Science just confirmed what our ancestors were hiding 🧐

So recently I came across this article that really caught my attention. It was about how a DNA study revealed that societal stratification in India started around 1,700 years ago. I didn’t expect genetics to say something so historical, so I dug a little deeper and found the topic super interesting.

Apparently, Raj Mutharasan, a bioengineer and alumnus of IIT Madras, gave a lecture about this. He said that based on DNA data, geneticist David Reich used mathematical models to trace when this kind of social division might have started, and they got the number 1,700 years.

Now here’s what surprised me even more:

This timeline kind of matches the period when the Manusmriti was written. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. But it definitely made me think.

"How Does DNA Say All This?"

Honestly, this was my first doubt.

How does DNA even talk about history?

So, it turns out, scientists study ancient DNA and trace changes in genetic mixing between communities over thousands of years. If suddenly there's a pause in gene mixing, it can hint that people stopped inter-marrying or living freely across groups, which might suggest social divisions or caste-based separation had begun.

That “pause” in mixing apparently happened around 1,700–1,800 years ago in India. It's the same time MANUSMRITI was written by poet MANU. 

This was the same collection which segregated the duties of the people according to the work they did. As Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. It was like a rule book which mentioned the rules which should be followed by the king and the queen, for punishments, justice, dharma, moral and social codes for men and women. It played a major role in "Formalizing" caste divisions which lead to less mixing between communities.

Another thing I learnt is that humans actually migrated to India around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. Some settled here, while others moved along the coast to places like Australia.

There’s even a Tamil villager near Theni named Virumandi who has a gene called C-M130, which is also found in Australian Aboriginals, Japanese, and Mongolians! Like how cool is that? It literally shows how connected we all are through migration. 

Then, technically we are all related to each other !! 

Raj also mentioned that globally we have around 10,000 ancient DNA samples, mostly from Europe and Russia because their cold climate preserves bodies.

But India? Only one, a female skeleton from Rakhigarhi in Haryana.

That one sample showed that she had a mix of ancient Iranian and Southeast Asian hunter-gatherer ancestry. So that clearly proves that Indians are a blended population, not some “pure” group as people sometimes claim.

He also talked about something called haplogroups... basically ancient gene families.

Okay, now what is a haplogroup ? 

A haplogroup is a big ancestral family group that shares a specific DNA signature passed down from either your mom’s or dad’s side.

It helps scientists trace where your ancient ancestors lived, migrated, and mixed.

M2, one of the oldest gene lineages in India, is mostly found among tribal populations in the south, west, and central parts of India.

But the very first female group (M1) that came to India still hasn’t been traced. That’s such a mystery.

I’m not a science nerd or anything, but this topic honestly blew my mind a bit. I didn’t know DNA could tell us so much about history, migration, and even social systems.

And to think that what we believe today about caste and community divisions, it all started just 1,700 years ago. Before that, maybe things were very different. It kind of makes me question how traditions were built and how much we actually know about our own past.

Anyway, just wanted to share what I learnt. I love weird facts that connect science and society like this. It’s funny how sometimes history puts us to sleep... and other times, it completely blows our minds.