The ethno-linguistic composition of the population of South
Asia, that is the nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal,
Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka is highly diverse. The majority
of the population fall within two large Linguistic groups, Indo-
Aryan and Dravidian. Indian society is traditionally divided
into castes or clans, not ethnicities, and these categories have
had no official status since Independence in 1947, except for
the scheduled castes and tribes which remain registered for the
purpose of Affirmative Action. In today's India, the population
is categorized in terms of the 1,652 mother tongues spoken.
These groups are further subdivided into numerous sub-groups,
castes and tribes. Indo-Aryans form the predominant ethno-
linguistic group in Northern India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal,
Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Dravidians form the predominant
ethno-linguistic group in southern India and the northern and
eastern regions of Sri Lanka, and a small pocket in Pakistan.
Iranian peoples, grouped wi