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32 The weightiest of all objections to Mr. Kanakasabhai‘s theory seems to come from the pen of Sir H. Risley. He says 'It is extremely improbable that a large body of a very black and conspicuously longheaded type should have come from the one region of the earth which is peopled exclusively by races with broad heads and yellow complexion. With this we may dismiss the theory which assigns a trans-Himalayan origin to the Dravidians.' This objection seems sound, although it is too much to admit that all the inhabitants of Southern India belonged to a 'very black and conspicuously long headed-type' of the human species.

Of the several theories set forth above, those of the Early-Aryan and Mongolian origins may be dismissed as altogether untenable, as they are supported neither by tradition nor by science. The feeble support which Sir William Hunter‘s theory has received at the hands of scholars in spite of his magic name shows what little substratum of probability there is under it. The Lemurian theory can cover, if at all, only a very small part of the problem and apply only to the primitive aboriginal sections of the people. The bold conclusions of Mr. Kanakasabhai seem to be based on fanciful philological musings and a feverish desire to show originality. In the following chapter an attempt will be made to collect together a few facts and ideas that may constitute what appears to be a more probable solution of this interesting question.