Dravidian

Dravidian, name applied to a linguistically related group of people in India composed mainly of the traditionally lower caste members of Indian society such as the Tamil and more isolated highland tribes such as the Ghats and the Todas. The Dravidian language has remained relatively intact despite a considerable amount of contact and intermarriage with other peoples of the Indian subcontinent. Because of this contact, contemporary Dravidian culture is very diverse, with some groups maintaining more traditional customs (such as totemism and tracing kinship through the female line) while others have adopted the lifestyles of a modern technological society. Since India's independence in 1947, Dravidian groups have actively protested attempts to make Hindi, an Indo-European language, the only official language of India. Today, with more than 170 million speakers, the Dravidians make up the fourth largest linguistic group in the world.