As a cultural geographer, I am often asked if there is something in Indian people's culture that makes their arms as long as the 'Indian' character on Street Fighter's (Dhalism). The short answer is I think Dhalism, if he were real, would be a superhuman exception no matter what culture he came from.
In the early 20th century, neo-lamarcian's believed culture was a consequence of environment, so if Indian people had to reach up really high a lot, this might lead to their having long arms relative to other people. This theory was later picked up through Freidrich Ratzel's geopolitcal theories to justify German expansion and European colonialism in general. Oops, it turned out they were wrong (though today Jared Diamond and Socio-biologists have picked up a watered down version of this theory).
...so, I emailed Capcom to ask if any of the game designers had ever really been to India or even met an Indian. They have not yet replied.
p.s. George, I will visit you in July.
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