In 1782, a German, Jakob Rüdiger, a bit later than Istvan Valyi, showed that the Rroma language has Indian roots. One year later, another German, Heinrich Grellman of the University in Göttingen did an extensive study of the Rroma language and deduced that the Rroma had come from India. Much later, in 1844, a fundamental work appeared "Die Zigeuner in Europa und Asien", The Gypsies of Europe and Asia, done by yet another German, August Friedrich Pott. He is the founder of modern "Rromanologie" and of Rroma linguistics.
What is nowadays known about Rroma and their history? All researchers accept that Rroma originally came from India. The details of their travels, the reason why they left their homeland, are, however largely unknown and the details of their migrations are subject to hypotheses. From linguistics, connected with historical considerations, we can present one hypotheses which we consider as the most plausible and argued. Note, however, that other theories about the early Rroma history do exist.
To these days, there is a cast in India, named Dom. Their professions, transmitted from father to son, are musicians and dancers but also smiths, basket weavers, sieve makers, even wood workers. The origins of the traditional Rroma trades!They also provide the origins of the Gypsies' name: In Asia, they call themselves Dom, in Armenia, Lom and in Europe Rrom, Rom or even Rhom. Some people maintain that the name Rrom is derived from Rama, the Indian God. But, in the course of history and time, the Indian retroflexive consonant D was deformed in a L in Armenia and to Rr, R or Rh in Europe.
To give a simple example, the Sanskrit word manda(ka) is pronounced men(d)a in Asia, manlav in Armenia and by European Gypsies as manrro, ma(n)ro or manrho (bread in Rromanes), clearly showing this evolution of the D into an R.