DENOTIFIED TRIBES (DNT)

Dec. 8, 2018

Some legislators are demanding the repeal of the Habitual Offenders Act, ends up re-stigmatising 15 crore individuals, better known as the Denotified Tribes (DNT) of India, who continue to be considered ‘criminal by birth’.

Timeline:

The term, ‘De-notified and Nomadic Tribes’, can be traced to the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871.
The colonial government notified nearly 200 tribal communities to be hereditary criminals and subjecting them to constant harassment by the administration.
After India gained Independence, these tribes were ‘de-notified’ from the list of Criminal Tribes, and, hence, the term.
The CTA was repealed and the Habitual Offenders Act (HOA) was enacted in various States. Currently, a variant of the HOA Model Bill as proposed by the Union Government stands enforced in 10 States across the country, having been enacted in many more.

Challenges faced by them:

However, the HOA functioned as a mere extension of the CTA. Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities continued to face harassment at the hands of law enforcement agencies.
Given their centuries-old tradition of constant movement, they often do not possess any residential proof, which leaves them out of the majority of the government’s schemes.
Those deemed eligible for such schemes were randomly grouped under the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes categories.

Steps taken by Government:

To address these issues, the first National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2003, and reconstituted two years later under the chairpersonship of Balkrishna Renke, which submitted its report in 2008.
The recommendations found an echo in the Idate Commission, constituted with the similar mandate in 2015, and currently withholding public release of its report.

Way ahead:

The NCDNT report clearly recommends repealing the various HOAs as the Act still casts its shadow of the state on communities.
However, the repeal of the HOA has to be accompanied by a slew of legal reforms to address the multitude of issues DNT communities face.
Their unique lifestyle requires positive affirmation and development policies.

Source : The Hindu