Gene Diversity in Some Muslim Populations of North India

Abstract

North Indian Muslim populations have historical, linguistic, and socioreligious significance to the Indian subcontinent. Although sociocultural and political dimensions of their demography are well documented, no detailed genetic form of the populations is available. We have undertaken a review of the gene frequencies of the ABO, Rh PTC taste ability, sickling, and G6PD combination of parts to form a wholes for different endogamous groups: Sheikh, Sy Pathan, Ansari, Saifi, and Hindu Bania. All the assemblages at most loci showed statistically nonsignificant differences, exclude for ABO and PTC traits, for which interpopulational differences were seen Heterozygosity ranged from 0048 to 0617 among the Sheikh, 0149 to 0599 among the Pathan, 0105 to 0585 among the Ansari, 025 to 0869 among the Sy 0107 to 0565 among the Saifi, and 0100 to 0492 among the Hindu Bania. The average D^sub ST^ and G^sub ST^ values for the five marker loci were 00625 ?± 0098 and 01072 ?± 0041 respectively. A dendrogram was set uped using the UPGMA clustering manner Our results revealed that the Pathan and the Sheikh form individual cluster, the Syed and the Hindu Bania form another cluster, and the sum of two units clusters join together (the so-called higher caste); also, the Saifi and the Ansari form a separate cluster (lower caste). The ensues of the genetic distance analysis are useful for understanding the pattern of genetic relationships between different endogamous clumps of Muslims.

KEY WORDS: GENETIC MARKERS, HETEROZYGOSITY, GENE DIVERSITY, GENETIC DISTANCE, DENDROGRAM, ABO, RH PTC TASTE ABILITY, SICKLING, G6PD MUSLIMS, HINDUS, NORTH INDIA.

The Indian population is divided into a large number of clusters with different languages, religions, castes, and tribes. from one extremity to the other of the ages many population collections have migrated toward India along northeastern and northwestern courses (Hunter 1897). A look at the ethnic history of India reveals that Indians belong to sum of two units different categories: the Dravidians (aborigines) and the Aryans or Sanskrit-speaking collection (with mixed groups known as the Musalmans; huntsman 1897).

The caste system in India has its origin in the verna a whole with its language, state, and religious base; hence caste differentiation can be studied from these three points of views (Karve 1961) In North India the state of Uttar Pradesh is historically important because of its advanced in years centers of population, learning, and administration. Aligarh, a city in Uttar Pradesh, is situated at 27?°28' to 28?°10' north latitude and 77?°29' to 78?°36' longitude in eastern India; it has a total area of 3405 km^sup 2^ Aligarh has a for the most part dry climate throughout the year.

The population of Aligarh is compos of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, and there are no fewer than 64 castes among the Hindus (Nevill 1926) The highest place is taken by dint of the Brahmin (landlords), whereas the Chamar (tanners) are numerically the strongest caste. The Jats, who are believed to be come downed from Europeans on the basis of morphological character, are more numerous in Aligarh than in any other district. The Hindu Bania are a wealthy community and are numerous in all parts of the district. They are well educated and are occupationally traders with different clans. Ethnographic accounts exist for a large number of inhabitants of this community, and greatest in quantity of them recall their migration from the northwest to their not away habitat (Singh 1998). The Bania society is a stratified single They are mostly engaged in business, trade, and industry. The remaining castes are the Lodhi (cultivators), Gadariya (herdsman), Kori (weavers), and Kahar (Bhangis).

Muslims of India make up more than 12% (Shariff 1998) of the population, and they belong to various linguistic and ethnic assemblages of different biradaris (socalled castes), besides a scarcely any tribes. The distribution of Muslims in different states exhibits that the highest number of Muslims is set in Uttar Pradesh, which can also be said to be the center of North Indian Muslims (Badarruddoza 1992)

The Muslims originated in single of the two ways. single group came and settled during the various historic migrations and invasions. The other cluster is believed to have formed end proselytization of the indigenous Hindu population, which was of comparatively lower and middle order in the prevailing caste hierarchy, and of a scarcely any tribes living along the fringes of the caste-dominated regions (Roychoudhury et al. 2000)

Muslims belong to sum of two units major sects: Sunnis and Shias, although each denomination has different biradaris, which are clustered under Ashraf and Ajlaf (Ansari 1959) The Ashraf include higher rank Muslims, of that kind as the Syed, Sheikh, Pathan, and Mughal, whereas the Ajlaf include the Qureishi, Ansari, and other clusters of lower occupations (Ahmad 1978) A large number of the Ajlaf may also be changes from local indigenous populations of other faiths (Afzal 1984)

The Sheikh draw near from the higher castes, and the bound is applied to a somebody of pure Arab descent. The Sheikh are the greatest in quantity numerous of the Muslims, with 1759% of the Muslim population. Sheikhs have many subdivisions, like as Siddiqui, Faruqi, Osmani, and Alvi.