Genetically Indian: Indian Muslims are genetically closer to other Indians

By Kashif-ul-huda
IndianMuslims.info

Indian Muslims are as Indian as Brahmins or any other social group according the findings of genomic studies of northern Indian Muslims. This gives credence to the long held views of historians that Muslims in India are descendants of local populations who converted to Islam.

The study was collaboration by Florida International University, Spanish Universidad de Vigo, and Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow. Mitochondrial DNA which is passed from mother to children is a preferred way for establishing descent of a person.

The study looked at the genetic composition of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Sunnis and Shias of UP. Blood samples from 60 Sunnis and 59 Shias volunteers were taken for this study. Their mtDNA was analyzed for specific genetic markers. Frequencies of the presence of these markers were compared to various groups in India and other countries.

While there are some differences among Sunnis and Shias in terms of their mtDNA, in general they found to be closer to the larger Indian population.

Principal component analysis (PCA), a statistical tool that separates individuals on the basis of differences in their properties was employed to place each social group on a plot. According to this plot Shias and Sunnis are much closer to Brahmins, Bhargavas, and tribals from Karnataka than people from UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and or Central Asian countries. PCA generated a plot that showed three clear clusters- Souther Arabian Peninsula, North East African population in upper left quadrant, East Central Asian and Middle Eastern group in the lower right hand corner, and all Indian groups can be found closer to each other to the right.

The scientific paper detailing this study is going to be published by the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Dr. Razi Raziuddin who is a scientist at the prestigious National Cancer Institute in Maryland, USA and have read the paper believes that study conclusively proves that “majority of Muslims in North India are upper caste converts� which disproves the propaganda carried out by the Sangh Parivar that Indians were forced to convert to Islam. If this was the case Dr. Raziuddin argues we would not have seen Muslims genetically so close to Brahmins and other upper caste groups.

The study conclusively proves that Indian Muslims are part of the genetic landscape of India. According to the paper “our results demonstrate that the mtDNA haplogroup M is present in the Indo-Shia and the Indo-Sunni Muslims at a frequency of 50-60%, which is similar to that found in Indian caste groups examined in this study and others.� M haplogroup is one of the genetic marker used in this study.

Further proof that Sunnis and Shias are far removed from other West Asian population is the fact that they lack haplogroups H, I, J, K, and T found among the Arab groups.

This study proves conclusively that Indian Muslims are genetically part of Indian population and suggests that most of the converts are from upper castes of Hindus. This calls into question the credibility of Sangh Parivar’s allegation that Muslims forcibly converted Hindus in India.