Dinarics and Armenoids. They are found in the Ganga Valley and the delta, parts of Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Nordics or the Indo-Aryans
Nordics or the Indo- Aryans are considering as the group who were the last ones to immigrate to India. Between 2000 and 1500 B.C they came to India to settle. Now mainly these groups are found in the northern and central part of India. 

Today the people living in India are considered as Indians which does not refer to American Indians, but to people belonging to India. They are chiefly Hindu People who follow a set pattern of daily life as according to their religion. Also in India, society is governed by a strict caste systems which determines the level in which one can live and work at. Recently the caste system has come under political and public scrutiny due to its unfairness in concern to human rights issues. There are four main castes in India, from the outside it’s difficult to pick persons caste but after some time you may come to recognize this by a person’s family name. The castes are-

Brahmin- Tthis is a priestly and scholarly caste. Brahmins hold a high place in society. They consider themselves as pure people who rarely mix with other castes in society, they are often priests and perform many religious ceremonies.

Kshatriya- the warrior caste, these are fighting people mainly from tribes or small ethnic groups
Vaishya- the merchant caste. This people are traders and farmers forming the bulk of society. They are considered as middle class people

Shudra- the laborers or commonly known as the untouchables. These people hold the lowest place in society and are normally toilet cleaners, street sweepers etc. they are the poorest people in India.

A person’s station in life is ordained by Karma and what they achieved in previous lives. Normally people do not inter marry into another caste, though nowadays India is modernizing with the times and things are slowly changing.

As a whole, the people of India are friendly and curious when it comes to foreigners. They have an immense love of cricket and will play and talk about it at any time. Also Indians are very social people, they socialize and travel in groups. They have a good sense of humor and often extend their hospitality to outsiders.

Do not be surprised to find yourself on a train or bus with many new friends who will talk to you and feed you and invite you to their houses.