Synopsis The Anthropological Survey of India launched the People of India Project on October 2, 1985 to generate an anthropological profile of all communities of India, the impact on them of change and the development process, and the links that bring them together. As part of this all-India project, the ethnographic survey of Karnataka (300) was taken up in collaboration with local scholars. The results of the survey were discussed at the workshops held in Mysore in May 1987 and later. The identity of Karnataka is derived from its ecology marked by highland and black soil. The earliest reference to Karnataka as a distinct territory goes back to the 5 century A.D. The identity of the Karnataka which was evolved through its history, is now defined inter alia by language, territory including four distinct regions, dress, cuisine, local forms of religion, elements of life cycle ceremonies and vibrant folk art and oral traditions. Migrations have occurred both from across the seas and by land from