Denotified tribes of India

Denotified tribes (DNTs), also known as vimukta jati^[1], are the tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 ^[2], as Criminal Tribes and "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once a tribe became "notified" as criminal, all its members were required to register with the local magistrate, failing which they would be charged with a crime under the Indian Penal Code. The Criminal Tribes Act of 1952 repealed the notification, i.e. ‘de-notified’ the tribal communities. This act, however, was replaced by a series of Habitual Offenders Acts, that asked police to investigate a suspect’s criminal tendencies and whether his occupation is "conducive to settled way of life." The denotified tribes were reclassified as habitual offenders in 1959.

The creation of these categories should be seen in the context of colonialism. The British authorities listed them separately by creating a category of castes or tribes labelled as criminal.

The name "Criminal Tribes" is itself a misnomer as no definition of tribe denotes occupation, but they were identified as tribes being their primary occupation. The first Census was in 1871 and at that time there was no consensus nor any definition of "tribe". The terms "Tribe" and "Caste" were used interchangeably for these communities. In this colonial context, the term "Tribe" connoted the notions of primitiveness and backwardness and hence the assumption that these tribes needed to be civilized or transformed.^{[citation needed]}

Call for repeal

The UN’s anti-discrimination body Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) asked India to repeal the Habitual Offenders Act (1952) and effectively rehabilitate the denotified and nomadic tribes on March 9, 2007 ^[3].

Reservations

In 2008, the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNSNT) of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recommended equal reservations, as available to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, for around 11 crore people belonging to the denotified, nomadic or semi-nomadic tribes in India ^[4]. Along with the tribes designated as , "Nomadic" or "Semi-Nomadic", the denotified tribes are eligible for reservation.^[5][6]

See also

• Nomadic tribes in India
• Rajasthani people
• Marathi people

Further reading

• Branded by Law: Looking at India's Denotified Tribes, by Dilip D'Souza. Published by Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0141007494.
• The Book of the Hunter, by Mahasweta Devi, translated by Sagaree and Mandira Sengupta, Seagull, 2002. ISBN 81-7046-204-5.
• Denotified Tribes: Dimensions of Change, by Malli Gandhi. Kanishka Publishers. 2008. ISBN 8184570656.
• Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in Maharashtra by Motiraj Rathod Harvard University
• Racial Abuse against Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in India Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Denotified and Nomadic Tribes
• http://films.shashwati.com/denotified-tribes/
• Branded by Law : Looking at India’s Denotified Tribes/Dilip D’Souza.
• Badge of All Their Tribes: Mahashweta Devi
• Repeal the Habitual Offenders Act and affectively rehabilitate the denotified tribes, UN to India

References

1. ^ "List Of Vimukt Jatis (Denotifiedl Tribes) and Tapriwas Jatis". Diirectorate of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of Haryana. http://www.socialjusticehry.gov.in/list_tribes.htm. 
2. ^ Year of Birth - 1871: Mahasweta Devi on India's Denotified Tribes by Mahasveta Devi. indiatogether.org.
3. ^ Repeal the Habitual Offenders Act and affectively rehabilitate the denotified tribes, UN to India Asian Tribune, Mon, March 19, 2007.
4. ^ Panel favours reservation for nomadic tribes by Raghvendra Rao, Indian Express, August 21, 2008.
5. ^ Neelabh Mishra (2008-10-06). "A Little Carvanserai". Outlook 48 (40): 14. 
6. ^ List of Castes - Maharashtra State

External links

• National Commission for denotified, Nomadic & Semi-nomadic Tribes (Govt. of India) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• List of Denotified Communities on Government of Tamil Nadu website
• Acting Like a Thief, 15 min short film, by P. Kerim Friedman & Shashwati Talukdar
• Chhara tribe, Chharanagar, Ahmedabad