HYDERABAD: A study by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has found that the Sindhi population on India’s west coast has a unique genetic makeup, distinct from Pakistani Sindhis.
They show genetic affinities with Burusho- or Hazara-like groups from Pakistan as well as evidence of recent assimilation with local populations such as the Konkani.
According to a CCMB press release on Friday, this is the first high-throughput genetic study on the Sindhi population living on India’s west coast. The research was conducted by Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow at CCMB, Hyderabad, and his colleague Dr Lomous Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher at DST-Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow. They examined the common ancestry, local assimilation, and migration history of the Sindhi population.
The study was published on 30 September in the journal Human Genomics. Researchers generated genetic data from six lakh DNA markers and analysed it using advanced analytical and statistical methods.
Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj explained that the presence of a unique East Asian genetic component in west coast Sindhis, compared to Pakistani Sindhis, could be attributed to minor admixtures either directly through Mongolian migrations or via contacts with Burusho- and Hazara-like groups in present-day Pakistan. Burusho and Hazara are population groups with Mongoloid features found in Pakistan.
Dr Vinay K Nandicoori, director, CCMB, said “These findings conclusively demonstrate the demographic changes and population shifts in western India associated with multiple migrations. Some of these occurred as early as the Middle Ages, and some as recently as post-independence.”
Sindhi migration over decades
India’s west coast, a large region between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, is home to diverse human populations. It has witnessed migrations of various West Eurasian groups, including Portuguese, Middle Easterners, Jews, Parsees, and Christian missionaries. Recent genetic studies have focused on a few groups such as Parsis, Jews, and Catholics, but the origins and genetic relationships of many southwest coast communities remain largely unexplored.
One such community is the Indian Sindhis, who have lived on the west coast in Maharashtra for centuries. Due to their geographical proximity to the Sindh region in Pakistan, Sindhis migrated to western India over generations. While Pakistani Sindhis have been extensively studied, very limited genetic information exists about Indian Sindhis, who are socio-culturally distinct on the Konkan coast.