BANGALORE: The ancestors of most Asian populations, including the Chinese and southeast Asians, came from India, a new genetic study across 10 countries has revealed. The study found that humans first migrated to the Indian subcontinent from Africa some 100,000 years ago and then spread to other parts of Asia.

"When humans moved out of Africa, there was a migration to India and from India to southeast Asia and then east Asia, and finally to the Americas. So, all Asians have a genetic connection with India," Mitali Mukerji, a scientist from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology who was in the team, said.

The study — Mapping Human Genetic History in Asia — was conducted in 10 Asian countries including India. Apart from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research DG Samir Brahmachari, the Indian study team comprised eight members and some students from IGIB, New Delhi, anthropologist Partha Majumdar and researchers from the Centre for Genomic Applications.

The study contradicts earlier findings that humans directly went to East Asia from Africa. The study found remarkable similarities between the Dravidian population of south India and specific populations in Malaysia and Singapore. More interestingly, north Indians and Dravidians, too, were found to be genetically connected — meaning there are similarities in their gene structures.