Sindhi’s along India’s west coast genetically distinct from Pakistani counterparts: CCMB

The west coast of India, nestled between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, has long been a melting pot of diverse human populations. Over centuries, it has witnessed the movement of various West Eurasian groups — including the Portuguese, Middle Easterners, Jews, Parsees and Christian missionaries.

Now, scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) have discovered that Sindhis living on India’s west coast possess a distinct genetic makeup, different from their counterparts in Pakistan. According to CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow Dr. Kumarasamy Thangaraj, their genetic affinities lean toward Burusho and Hazara-like groups from Pakistan, along with recent genetic assimilation with local populations such as the Konkanis, as per a press release.

In a study conducted with Lomous Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher at the DST-Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, the team found a unique East Asian genetic component in west coast Sindhis—absent in Pakistani Sindhis. This component may have entered the gene pool through minor admixtures, either directly via Mongolian migrations or indirectly through contact with Burusho and Hazara-like groups in present-day Pakistan.

Burusho and Hazara are population groups with Mongoloid features found in northern Pakistan. Given the geographical proximity of Sindh, migration to western India has occurred for centuries, with a significant wave during the partition of India, he said.

While Pakistani Sindhis have been extensively studied, limited genetic data exists for Sindhis on the Konkan coast, who are socio-culturally distinct. This marks the first high-throughput genetic study of the Sindhi population in western India. Using six lakh DNA markers, the researchers analyzed common ancestry, local assimilation, and migration history.

“Our genetic study also found that the Indian Sindhi group carries a small but unique East Asian genetic component, likely incorporated much earlier in history—possibly during the Iron Age or later Mongol migrations,” said Dr. Kumar.

CSIR-CCMB Director Vinay K. Nandicoori noted that the findings “conclusively” demonstrate demographic shifts in western India due to multiple migrations—some dating back to the Iron or Middle Ages, and others as recent as post-independence. The study was published on September 30, 2025, in the journal Human Genomics, the release added.