Bhumihar Genetics

On average, 31.32% of Bhumihar's ancestry is derived from Steppe_MLBA, 33.31% from AASI (Ancient Ancestral South Indian) and the remaining 35.36% of average Bhumihar ancestry is derived from IndusFarmer IVC-related / Indus Periphery ancestry.

Across multiple genetic studies published between 2019 and 2024, Bhumihars consistently show higher Steppe-related ancestry and lower Indigenous (AHG/Onge-related proxy) ancestry than Brahmins and Rajputs. The landmark 2019 Harvard University research on South Asian caste genetics/DNA, which is so far the largest and most renowned research on the genetics of Indian castes, reported disproportionately high Steppe ancestry in Bhumihars compared to Brahmins, Rajputs, Gangetic castes, and the non-Jat/Ror/Pashtun castes of North West India and Pakistan.

The 2024 study Distinct Positions of Genetic and Oral Histories: Perspectives from India likewise identified the sampled Bihari Bhumihars as having the highest Steppe ancestry among the sampled Brahmin groups, placing them above the sampled Brahmin Tiwari, Saryuparin and West Bengal Brahmin groups, as well as the Rajputs. Independent studies published in BMC Genomics (2020), Human Genetics (2021), bioRxiv (2022) and Genome Biology and Evolution (2023) similarly reported comparatively higher Steppe-related and European Hunter Gatherer ancestry in Bhumihars than in several other sampled caste groups, including Brahmins, Rajputs, Kambojs, Dogras, Gujjars, Nairs, Srivastavas, Reddys, Yadavs and Bunts.

Key concepts of Indian population genetics

All mainstream South Asians are a mixture of three major ancestral components: Steppe_MLBA, IVC (Indus Valley Civilization-related) and AASI/SAHG (South Asians Hunter Gatherers also called Ancient Ancestral South Indian). Researchers use Onge or AHG (Andamanese Hunter-Gatherer) as proxies for AASI. The IVC-related ancestry itself is an earlier mixture of Iranian farmer-related ancestry and SAHG/AASI, after which Steppe_MLBA ancestry mixed with IVC-related populations to form the ancestry found in many present-day South Asians.

These three ancestral components are found in almost all mainstream South Asians, but in different proportions. Every caste and community has its own typical range of these ancestry components, although these ranges often overlap with those of other castes and communities.

#	Component	Mainly Associated With
1	Steppe_MLBA	Late Bronze Age steppe pastoralist populations (Sintashta/Andronovo-like), Indo-Iranian/Indo-European–linked movements into South Asia in the 2nd millennium BCE, and a substantial part of the ancestry of many Indo-Aryan–speaking and some higher-caste groups. These people are credited to have likely brought the Indo European language family into South Asia.
2	IVC (Indus-related / Indus Periphery)	People of the Indus Valley Civilization and surrounding regions, a mixture of Iran-related early farmer ancestry and South Asian hunter-gatherers, and the largest single ancestral layer feeding into both ANI and ASI-rich populations across South Asia.
3	AASI (Ancient Ancestral South Indian)	The local, native South Asian hunter gatherer ancestry that predates farming and steppe migrations and contributes substantially to many present day South Asian groups.
4	AHG (Andamanese Hunter Gatherers)	A proxy source based on Andamanese genomes representing AASI like (native South Asian hunter gatherer) ancestry in qpAdm models, used to approximate the indigenous Indian component in studies such as those by Lomous Kumar.

Bhumihar Genetics according to the Harvard University & David Reich

Harvard University’s professors and 114+ genetic scientists from across the globe conducted the most extensive and detailed genetic research on Indian castes & tribes, headed by David Reich, world’s leading geneticist and the director of David Reich Lab at the Harvard University.

This research, “The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia”, highlighted several points about Bhumihars:

(A) “Steppe ancestry in modern South Asians is primarily from males and disproportionately high in Brahmin and Bhumihar groups"

(B) “Groups that traditionally view themselves as being of priestly status (Brahmin, Pandit, and Bhumihar) tend to have a significantly higher ratio of Central_Steppe_MLBA to Indus_Periphery_Cline ancestry than other groups”

(C) Strongest signals of Steppe ancestry in the Gangetic plains were found amongst the Bihari Bhumihars

(D) According to David Reich's genetic research, Bihari Bhumihars were found to have higher Steppe ancestry and lower AHG (Andamanese Hunter-Gatherer)-proxy Indigenous ancestry than Gangetic Plains Brahmins and Rajputs.

In the DNA research on Indian castes by Dr. David Reich, Harvard University and world's most renowned genetic scientist, Bihari Bhumihars were found to have higher Steppe ancestry than Gangetic Plains Brahmins and Rajputs. They were also found to have lower Indigenous ancestry, for which AHG (Andamanese Hunter-Gatherer) was used as a proxy, compared with Gangetic Brahmins and Rajputs.

