AIT, NEW genetic evidence

[Samar Abbas]

On Sun, 9 Jan 2000, Dr. Nupam Mahajan wrote:
> Neverthless, we note that ... these mtDNA haplotypes ...
> are found in both among Hindi speakers from Uttar Pradesh
> (6%) and Dravidians of Andhra pradesh (4%).

The work is very interesting, but the following points need to be noted: -
1. `Hindi Speakers' includes many Dravidoid Dalits in the North. Perhaps
some Black Untouchables were included in this survey ?

2. All the results of the papers can be explained in terms of the Semitic
factor, which is present in the North as a substratum to Indo-Aryan
genes, and in the South as a superstratum upon Africoid genes.

> "Assuming that they are largely of western-Eurasian origin, we may ask
> when their spread started. We obtained divergence time of 9300 +/- 3000
> years."

  This is exactly the time when the original Caucasoid stock split into
Semitic and Indo-European sub-stocks, an event which occurred ca. 10,000
BP in the Middle East. The genes they have analysed are essentially
Semitic genes, which they choose to label `Proto-Caucasoid', `Caucasoid'
in their view being restricted to Indo-Europeans. They have apparently not
analysed the Africoid sub-stratum of the Semitic `Proto-Caucasoid' stock.

> Their low frequency but still general spread
> all over India plus the estimated time scale, does not support a recent
> massive Indo-Aryan invasion, at least as far as maternally inherited genetic
> lineage are concerned.

Sanskrit texts record numerous terms based on `dasi' which indicates
significant concubinage of pre-Indo-European Semitic and Dravidoid women
in Indo-Aryan households. This custom continues in modern rural regions,
eg. the `deva-dasi' cults documented by Human Rights Watch -

http://www.hrw.org/hrw/reports/1999/india/India994-09.htm

Naturally, the `Aryan' offspring of such unions would inherit the mt DNA
which has been analysed, displaying Semitic or Mulatto ancestry. All
maternal trace of such an `Aryan invasion' would of course have been wiped
out. A fact confirmed by the two excellent papers cited by Dr N. Mahajan.

  The papers merely confirm what many researchers have been claiming for
long: that the `pure Vedic Aryan' race has been submerged in the Semitic
gene-pool in the North, and in the Africoid gene-pool in the South.
Research continues to prove that the modern-day `Indo-Aryans' are not the
legendary descendants of Aryan invaders, but in fact mixed-race
descendants of Aryan men and Semitic/Dravidoid women. The 2 papers suggest
something the more extreme nationalists should think about.

> Furthermore, the spread of these
> western-Eurasian-specific mtDNA clusters also among Dravidic-speaking
> populations of India lends credence to the suggested linguastic connection
> between Elamite and Dravidian populations".

Some contribution of Semitic stock to Dravidoid populations is to be
expected (corroborated by Mesopotamian-influenced art work found in the
IVC), but the essential base stock of Dravidians is Africoid, as Dr.
Manansala has pointed out. The Adi-Dravidas would naturally display a
higher degree of genetic affiliation with Africa and Australia.
However, a small `Elamite' genetic contribution is to be expected in non
Adi-Dravidas.

> "The supposed Aryan invasion of India 3000-4000 years before present
> therefore did not make a major splash in the Indian gene pool. This is
> especialy counter-indicated by the presence of equal, though very low,
> frequencies of the western Eurasian mtDNA types in both southern and
> northern india.

This indicates an equal contribution of Semitic stock to the North
and the South.

> Thus, the `Caucasoid' features of south Asians (Indians) may
> best be considered `pre-caucasoid'

Once again, the bulk of Dravidoids are of Africoid stock, although in
certain regions Semitic genes predominate. That they choose to label this
Semitic stock as `proto-caucasoid' is slightly misleading.

Samar