Denotified Tribes Demand Separate Classification

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Government assured DNT enumeration in Census 2027, but leaders demand a separate Census column and constitutional status due to marginalisation.

• Denotified Tribes (DNTs) – Communities labelled “criminal tribes” under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), 1871.
  • CTA was repealed in 1952, and communities were denotified.
• In post-Independent India, they were targeted under Habitual Offenders laws.
• Historical Classification – Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, made compulsory registration, surveillance, and restrictions on the movement of certain communities labelled as criminal.
• Colonial belief that certain tribes were “addicted to crime”.
• After 1952, many communities were classified under SC, ST, or OBC lists.
• Enumeration Status – Enumerated in the 1911 and 1931 Census as criminal tribes.
  • The 1931 Census was the last enumeration of DNTs.
• Post-Independence Census enumerated only SC and ST (not DNTs).
• Commissions and Reports – Ayyangar Commission (1949) – Early official study on denotified tribes.
• Renke Commission (2008) – First National Commission on Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
• Idate Commission (2017) –
  • Identified around 1,200 DNT communities assimilated in SC/ST/OBC Lists.
  • Identified 268 unclassified DNT communities.
  • Anthropological Survey of India recommended classification of these communities.
• Government Initiatives – SEED Scheme (Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) – Provides support for education, livelihood, housing, and health for DNTs.
  • However, spending was low due to a lack of DNT certificates and beneficiary identification issues.
• DNT Welfare Board – Established instead of a permanent constitutional commission for DNTs.
• Current Status of DNTs – Many included in SC, ST, OBC categories, others unclassified.
• Continued social, economic, educational, and political backwardness.
• Persistent stigma and discrimination despite denotification.

Reference

TH | A separate classification for denotified tribes