Denotified tribes of India
Encyclopedia
Denotified tribes also known as vimukta jati, are the tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act
of 1871 , 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 The Criminal Tribes Act of 1952 repealed the notification, i.e. ‘de-notified’ the tribal communities.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.
people belonging to the denotified, nomadic
or semi-nomadic tribes in India . Along with the tribes designated as , "Nomadic" or "Semi-Nomadic", the denotified tribes are eligible for reservation.
Criminal Tribes Act
The term Criminal Tribes Act applies to various successive pieces of legislation enforced in India during British rule; the first enacted in 1871 as applied mostly in North India The Act was extended to Bengal Presidency and other areas in 1876, and finally with the Criminal Tribes Act 1911, it...
of 1871 , 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
Indian Penal Code
Indian Penal Code is the main criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code, intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. It was drafted in 1860 and came into force in colonial India during the British Raj in 1862...
. 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
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
" and "Caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
" 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.
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 .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 croreCrore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
people belonging to the denotified, nomadic
Nomadic tribes in India
The word Nomadic Tribes refers to the people who were forced to live a wandering life by the Indian Caste System. The Nomadic and Denotified Tribes consist of about 60 million in India, out of which about five million lives in Maharashtra...
or semi-nomadic tribes in India . Along with the tribes designated as , "Nomadic" or "Semi-Nomadic", the denotified tribes are eligible for reservation.
Further reading
- Branded by Law: Looking at India's Denotified Tribes, by Dilip D'SouzaDilip D'SouzaDilip D'Souza is a Mumbai-based writer and journalist. He writes about social and political causes, with a left-centrist, liberal perspective, as well as some travel and current affairs articles...
. Published by Penguin Books, 2001. ISBN 0141007494. - The Book of the Hunter, by Mahasweta DeviMahasweta DeviMahasweta Devi is an Indian social activist and writer.- Biography :Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Dhaka, to literary parents in a Hindu Brahmin family. Her father Manish Ghatak was a well known poet and novelist of the Kallol era, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa...
, 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 UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
- Racial Abuse against Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in India Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...
- 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
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