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Study revealed that the Nair and Thiyya communities share most of their ancestry from ancient migrants of North-west India

The traditional warrior class and feudal lords of Nairs, Thiyyas and Ezhavas from Kerala, and Bunts and Hoysalas from Karnataka have been found to be genetically closer to populations of North-west India putting at rest their debatable genetic history.

While historians and written records relate them to migrants from Ahichhatra (Iron Age civilization) in the Gangetic plain, others relate them to Indo-Scythian clan migrants from North-West India. The recent high-throughput genetic study conducted by a team of researchers led by JC Bose Fellow at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and lead scientist Kumarasamy Thangaraj, have found answers to end the debate.

Genetic cultural diversity

1. Machine-learning-based study of genome-wide autosomal markers and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA.
2. Nair and Thiyya warrior communities share most of their ancestry from ancient migrants of North-west India.
3. They have enhanced Iranian ancestry, similar to Kamboj and Gujjar populations.
4. The study indicates female-mediated migration. Unlike most of the recent migrant groups such as Siddis.
5. Indicates migration happened during late Bronze age or probably Iron age.

Researchers have analysed the DNA of 213 individuals of traditional warriors and feudal lord communities from South-west coast India. They looked for genome-wide autosomal markers and maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA markers, and compared their results with ancient and contemporary Eurasian populations ranging from the Bronze Age to present-day groups.

“Our genetic study revealed that the Nair and Thiyya warrior communities share most of their ancestry from ancient migrants of North-west India, and have enhanced Iranian ancestry, similar to Kamboj and Gujjar populations,” said Mr. K. Thangaraj. “Their maternal genome reflects the higher distribution of West Eurasian mitochondrial lineages, suggesting female-mediated migration, unlike most of the recent migrant groups such as Siddis,” he added.

First author of the study, who was a PhD student of CCMB and currently at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, Lomous Kumar said: “Our machine-learning-based study suggests that the migration of these groups happened following North-west to Central Indian to the South-west coast during late Bronze age or probably Iron age.”

The south-west coast of India is one of the regions of high genetic and cultural diversity resulting from millennia of migration, settlements and admixture of human populations. Earlier studies on the recent migrants reveal that the area was inhabited by a rich heritage of Jews, Parsis and Roman Catholics.

“This study suggests that the South-west coastal groups are remnants of very early migrations from North-west India following the Godavari basin to Karnataka and Kerala,” said CSIR-CCMB Director Vinay K. Nandicoori.

Other researchers who were involved in this study are Moinak Banerjee of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram; and Mohammed S. Mustak of Mangalore University, Mangalore. This finding has been published recently in the journal ‘Genome Biology and Evolution’.