4. The Mediterraneans

They came to India in successive waves from the Mediterranean region. Dr. Guha has identified three sub-groups of the Mediterraneans, namely, (i) Palaeo- Mediterranean, (ii) Mediterranean, and (iii) Oriental Type.

(i) Rdaeo-Mediterraneans The oldest group is the Palaeo-Mediterranean. They are characterized by medium stature, long and narrow head, long face, short and medium nose, and brown complexion. Perhaps they entered the subcontinent during the Neolithic Period and were pushed into the area south of the Vindhyan Mountains in areas of isolation and relative isolation.

(ii) The Mediterraneans The Mediterraneans have medium stature, olive brown complexion, long hear! and long-broad open eyes. They are found in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Kerala.

The distribution of each of the minorities in the country is highly unequal. For example, the Muslims constitute 5 to 25% of the population in most of the states except Arunachal Pradesh (1.9%), Chhattisgarh (2.0%), Himachal Pradesh (2.0%), Mizoram (1.1%) and Nagaland (1.8%). The overall percentage of population of Muslims is 13.4 per cent (2001). The literacy level and per capita income of the Muslims is much below the national average. Most of them are below the poverty line.

Christians constitute about 2.3 per cent of the total population of the country. Their percentage, however, is significantly high in Nagaland (90%), Mizoram (87%), Meghalaya (70%) and Goa (27%). Their density, however, is insignificant in the states of north and west India.

Sikh minority is largely confined to Punjab (60%), Haryana (5.5%), and Uttarakhand (2.5%). Their presence is small in the greater parts of the country. The

Sikhs are progressive, hardworking and forward-looking people, who perform superbly in all spheres of life. The proportion of Budhists in the total population of the country is only 0.8 per cent—Sikkim (28%) and Arunachal Pradesh with a density of 13 per cent have the largest concentration followed by Mizoram (8%) and Maharashtra (6%). The Parsis are confined to the cities of Mumbai, Navsari, Udvada, Surat and Ahmedabad. Essentially Parsis are industrialists and businessmen.

For the development of minorities, Rs. 1000 crore have been earmarked. For the development of education of minorities, three scholarships have been launched, with a total provision of Rs. 305 crore in 2008-09. The issues of education, skill development, employment, sanitation, housing, drinking waters, etc., in the minority concentration districts have been addressed. The corpus of Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) has been enhanced significantly. Several selfemployment schemes have been financed. Numerous other economic ventures among backward sections of the minority community have been designed and implemented.