De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes:
There is a call for the establishment of a permanent national commission for Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
- Denotified Tribes (DNT) also known as Vimukta Jati, are the tribes that were listed originally under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 as criminal tribes.
- Once a tribe becomes “Notified” as a criminal, all its members were required to register with the local magistrates, failing which they would be charged with a ‘crime’ under the Indian Penal Code.
- After Independence, this Act was repealed in 1952, and the communities were “denotified”, hence the name.
- Nomadic Tribes are the communities who usually do not have land and move from one place to another for livelihood.
- The DNT/NT/SNTs are among the most neglected, marginalised, and economically deprived communities.
- Historically, these communities never had access to private land or home ownership and used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use.
- In India, roughly 10 percent of the population is Denotified and Nomadic.
- While the number of Denotified Tribes is about 150, the population of Nomadic Tribes consists of about 500 different communities.
- In 2014, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment constituted a National Commission for DNT/NT/SNTs under the chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji date for a period of three years-
- to prepare a State-wise list of castes belonging to DNT/NT/SNTs
- to suggest appropriate measures in respect of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes that may be undertaken by the Central Government or the State Government.
- In 2017, the commission prepared draft lists of DNT/NT/SNTs.
- Based on the Commission’s recommendations, the ministry constituted the Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) in 2019.
- The Board has been mandated to formulate and implement welfare and development programmes for these communities.
- The Renke Commission (2008) was earlier commissioned to identify and list the DNT communities.
