Write a short note on Risley’s classification of race.

Herbert Hope Risley, a British ethnographer and colonial administrator, proposed a classification of races in India based on physical anthropological features. His classification, known as the Risley's racial classification, was introduced in the early 20th century during British colonial rule in India. Risley's classification was highly controversial and has been widely criticized for its racial essentialism and its role in perpetuating colonial ideologies of racial hierarchy and superiority.

Risley's classification categorized the population of India into six main racial types based on physical characteristics such as skin color, facial features, and cranial measurements. These racial types were:

1. Indo-Aryan: Characterized by fair to wheatish skin, prominent noses, and dolichocephalic (long-headed) skulls. The Indo-Aryan race was associated with the upper castes of Hindu society and considered superior by colonial authorities.

2. Dravidian: Identified by dark skin, broad noses, and brachycephalic (short-headed) skulls. The Dravidian race was associated with the lower castes and tribal communities of South India.

3. Mongoloid: Recognized by yellowish skin, epicanthic folds, and mesocephalic (medium-headed) skulls. The Mongoloid race was associated with indigenous tribal populations of Northeast India and parts of East India.

4. Scytho-Dravidian: Considered a hybrid race resulting from the intermixture of Indo-Aryan and Dravidian elements. This racial type was associated with intermediate physical features and was believed to represent transitional populations between the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian races.

5. Aryo-Dravidian: Similar to the Scytho-Dravidian, the Aryo-Dravidian race was considered a blend of Indo-Aryan and Dravidian elements, reflecting varying degrees of racial admixture between the two groups.

6. Arya-Mongoloid: Another hybrid category resulting from the intermixture of Indo-Aryan and Mongoloid elements. This racial type was associated with populations in regions where Indo-Aryan and Mongoloid influences converged.

Risley's racial classification system was criticized for its oversimplification of India's complex ethnic and cultural diversity, its reinforcement of colonial hierarchies, and its role in justifying discriminatory policies and practices based on racialized notions of superiority and inferiority. Modern anthropological scholarship rejects racial classifications based on physical traits as outdated and scientifically unfounded, emphasizing the social, cultural, and historical factors that shape human diversity.