Context: The recently concluded National Conference of De-notified Tribes (DNTs) witnessed increased calls for the establishment of a permanent National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about De-notified Tribes.
Mains: De-notified Tribes: Issues faced and Way Forward.
De-notified Tribes
- The term 'De-notified Tribes' (DNT) stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between 1871 and 1947.
- These Acts were repealed by the independent Indian Government in 1952, and these communities were "De- Notified".
- A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic. Some of the examples of DNTs are Yerukulas (AP), Lambadis (AP), Koli (Gujarat), Lodha/Lodhi (Bihar/Jharkhand), Banjara (MP/Rajasthan), Kalbelia (MP), Ramosi (Maharashtra), Domb (Odisha), Bawaria (Rajasthan), Boyas (Tamil Nādu) and Madari (UP).
Issues faced by DNTs and Nomadic Tribes:
- Education: Due to migratory lifestyle, acute poverty, lack of awareness of the importance of education and poor access to educational facilities, the literacy rate is much lower and the school dropout ratio of children belonging to these communities is significantly higher.
- Health: Members of DNT/NT communities are not likely to be much aware of health-related issues, including preventive healthcare, immunisation, family planning, communicable diseases. They are so poor that they cannot afford private medical doctors other than quacks.
- Economic Issues:
- Decline in traditional occupations due to modernisation and Industrialisation.
- Loss of livelihood due to shrinking pasture lands:
- Because of agriculturally centred development strategies. E.g., Extension of Indira Gandhi Canal project into Rajasthan led to expansion of agriculture in wastelands and eliminated fallow areas for grazing.
- In India, grasslands are classified as wastelands and the government hopes to make these lands productive by developing them for solar & wind energy projects and commercial plantations of crops like oil palm.
- Anomalies: De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes were included in the lists of SC, ST, and OBC categories. However, their categorisation was not logical or uniform. A single (De-notified or Nomadic) community living in contiguous States/UTs and homogenous in nature has been included in different categories.
- E.g., The community of Banjara has been included as ST in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa; as OBC in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan and as SC in Punjab, Delhi and Karnataka.
- There are still a number of DNTs which have not been included in any one of these categories. Instead, they are placed at par with the communities of the general category.
- Issue of identification: There has been no well-defined criteria for the classification of de-notified and nomadic tribes. It has been observed that the inclusion and exclusion of communities in such lists was done on political considerations rather than on fair and uniform criteria.
- No data on demography: The exact number of the nomadic tribes in India is still unknown as there has been no formal census conducted which could help in tracking them. The lack of reliable data about their demography and geographical distribution handicapped the policy makers to frame appropriate measures for their development.
Measures Needed for De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs/NTs):
- Permanent Commission: Establish a permanent statutory body for DNTs/NTs, led by a prominent community leader as Chairperson. Bhiku Ramji Idate Commission (2018) has proposed completion of classification of DNT communities, and setting up of a permanent national commission for their protection and development.
- Rational Classification: Remove anomalies and standardize the classification of these communities under SC, ST, or OBC categories based on clear, uniform criteria.
- Census and Survey: Conduct a systematic community-based census and socio-economic survey to gather accurate demographic and geographic data.
- Land and Forest Rights: Ensure land and forest rights for DNTs under the Forest Rights Act to secure their traditional livelihoods.
- Education: Establish dedicated residential schools to improve literacy rates and reduce school dropouts.
- Healthcare: Introduce mobile health clinics to provide accessible healthcare services, including preventive care and immunisation.
- Sub-categorisation of STs: Implement sub-categorisation within STs to ensure equitable distribution of benefits.
- Political Representation: Ensure adequate political representation through nominations in local bodies and legislative assemblies.
Also Read: Impact of classifying Denotified Tribes