Castes of genes? Representing human genetic diversity in India

This paper explores the historical and social context of population genetic research conducted in India by focusing on a study by Reich et al which aimed to reconstruct Indian population history. The paper addresses two themes. First, it considers the agendas and modes of thinking about Indian populations and the caste system on which this study appears to be based. Second, it reflects on the medical implications of this study as they were presented in Reich et al’s findings. I suggest that while genetic mapping of Indian populations appears to have inherited many of the problems characteristic of population genetic research conducted in the USA and globally, the specificity of this research in India involves a peculiar interplay of the postcolonial pursuit of genomic sovereignty, desire by the Indian state to become a player in the global realm of biotechnology, and age-old discourses naturalising caste and regional differences. My argument is that, although the study has offered conceptual space for a wide range of interpretations, it has a strong potential not just for naturalising caste and regional differences in India, but also for pathologising them without necessarily bringing tangible healthcare benefits in the foreseeable future. Introduction In September 2009 Nature published a paper entitled ‘Reconstructing Indian Population History’. One of the objectives of the paper was to fill a gap in genomic research of human diversity, where India is supposedly underrepresented. The study on which the paper was based analysed 25 different groups on the sub-continent and provided evidence that contemporary Indians were the descendants of two ancient populations, labelled ‘Ancestral North Indians’ (ANI) and ‘Ancestral South Indians’ (ASI). The two populations were found to be genetically distinct from one another and the former were supposed to be ‘genetically close’ to Middle Easterners, Central Asians, and Europeans. The study also suggests that due to thousands of years of endogamy, Indian populations demonstrate strong founder effects. It makes a prediction regarding the spread of recessive conditions on the sub-continent. The authors of the paper are based in reputable research institutions in India and the USA and are sponsored by US, UK and Indian funders, including the National Institutes of Health in the USA and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of the Government of India. The study was widely reported in the mass media both in India and internationally, giving rise to diverse interpretations of its findings. In this paper I focus on this study to provide an in-depth analysis of its aims, results, media representations and possible societal implications. This will allow me to explore in more detail mechanisms of knowledge production in Indian population genetics and the multifaceted results of this process. I aim to situate Reich et al’s study in the wider context of historical debates about the nature of Indian populations and the origin of the caste system, as well as in the context of Science and Technology Studies (STS) debates © ESRC Genomics Network. 18 Genomics, Society and Policy 2010/11, Vol.6, No.3 pp.32-49