S. S. Sarkar, a prominent Indian anthropologist, proposed a classification of Indian populations that, while rooted in physical anthropology, offered a more nuanced perspective than its predecessors. His major features included the recognition of a complex mosaic rather than broad, simplistic categories. Sarkar identified six main racial elements: the Proto-Australoid, the Indo-Aryan, the Mongoloid, the Mediterranean, the Western Brachycephals, and the Negrito. Crucially, he emphasized the role of migration and admixture over millennia in shaping the diverse physical types observed across the subcontinent. He used a combination of anthropometric measurements, blood groups, and genetic markers, wherever available, to support his groupings, moving beyond purely morphological observations.

Comparing Sarkar's work to Risley's, it's fair to say Sarkar's classification represented a significant improvement. Risley's 1901 scheme, with its seven primary types, was largely based on a few anthropometric traits, primarily nasal index and cephalic index, and was heavily influenced by the then-prevalent racial theories linking physical type to social hierarchy. Risley's framework often presented these types as relatively static and distinct. Sarkar, on the other hand, acknowledged the dynamic nature of populations, the fluidity of boundaries between groups, and the genetic complexity. His inclusion of Negrito, even if debated, showed a wider consideration of potential ancestral inputs. While no racial classification is without its limitations, Sarkar's approach was more grounded in a broader range of scientific data and a more sophisticated understanding of human population genetics for his time, making it scientifically superior to Risley's more rigid and less data-driven model.