Why are the Gypsies regarded as of Indian origin?
- 1. They follow Indian religious practices.
- 2. Their language, called Romani, is an Indo-Aryan language.
- 3. They believe that they came from India.
- 4. Epigraphic evidence locates their original home in Uttar Pradesh.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[amp_mcq option1=”1 and 4 only” option2=”2 only” option3=”1, 2 and 4″ option4=”2 and 3″ correct=”option2″]
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-2 – 2016
The primary and most conclusive evidence for the Indian origin of the Gypsies (Roma people) is linguistic. Their language, Romani, is demonstrably an Indo-Aryan language closely related to languages spoken in North India.
Statement 2 is true. Linguistic analysis shows that Romani shares a common ancestor with languages like Hindi, Punjabi, etc., and contains vocabulary and grammatical structures indicating its origin from North India. Statement 1 is generally false; Roma people have adopted the religions of their host countries and do not typically follow traditional Indian religious practices in their diaspora. Statement 3 is partially true for some communities but not a universal belief and is not the primary scholarly evidence. Statement 4 is false; there is no known significant epigraphic evidence locating their origin in Uttar Pradesh; the evidence is primarily linguistic and genetic.