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DNA Analysis and Levirate Marriages
Context:
The CDFD’s involvement in a recent case showcases the power of DNA technology to reveal personal truths, raising ethical concerns and challenging societal norms.
Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) is a government laboratory in Hyderabad that provides DNA-based investigative services to police, the judiciary, and hospitals, especially in organ transplant procedures.
The Case:
- In a recent case, CDFD was tasked with generating DNA profiles to facilitate an organ transplant between a father and his ailing son. The profiles of the mother and son confirmed their relationship, but the results between the father and son revealed an unexpected twist.
- The analysis suggested the father was not the biological parent but a close paternal relative, likely a brother.
- This indicated the family was practising levirate, a traditional custom in which a woman has children fathered by her deceased or incapacitated husband’s brother.
- While this revelation did not impede the transplant, it inadvertently exposed a deeply personal aspect of the family’s dynamics.
- The disclosure brought into focus the complex interplay between genetic truth and cultural practices, highlighting how DNA technology can sometimes disrupt traditional boundaries.
What Are DNA Profiles?
- A DNA profile is a unique representation of an individual’s genetic information based on the number of times certain DNA sequences are repeated at specific locations (loci) on their chromosomes.
- Creating a DNA Profile: A DNA profile is created by analysing the number of repeats in specific STR loci across the 23 chromosomes.
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to create multiple copies of the DNA, and then capillary gel electrophoresis is used to separate the DNA fragments by size, allowing scientists to determine the number of repeats at each STR locus.
- The number of repeats at each STR locus forms the unique DNA profile of an individual.
- For Example, If a locus shows 30 repeats from the father and 35 repeats from the mother, the son would inherit one of these values from each parent, resulting in a profile that can be used to establish biological relationships.
Levirate Marriages in India:
- Historically, levirate marriage has been a significant practice in many cultures, including India, to address socio-religious obligations.
- As historian Projit Bihari Mukharji notes in his book Brown Skins, White Coats, the practice was often rooted in the Hindu belief that a man owed debts to gods, sages, and ancestors, repayable only through specific offerings made by a son.
- The emphasis was less on genetic lineage and more on fulfilling these ancestral obligations, even if it meant resorting to levirate unions.
- Anthropologist Irawati Karve also highlighted this distinction, where descent and inheritance were viewed through a broader cultural and spiritual lens, unconfined by the modern obsession with biological parentage.
- The practice of levirate, though uncommon in contemporary India, persists in some communities, often shielded by societal discretion.
