The great Indian divide along north-south , Aryan - Dravid lines now stands blurred. A path breaking study by Harvard and indigenous researchers on ancestral India and Indian populations says there is a genetic relationship between north and south Indians and more importantly, the hitherto believed ``fact'' that Aryans and Dravidian signify the ancestry of north and south Indians might after all, be a myth. ``This paper rewrites history... there is no Aryan-Dravid or North-South divide,'' Lalji Singh, former director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and a co-author of the study, said at a press conference here on Thursday. Senior CCMB scientist Kumarasamy Thangarajan said there was no truth to the North Indian- South Indian or Aryan-Dravidian theory as they camethousands of years after the ancestral north and south Indians had settled in India. The recent study analyzed 500,000 genetic markers across the genomes of 132 individuals from 25 diverse groups from 13 Indian states . All the individuals were from 6-language families and traditionally ``upper'' and ``lower'' castes and tribal groups. ``The genetics proves that castes grew directly out of tribe-like organizations during the formation of the Indian society,'' the recent study said. Thangarajan noted that it was impossible to distinguish between castes and tribes since their genetics proved they were not systematically different, They all are Indians , Aryan Invasion Theory is Myth. The study was conducted by CCMB scientists in collaboration with researchers at Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. It reveals that the present-day population of India is a mix of ancient north and south bearing the genomic contributions from two distinct ancestral populations - the Ancestral North Indian (ANI) and the Ancestral South Indian (ASI). ``The initial settlement took place 65 Thousands years ago in the Andaman and in ancient south India around the same time, which led to population growth in this part,'' said Thangarajan. He added, ``At a later stage, 40 thousands years ago, the ancient north Indians emerged which in turn led to rise in numbers here. But at some point of time, the ancient north and the ancient south mixed, giving birth to a different set of population. And that is the population which exists now and there is a genetic relationship between the population within India.'' The recent study also helps understand why the incidence of genetic diseases among Indians is different from the rest of the world. Singh said that 70% of Indians were burdened with genetic disorders and the study could help answer why certain conditions restricted themselves to one population. For instance, breast cancer among Parsi women, motor neuron diseases among residents of Tirupati and Chittoor, or sickle cell anemia among certain tribes in central India and the North-East can now be understood better, said researchers. The researchers, who are now keen on exploring whether Eurasians descended from ANI, find in their study that ANIs are related to western Eurasians, while the ASIs do not share any similarity with any other population across the world. However, researchers said there was no scientific proof of whether Indians went to Europe first or the other way round. Migratory route of Africans Between 135,000 and 75,000 years ago, the East-African droughts shrunk the water volume of the lake Malawi by at least 95%, causing migration out of Africa. Which route did they take? Researchers say their study of the tribes of Andaman and Nicobar islands using complete mitochondrial DNA sequences and its comparison those of world populations has led to the theory of a ``southern coastal route'' of migration from East Africa through India. This finding is against the prevailing view of a northern route of migration via Middle East, Europe, south-east Asia, Australia and then to India. Times Of India Aryan Invasion Theory is a Myth and Conspiracy to Break India on the basis of Caste , creed and Culture.
It is truly a myth that the north Indians or Aryans and the south Indian or Dravidian are divided. its been so many years now that we are living happily and peacefully, complementing the development of both the regions. people who say that the Dravidian or the south Indians are the real Indians or the Aryans are foreigners are just trying to create a gap between the two sides of people. they will continue to co-exist peacefully in the great nation called India which is famous all over the world for its unity and diversity.
yes i do agree that this is a myth completely because both these regions are living happily. the people from both the regions are also intermixing with each other well and adapting the lifestyles well. though there is little deep difference in their lifestyles and culture, both of them share common religion.
I think we need more authentic research from Indian end which can firmly rubbish the premise that Aryan-dravidian divide ever existed. The conclusions and inferences reached can sometimes be biased depending on the mindset of the people and since the studies were conducted by the foreigners, there is an ample room for deviations in the inference/conclusion reached by them.
