Siddis in India. According to the researchers, about 58% of the Siddis' ancestry is derived from Bantu peoples. The remainder is associated with local Indo-European-speaking North and Northwest Indian populations, due to recent admixture events. Similarly, Shah et al. (2011) observed that Siddis in Gujarat derive 66.90%-70.50% of their ancestry from Bantu forebears, while the Siddis in Karnataka possess 64.80%-74.40% such Southeast African ancestry. The remaining autosomal DNA components in the studied Siddi were mainly associated with local South Asian populations. According to the authors, gene flow between the Siddis' Bantu ancestors and local Indian populations was also largely unidirectional. They estimate this admixture episode's time of occurrence at within the past 200 years or eight generations. Social status and rehabilitation Like Siddhi populations across the sub-continent, Siddhis in Karnataka also have remained isolated, and economically and socially neglected. In 1984, at the instance of the Secretary of the Rural Welfare Trust, Dandeli and few others, an "All-Karnataka Siddi Development Association" was formed to bring Siddhis together and work for their integrated development. K. V. Subbanna, the Magsaysay awardee also made some efforts in this direction with his Ninasam. On 8 January 2003, the Union government brought the Siddis under the list of Scheduled Tribes with a view to empowering them constitutionally. Further, policies to provide homes for homeless Siddis, water facilities, education, employment opportunities, roads, electricity, mobile hospitals of land to each Siddi family and the right to collect forest products were also endorsed by parliament. It is hoped that proper implementation of these policies would go a long way in helping the Siddhi community enhance their social and economic status. Internationally too, awareness of sub-Saharan African diaspora in the east has been limited. In 2006, however, 'The African Diaspora in Asia'(TADIA), a UNESCO backed initiative has also increased interest in the rehabilitation of this tribe. Headed by Prof Angenot of Brazil, it has become the academic link between the Siddis of Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh and other research scholars. It aims at involving academic research, promoting cultural exchanges and raising funds for education and employment generation programmes for the Siddis. Trivia According to B. G. L. Swamy, a renowned botanist, seeds of a huge tree, the Adansonia digitata Linn., which is native to Africa, were probably brought by the Siddhis. A popular Kannada film of the 70s, Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu, has a Siddi playing the role of