Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Governance
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- CTA was repealed in 1952, and communities were denotified.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
