Contested domains of biological similarities and sociocultural diversity

ABSTRACT

Scientists and social scientists often read the same text differently. They also construct categories having the samenomenclature independently. Many of us also work in isolated domains, rarely reading texts researched and documented byothers. We conduct our research within the defined format of our disciplines. We engage with others only when contestations emerge and challenge some of the rooted paradigms of each other’s disciplines. This paper reflects the reactions of asocial scientist to texts on population genetics and attempts to arrive at the genetic theory of the origin of ethnologicalhistory of human populations in India. Inadvertently, most of these intensely researched and passionately documented DNAevidence present a serious challenge to the discourse of cultural pluralism and social diversity that the humanist perspectiveof science and social science takes pride in documenting. This paper is based on secondary resource materials and themethodology adopted is that of narrative research.