Phenotype frequencies and gene frequencies of haptoglobins and haemoglobins were assessed in Sinhalese and Punjabis, two quite different populations of the Indian subcontinent. A clinical component, a latitudinal gradient, may be discerned in the great range of Hp1 gene frequencies that occurs in India. Haptoglobin and heamoglobin gene frequencies are compatible with but do not give clear proof of a more northerly origin of the Sinhalese.