Why are Tamil Brahmins fair skinned compared to other Tamilians?

NEGI RK Sunday, June 19, 2022

June 18/06/2022 23:45 PM IST

I think by the word fair, you are referring to light brown skin tone. Actually, the word / term fair or fair skin is used to refer to the skin complexion of some of the European communities. As far as South Asian ethnic groups or communities are concerned, they are mostly brown skinned. South Asian people’s skin tone or complexion can range from very dark brown to light brown or tan.

Even though there are many people in South Asia with light brown skin or tanned skin, people with pale and fair skin tones are very rare in South Asia. However, Kalash people are usually an exception to this rule as most of them are either pale or rosy fair skinned.

This is how fair skinned people usually look like.

Kalash people

As far as Tamil Brahmins are concerned, they are believed to be relatively recent migrants to Tamil Nadu from North India. According to genetic studies, Tamil Brahmins usually have higher Steppe or in other words Aryan ancestry compared to other Tamil castes. That’s why they are usually slightly lighter / fairer than other Tamilians. However, despite their supposed North Indian origins, their features can range from very Caucasoid features to very Australoid / Veddoid features.

This is Tamil actor Kamal Haasan who is a Tamil Brahmin – Iyengar by birth. He is basically Gracile Indid, particularly Keralid. And he is obviously Light Brown skinned.

Comparison of Kamal Haasan with Keralid phenotype

This is Jayalalitha Jayaram (RIP), former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She was also a Tamil Brahmin. I think she is basically Indo Brachid. She used to be very Light Brown skinned.

This is Tamil film director Mani Rathnam who is also a Tamil Brahmin just like Kamal Haasan and Jayalalitha. Anyway, he is Dark Brown skinned. I think he is Indo Melanid.

Comparison of Mani Rathnam and Indo Melanid phenotype

This is the most dominant phenotype among Tamil people according to anthropologists.

Indo Melanid – Karnatid

This is probably the most common phenotype among Upper caste Tamils.

Indo Brachid

As far as non Brahmin Tamils are concerned, there are many people among non Brahmin Tamils who are also light brown skinned. (I thought to use images of actors because they are better known than ordinary people)

This is Tamil actor Saravanan Sivakumar also known as Soorya who is a Non Brahmin Tamil. He is obviously Light Brown skinned with Indo Brachid features. He is from Gounder community.

This is Tamil actor Prabhu Ganesan. He is also very Light Brown skinned with typical Indo Brachid features. He is from Kallar community / caste.

Comparison of Prabhu Ganesan and Indo Brachid phenotype

This is Tamil actor Ranganathan Madhavan. He looks like a mix between Indo Melanid (Malabarese) and Indo Brachid with Medium Brown or Dark Brown skin tone. By the way, he is a Tamil Brahmin – Iyengar.

This is Tamil actor Vivek (RIP). He is very Light Brown skinned with Indo Brachid features. He is from Thevar community.

This is Tamil actor Santhanam. He is also Light Brown skinned with typical Gracile Indid features. He is from Vanniyar community.

Comparison of Santhanam and Gracile Indid phenotype

This is Tharshan Thiyagarajah, a Sri Lankan Tamil. He is very Light Brown skinned with Gracile Indid or Indo Brachid features. He is from Karaiyar community.

This is Tamil actor Joseph Vijay. He is basically Indo Brachid with Medium Brown skin tone. He is from Vellalar community.

This is Tamil actor Sarath Kumar. He is also Indo Brachid with Medium Brown skin tone. He is from Nadar community.

This is Tamil actor Karthik Muthuraman. I think he is either Indo Brachid or Gracile Indid with Light Brown skin. He is from Thevar community / caste.

This is Tamil actor Prashanth Thiagarajan. He is very Light Brown skinned with Gracile Indid or Indo Brachid features. He is from Pallar community.

This is Tamil actor Sathyaraj. He looks like a mix between Malabarese (features) and Keralid (complexion) with Light Brown skin tone. He is from Gounder community.

Comparison of Sathyaraj and Malabarese phenotype

Comparison of Sathyaraj and Keralid phenotype

This is Tamil actor Ajith Kumar. He looks like a mix between Indo Brachid and North Indid. He was born in 1971 to a Tamil Brahmin (South Indian) father and a Sindhi (North Indian) mother. He is very Light Brown skinned and looks like a typical Sindhi guy.