The Indian Subcontinent’s Evolution

• A 2009 paper by David Reich, colleagues from Harvard and MIT, and K. Thangaraj and Lalji Singh from CCMB Hyderabad, found two ancient genetically divergent populations: ‘Ancestral North Indians’ (ANI) and ‘Ancestral South Indians (ASI).’

• ANI is genetically close to people from West Asia, Central Asia, and Europe, with a higher proportion in India’s northern states.

• ASIs, distinctly different from ANI, are of East Eurasian origin.

Detailed Analysis

• Analyzed ancient genome-wide data from over 500 individuals from Central Asia and Northern South Asia.

• Found ASIs are direct descendants living in tribal groups in South India.

• Migrations by ANIs and ASIs occurred over 3,000-4,000 years ago, resulting in an amalgamation of North Indian and South Indian people.

Caste System and Ethnicity

• The caste system has been discriminatory for over 2,000 years among the Hindus.

• Inter-caste marriages are seldom practiced and can lead to violence.

Ethnicity and Haplogroups

• A 2003 paper by Prof. P.P. Majumder’s group used ‘haplogroups’ to understand the caste system.

• The system of ethnicity is changing with time, particularly in educated classes, with democracy and modernization.

• Inter-caste and inter-regional marriages have begun rising, with inter-caste marriages at about 6% and inter-faith ones at about 1%.