People in north and south India belong to the same gene pool: ICHR Chairman
T.S. Ranganna

He says studies prove this; conclusion that Aryans came here 15,000 years before Christ does not hold water

BANGALORE: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) tests of blood samples from people in the Indian subcontinent have confirmed that the human race had its origins in Africa and not Europe or Central Asia as claimed by a few historians.

The test has classified the people in north and south India as belonging to one gene pool, and not different ethnic groups such as Aryans and Dravidians.

Giving the information to The Hindu here, Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research D.N. Tripathi said geneticists from Pakistan had collected samples for genetics analysis of the people of Indian subcontinent and sent them to cellular and molecular biology laboratories in the U.S. Scientists in Pakistan concluded from the test results that the human race spread out of Africa 60,000 years before Christ. They settled in the subcontinent. Geneticists in Pakistan concluded that people living in the northern and southern regions of India and those in the West Asian region were from the same gene pool, he added.

Asked about the argument of many historians tracing the lineage of people in north India to Aryans, Prof. Tripathi said test results had proved this wrong. "We have the results of studies. The conclusion of some historians that Aryans came here 15,000 years before Christ does not hold water," he added.

Publications released

Earlier, Prof. Tripathi presided over a function at which lecture-series publications of the ICHR's southern regional centre were released. He appealed to Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University H.A. Ranganath, an expert in genetics, to encourage research and lectures on the subject. The ICHR, he said, was ready to cooperate.

Prof. Tripathi said the ICHR was engaged in genetics and linguistic studies on inscriptions from the days of the Vijayanagar Kingdom. Inscriptions collected from south India would be made available in six CD-ROMs, he added.

M.G.S. Narayanan, former ICHR Chairman, released publications.

Prof. Ranganath advised students and members of faculty of all the university departments to interact with historians to preserve their knowledge for future generations.