page_title: Ethnic groups in Kerala
section_title: Religion and Community
hierarchical_section_title: Ethnic groups in Kerala / Religion and Community
caption_attribution_description: English: Malik Bin Dinar mosque, Juma Masjid, Thazhathepadi, Kazarkode, Kerala.
context_page_description: 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 Keralans 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, 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 and Ancestral South Indians.
  Negrito element: the earliest racial strain in the population of Kerala as of South India in general. These people still live in forests of Kerala state. Most of these tribes' have curly hair, black skin, round head and broad nose.
context_section_description: According to the 2001 census the breakdown of ethnic groups by religion is:
caption: Malik Dinar Mosque, Thazhathangadi, Kasargode, Kerala.
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