People

The population of North-East India is formed of several racial stocks, principally, the Mongoloids, Indo-Aryans, the Australoids or Austric and the Dravidians, the last being a very minor group represented by some immigrant population. While the original settlers were the Mongoloids, the other groups arrived later. Besides the dominance of mongoloid features, there is also a tribal-non tribal duality which is recognized and taken to cognizance which benefits certain communities. Most of the tribal communities fall in the hilly areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and some parts of Assam. While the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh migrated much earlier than the rest, the arrival of the Kuki’s, Nagas and Mizos in their present settlements is recent. Since every community had their own practices, they embraced Christianity, transforming social ethos and cultural practices of the Nagas, the Mizo’s and the Khasi- Garo from the hills of the same name.

One of the dominant groups in North Eastern, is the Bodo tribe which is largely confined to Assam, and have adopted Hinduism. In the region they are known with different names like: Bodos, Kacharis and Mechs. As the history of the place suggests of the royal family of Koch dynasty, some people who came under the influence of royalty called themselves Rajbanshi which literally means people who have a royal lineage. The Kuki’s of Manipur and Tripura are other important tribal groups.

The whole population of North eastern region can be divided into tribal and non-tribal component. The non-tribal component consists of at least 70 percent of the population of the region which majorly is in Assam, Manipur and Tripura. The languages spoken in this particular region is more than 200, with each place and tribe having their own language in place. Assamese society is one of the predominant societies of North East, which has its own culture, language, script and rich literature. One of the syncretized culture which has derived from many pre-existing cultures and neighbouring societies, it is a treat to experience the region in its bloom.