Relevance: GS I (Indian Society) & GS II (Social Justice) | Source: Ministry of Social Justice / The Hindu

1. The Context: Breaking the “Invisibility”

The Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) are demanding a separate column in the 2027 Census and a dedicated Constitutional Schedule.

  • The Problem: Currently, these communities are scattered across SC, ST, and OBC lists, or missing entirely. This leads to “political misclassification” and a lack of accurate data for welfare targeting.
  • The Goal: To identify the estimated 10 crore population and address their exclusion from land ownership and education.

2. Historical Stigma: “Criminal by Birth”

  • Colonial Injustice: Under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA), 1871, the British government branded entire communities as “born criminals,” restricting their movement.
  • Decriminalization: The Act was repealed on August 31, 1952 (following the Ayyangar Committee), and the tribes were “De-notified.”
  • Continuing Stigma: The CTA was replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act, 1952, which critics argue effectively continued the police profiling of these groups.

3. Commissions & Welfare

  • Commissions: The Renke Commission (2008) and Idate Commission (2017) have both highlighted that DNTs lack basic documents (Aadhaar/Voter ID) due to their nomadic lifestyle.
  • SEED Scheme: Launched in 2022, the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs aims to provide coaching, health insurance (PM-JAY), and housing assistance.

UPSC Value Box

Concept / Term Relevance for Prelims
Denotified Tribes Tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 and were “denotified” (removed from the list) in 1952.
Idate Commission A National Commission constituted to identify DNT communities that were left out of SC/ST/OBC classifications.
SEED Scheme A welfare scheme implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment specifically for DNTs, NTs, and SNTs.

Q. With reference to the “Denotified Tribes” (DNTs) in India, consider the following statements:

  1. The term “Denotified” refers to tribes that were earlier classified as “criminal” under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
  2. The Idate Commission was constituted to identify and prepare a state-wise list of DNTs.
  3. The SEED scheme for the welfare of DNTs is implemented by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (b)

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