Roman Catholics in West Coast trace lineage to Gaud Saraswats and Jews, reveals study

Multi-disciplinary study uses history, anthropology and genetics information to understand the population history of the group

The West Coast of India harbours a rich diversity of various ethno-linguistic human population groups, of which the Roman Catholics are a distinct group. While historians and anthropologists relate them to the ancient group of ‘Gaud Saraswats’, others believe they are members of the Jews lost tribes in the first century migration to India. The first genetic study done on this group to infer their origin and genetic history showed them to have remnants of very early lineages of Brahmin community, majorly with Indo-European-specific genetic composition and some indication of Jewish component! The research led by noted chief scientist of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), and also Director, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Dr. Niraj Rai, senior scientist, DST- Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow and others, analysed the DNA of 110 individuals from Roman Catholic community of Goa, Kumta and Mangalore. They compared this genetic information with previously published DNA data from India and West Eurasia plus archaeological, linguistic and historical records to fill the key details about the demographic changes and history of the Roman Catholic population of South West of India since the Iron Age (until around 2,500 years ago), and how they relate to the contemporary Indian population.