TROPICAL TRIBES AND RACES 193 



of self-reliance which so largely constitutes the martial instinct. 

 The Rajputs of Oudh are being gradually dropped as a race for 

 the supply of recruits, while the Rajputs of Behar have long since 

 been rejected as unsuitable. 



Physical Development. Generally speaking, the physique of 

 the Rajput is good. The Western Rajput is tall, well-made, with 

 a good development of muscle, but somewhat light in bone. He 

 delights in deeds displaying strength and courage, and is the most 

 manly of all Hindu races. The following are the averages supplied 

 by regimental medical officers for the physical development : 



Height . . . . . . . . .. 67 to 68 inches. 



Chest girth 34 to 37'5 inches. 



Weight 147 to 154 Ibs. 



The Eastern Rajput is not nearly so well developed ; the 

 average height is less, and the body weight rarely exceeds an 

 average of 120 to 125 pounds. 



Dogras. 



The Dogras are a Rajput race of Highlanders, preponderatingly 

 Hindu by religion. Their country is most fertile, yielding large 

 quantities of the various cereals and fruits. The hills abound in 

 cattle of good breed, and agriculture is carried on with intelligence 

 and care, producing large crops. 



The following information is derived almost entirely from 

 official handbooks on the Dogras, published for the guidance of 

 recruiting officers in the selection of good fighting material. 

 Written from an entirely different standpoint to that of this 

 volume, it is of great interest to examine the views expressed 

 by the authors* on the effects of diet : 



The dawn of Indian history discloses two races struggling for 

 the soil. One was a fair-complexioned Sanskrit-speaking people 

 of Aryan lineage ; the other a dark-skinned race of lower type, 

 the original inhabitants of the land. The earliest records of the 

 Aryans are contained in the Vedas, a series of hymns composed 

 in the Sanskrit language from the tenth to fifth century B.C. 



As the Aryan colonist spread, subduing the aboriginal tribes, 

 there gradually arose four classes : 



1. A class of priests Brahmins who looked after religious 

 teaching and duties connected therewith. 



* Colonel Bingley, Major Longden, Bonarjee. 



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