Explained: State of denotified tribes, and why House panel is critical about a programme for their development

What is the News?

The Standing Committee of Parliament has criticized the functioning of the development programme for denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes.

Who are de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes?

These are communities that are the most vulnerable and deprived.

De-notified Tribes(DNTs): These are communities that were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminals’ during the British regime under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. These Acts were repealed by the Independent Indian Government in l952 and these communities were “De-Notified”.

A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic. Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities are defined as those who move from one place to another, rather than living in one place all the time.

The population of DNTs and Renke Commission

Renke Commission: A National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes(NCDNT) was constituted in 2006. It was headed by Balkrishna Sidram Renke. This commission estimated their population at around 10.74 crores based on Census 2001.

– The commission also said that these tribes somehow escaped the attention of  Constitution makers and thus got deprived of Constitutional support, unlike SCs and STs. This is partly because these communities are largely politically ‘quiet’ — they do not place their demands concretely before the government, for they lack vocal leadership and also lack the patronage of a national leader.

Commission constituted in 2014: A new Commission was constituted in 2014 to prepare a state-wise list that submitted its report in 2018. It identified 1,262 communities as de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic.

Note: South Asia has the world’s largest nomadic population. In India, roughly 10% of the population is Denotified and Nomadic.

Other Commissions and Committees that referred to the problems of DNTs communities

Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee,1947 constituted in the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh).

Ananthasayanam Ayyangar Committee in 1949 (based on the report of this committee the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed).

B P Mandal Commission: It was constituted in 1980 also made some recommendations on the issue.

National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution(NCRWC), 2002: It held that DNTs have been wrongly stigmatized as crime-prone and subjected to high-handed treatment as well as exploitation by the representatives of law and order and general society.

What are the issues highlighted by the Standing Committee on Parliament on issues faced by DNTs?

No Categorization: A number of DNT tribes are categorized under SC, ST and OBC. However, 269 DNT communities are still not covered under any reserved categories.

The scheme for economic empowerment of DNTs communities has total outlays of Rs 200 crore for the period of five years from 2021-22 and the Government could not spend even a single rupee in 2021-22.

Budgetary allocation for DNTs has been reduced to Rs 28 crore for 2022-23 against the budgetary allocation of Rs 50 crore for 2021-22.

What are the steps being taken for the welfare of these communities?

Scheme for Economic Empowerment of De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi Nomadic Communities(SEED)

Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNC): It has been set up in 2019 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for the purpose of implementing welfare programmes.

A committee has been set up by the NITI Aayog to complete the process of identification.

Ethnographic studies of DNCs are being conducted by the Anthropological Survey of India, with a budget of Rs 2.26 crore sanctioned.

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: State of denotified tribes, and why House panel is critical about a programme for their development” published in Indian Express on 6th April 2022.