Ethnic groups in Kerala

The population of Kerala, India is a heterogenous group that comprises many ethnic groups that originated in other parts of India as well as the world, with distinctive cultural and religious traditions. While the majority of Keralites speak the Malayalam language, various ethnic groups may speak other languages as well.

The racial and ethnic history of Kerala is highly controversial and disputed among the cultural anthropologists, historians and other scholars. The people of Kerala, known as Malayali (people speaking Malayalam language), are polygenetic and belong to different ethnic groups and religions. The Census of India does not recognise racial or ethnic groups within India. According to a 2009 study published by David Reich et al., the modern Indian population is composed of two genetically divergent and heterogeneous populations which mixed in ancient times, known as Ancestral North Indians (ANI, Indo-Aryan-speaking population) and Ancestral South Indians (ASI, Dravidian-speaking population).

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