About Siddis

Remember Dharmendra’s character in the Bollywood movie Razia Sultana? He played Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut, a confidante and lover of Razia Sultana, the first female monarch of the Delhi Sultanate. Jamal-ud-Din Yaqut was of Siddi or Habshi descent. The Siddis started coming to India from Africa in 1100 AD. They were valued as soldiers and slaves and many a Nawab, Sultan and even the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries imported them for their services. Now a study by Indian Scientists has determined the precise ancestry of Siddis. According to this study present day Siddis, who are predominantly found in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan have descended from Africans, Indians and possibly Portuguese. Read more .......
http://indiabioscience.org/node/268

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