What borders couldn’t break: Sindhis in India and Pakistan still share strong genetic bond

Nearly 80 years after the country’s partition forced thousands of Sindhi families to leave their homeland, science has found something that history could not divide. A new DNA study has revealed that Sindhis living in India and Pakistan still share a strong genetic bond, despite decades of separation and migration.

The research, published in the journal Human Genetics, is the first comprehensive genome-wide study of the Indian Sindhi diaspora. It was led by Chanchal Devnani and Professor Gyaneshwer Chaubey of Banaras Hindu University, in collaboration with Dr Khushboo Gautam and Professor Rakesh Rawal of Gujarat University and Gujarat Biotechnology University.

The study found that Sindhis living on both sides of the India-Pakistan border remain genetically closely related. Their DNA also points to deep roots in the ancient Indus Valley region, showing that the community has preserved much of its ancestral genetic identity despite generations of migration and displacement.

To carry out the study, the researchers collected DNA samples from 113 healthy, unrelated Sindhi volunteers living in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. They examined more than 650,000 genetic markers across each person's genome and compared the results with published DNA data from Pakistani Sindhis and thousands of people from India, Pakistan and other parts of Asia and Europe. The team also compared modern Sindhi DNA with ancient DNA samples to understand how the community evolved over thousands of years.

The scientists used several modern techniques to study the data. They looked at how closely different populations were related, identified pieces of DNA inherited from common ancestors, estimated when different ancestral groups mixed, measured levels of inbreeding and traced the origin of different parts of the genome. Together, these methods helped reconstruct the history of the Sindhi people over thousands of years.

The results were clear. Indian and Pakistani Sindhis consistently clustered together in every major analysis, showing that they remain genetically closer to each other than to neighbouring populations, even after almost eight decades of separation following Partition.

According to the researchers, this makes the Sindhis an example of what scientists call a "diaspora"—a community that has spread across different regions but has managed to preserve a common genetic identity.

"The Sindhi community is a diaspora, much like the Jewish people. Partition scattered them across various countries, yet their DNA remains linked to the 5,000-year-old Indus Valley civilisation. Even after settling in diverse locations, this stands as the greatest testament to their shared heritage," Professor Gyaneshwer Chaubey said.

The study also sheds new light on the ancestry of modern Sindhis. Using ancient DNA as a reference, the researchers found that about 60 to 66 per cent of the community's ancestry comes from populations genetically related to the ancient Indus Valley region. The remaining ancestry comes mainly from ancient South Asian groups and Steppe pastoralist populations that migrated into the subcontinent thousands of years ago. The researchers estimate that these ancestral groups mixed around 2,200 to 2,900 years ago, helping shape the genetic profile seen among Sindhis today.

Lead author Chanchal Devnani said the research shows that Sindhi communities living in India and Pakistan remain deeply connected not only through their language and culture but also through their DNA.

The study also found that migration after Partition did not significantly change the community's overall genetic structure. Whether the volunteers came from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh or Telangana, their genetic ancestry remained remarkably similar. This suggests that although Sindhis settled across different parts of India after 1947, they retained their shared ancestral roots.

One of the few major differences between Indian and Pakistani Sindhis was seen in marriage patterns. Pakistani Sindhis showed higher levels of inbreeding, reflected in longer stretches of identical DNA inherited from common ancestors. The researchers say this is likely because marriages between relatives remain more common in parts of Pakistan. Indian Sindhis, on the other hand, showed lower levels of inbreeding and greater genetic diversity. After Partition, they settled across different states and increasingly married people from wider social and geographical backgrounds. Even so, their overall ancestral profile remained largely unchanged.

The researchers believe the study is important because the Sindhi community has rarely been included in large-scale genetic research despite its unique history of migration.

The authors highlighted an interesting cultural link with the ancient past. They pointed to Ajrak, the traditional hand block-printed cloth that is a symbol of Sindhi identity. According to the researchers, the trefoil pattern seen on the shawl worn by the famous "Priest-King" statue discovered at Mohenjo-daro resembles the pattern still found on Ajrak today. While this is a cultural and archaeological observation rather than a genetic finding, the researchers say it reflects the remarkable continuity of Sindhi heritage across thousands of years.

The study points to more than just genetics. It shows how history, migration and culture can leave lasting marks on people while also preserving a shared identity.

As the authors conclude, the findings highlight the importance of studying diaspora communities to better understand the complex history of South Asia. For the Sindhi community, whose homeland was divided by Partition but whose culture survived across continents, the research offers scientific support that borders can separate people, but they cannot erase a shared past.