Hyderabad, January 1: The South-west coast of India, known for its rich genetic and cultural symphony, is gaining new insights thanks to a comprehensive genetic study. A recent investigation led by Dr. Kumarasamy Thangaraj, JC Bose Fellow at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, has shed light on the complex ancestral backgrounds of the region’s historical warrior and feudal lord communities.
While earlier research had primarily focused on recent migrant groups in South-west India, such as Jews, Parsis, and Roman Catholics, the origins of certain indigenous groups, traditionally identified as warriors or feudal lords, remained largely speculative. Historians have debated their lineage, with some tracing their roots to Ahichhatra in the Gangetic plains, and others to Indo-Scythian clans from North-West India.
The CCMB team’s study involved analyzing DNA samples from 213 individuals across these communities, employing genome-wide autosomal markers and mitochondrial DNA analysis. The results, compared against a range of ancient and modern Eurasian populations, have been illuminating. Published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution, the study concludes that communities like the Nairs, Thiyyas, and Ezhavas from Kerala, and the Bunts and Hoysalas from Karnataka, genetically align more closely with populations from North-west India.
Dr. Thangaraj elaborates, “Our study indicates that the Nair and Thiyya communities predominantly share ancestry with ancient North-west Indian migrants and display a significant Iranian genetic influence, akin to the Kamboj and Gujjar populations. Interestingly, their maternal genome shows a predominance of West Eurasian mitochondrial lineages, indicative of female-mediated migration.”
Dr. Lomous Kumar, the study’s first author, now at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, highlights the use of machine learning in tracing the migration patterns of these groups from North-west to Central India and eventually to the South-west coast during the late Bronze or Iron Age.
Dr. Vinay K. Nandicoori, Director of CCMB, adds, “This study posits that South-west coastal groups are likely the early migrants from North-west India, journeying along the Godavari basin towards Karnataka and Kerala.” The research team, including Dr. Moinak Banerjee from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, and Dr. Mohammed S. Mustak from Mangalore University, hopes this breakthrough will enhance our understanding of the diverse genetic heritage of India’s South-western populations.
NSH Digi Desk