How to access this - The exact ancestry percentages are provided in David Reich's widely cited research paper on Indian populations, "The Formation of Human Populations in South and Central Asia." Specifically, they are listed in the supplementary material at the end of the paper, in the spreadsheet named "File (aat7487_tables1-5.xlsx)," under Table S5.

Model 1 Bihari Bhumihars are estimated to have 28.3% Central Steppe_MLBA-related ancestry and 21.3% AHG-related ancestry, compared with Brahmin_UP (26.4% Steppe, 24.8% AHG), Brahmin_Tiwari (27.0% Steppe, 23.6% AHG), Brahmin_Haryana (24.0% Steppe, 18.8% AHG), and Rajputs (23.5% Steppe, 25% AHG), respectively.

Model 2 Bihari Bhumihars are estimated to have 26.3% Central Steppe_MLBA-related ancestry and 26.4% AHG-related ancestry, compared with Brahmin_UP (25.0% Steppe, 29.1% AHG), Brahmin_Tiwari (25.2% Steppe, 28.2% AHG), Brahmin_Haryana (23.1% Steppe, 25.2% AHG), and Rajputs (21.9% Steppe, 29.5% AHG), respectively.

Bhumihars show the highest Steppe ancestry among Brahmin groups in the 2024 genetics/DNA research

The 2024 research Distinct Positions of Genetic and Oral Histories: Perspectives from India applied qpAdm modeling to find the proportions of Steppe and Onge-related (AASI or the indigenous Indian component) ancestry and Bhumihars of Bihar came out to have the highest Steppe ancestry (29.0%) among the Brahmin groups, more than Brahmin Tiwari (27.9%), Saryuparin Brahmins (26.1% Steppe), and West Bengal Brahmins (22.3% Steppe). Their estimated Steppe ancestry was also higher than that of the sampled Rajputs (20.8% Steppe) and Khatris (26.9% Steppe).

Conversely, Bhumihars displayed the lowest Onge-related ancestry (20.7%) among the Brahmin groups in the dataset, lower than Brahmin Tiwari (23.4%), Saryupari Brahmins (22.8%), West Bengal Brahmins (30.6%), Rajputs (21.9%) but the Khatris (11.6%) have even lower Onge related ancestry than Bhumihars. Khatris showed nearly half the amount of Onge-related ancestry compared to Gangetic Brahmins and the Bihari Bhumihars.

How to access this and view the spreadsheet from the research paper:

Link: Distinct positions of genetic and oral histories: Perspectives from India, 2024

Step 1) Go to the link of the research paper, scroll down and navigate to the "Supplementary Materials" section and there you'll find the "Supplementary Tables" in the form of an Excel Sheet / Spreadsheet.

Step 2) Inside the spreadsheet, go to the table number 'S6' to find the spreadsheet of the ancestry qpAdm runs from the research posted below.

Source: Distinct positions of genetic and oral histories: Perspectives from India, 2024

Research Paper 3

According to a 2020 research, Bhumihars show higher Steppe ancestry compared to other caste groups such as Kshatriyas, Kurmis, Tharus, Srivastavas, Yadavs, Nais, Thakurs, and Brahmins sampled in the research.

Source: The story of the lost twins: decoding the genetic identities of the Kumhar and Kurcha populations from the Indian subcontinent - BMC Genomics, 2020

Research Paper 4

According to a 2021 research, Bihari Bhumihars have higher Eastern European Hunter Gatherer, Western Steppe and Central Steppe than other groups like Kambojs, Dogras, Haviks and Brahmins. This research showed results of 3 different models.

Source: Dissecting the genetic history of the Roman Catholic populations of West Coast India - Human Genetics, 2021

Source: Dissecting the genetic history of the Roman Catholic populations of West Coast India - Human Genetics, 2021

Source: Dissecting the genetic history of the Roman Catholic populations of West Coast India - Human Genetics, 2021

Research Paper 5

According to a 2022, research Bhumihars have higher Steppe_MLBA ancestry than other groups like Kambojs, Gujjars, Nairs, Brahmins, Dogras, Srivastavas, Reddys, Yadavs, Bunts etc sampled in the research.

Source: Genetic affinities and sub-structuring in Coorg population of Southern India - 2022

Research Paper 6

According to a 2023 research, Bihari Bhumihars were found to be having higher Steppe_MLBA ancestry than other groups like Kambojs, Gujjars, Nairs, Brahmins, Dogras, Srivastavas, Reddys, Yadavs, Bunts etc sampled in yet another research.

Source: Genetic Affinities and Adaptation of the South-West Coast Populations of India - Genome Biology and Evolution, 2023

Summary

Genetic studies from 2019 to 2024 suggest that the Bhumihars carry a slightly higher proportion of Bronze Age Steppe ancestry relative to other upper castes of the Indo-Gangetic plains and elsewhere.

Researchers suggest this pattern stems from early historical mixing like it happened with the formation of all Indian castes, which was then preserved over centuries of endogamy practiced by the community.