These are communities who are the most vulnerable and deprived. Denotified tribes (DNTs) are communities that were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminal’ during the British regime under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871.

Who are DNT’s?

• The phrase ‘De-notified Tribes’ refers to all communities that were originally notified under the British Raj’s Criminal Tribes Acts, which were in effect between l87l and I947.
• The Independent Indian Government abolished these Acts in 1992, and these communities were “De-Notified.”
• A handful of the settlements that were de-notified were migratory as well.
• ‘Social groups who performed a fairly regular, generally seasonal physical travel as component of their livelihood strategy in the recent past are referred to as nomads and semi-nomads.
• South Asia is said to have the world’s biggest nomadic population. Denotified and Nomadic people make up around 10% of India’s population.
• While there are roughly 150 Denotified Tribes, there are about 500 separate communities that make up the Nomadic Tribes population.
• While the Denotified Tribes have practically settled in various states across the country, the Mobile Communities remain nomadic in pursuit of their ancient occupations.

Issues

• While the majority of DNTs are covered under the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories, certain DNTs are not covered by any of them.
• Scarcity of basic infrastructure: The communities do not have access to basic necessities such as drinking water, housing, or sanitation.
• There are also no healthcare or educational facilities accessible. As a result, they lack social security coverage and are not granted Ration Cards, Aadhar Cards, or other government identification cards, and hence are unable to benefit from government assistance programmes.
• Lack of Social Security coverage: They do not have a permanent address since they travel about a lot.
• Bad Treatment by the Local Government: They are still regarded as criminals and tormented by the local administration and police because of the stigma of criminals imposed upon them in the past.
• Nomadic and De-notified Tribes have never had access to private property or home ownership in the past.
• For these communities, caste categorization is a bit hazy; in certain states, some of the communities are classified as SCs, while in others, they are classified as OBCs. However, most of the groups from these communities do not have caste certificates and hence are not able to avail the benefits of government welfare programmes.

Initiatives

• A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2006. The then-government established the National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) in 2006. It was led by Balkrishna Sidram Renke, and its report was submitted in 2008.
• The “Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNT Communities (SEED)” is a four-part plan for the community’s well-being:
  • To give high-quality instruction to DNT applicants so that they can compete in competitive exams.
  • To give them with health insurance.
  • To support community-based livelihood initiatives; and
  • To give financial help to people of these communities for the construction of homes.
• Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarships for DNTs in Honor of Dr. Ambedkar: This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was established in 2014-15 for the benefit of DNT (Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes) students who do not fall under the SC, ST, or OBC categories.
• Nanaji Deshmukh’s Hostel Building Scheme for DNT Boys and Girls: The State Governments/UT Administrations/Central Universities operate this Centrally Sponsored Scheme, which was introduced in 2014-15.The scheme’s goal is to give dormitory facilities to DNT students who are not eligible for SC, ST, or OBC benefits so that they can pursue higher education.
• The Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Communities was established by the government (DWBDNC). Under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, DWBDNC was created under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 to carry out social programmes.

“The denotified tribes/communities have been wrongly stigmatised as crime prone and subjected to high handed treatment as well as exploitation by representatives of law and order as well as by the general society,” the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, chaired by Justice M N Venkatachaliah, wrote in its 2002 report.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/state-of-denotified-tribes-house-panel-development-programme-7854312/

How to structure:

1. Give an intro about denotified tribes
2. Explain in detail about the deprivation faced over the years
3. Mention the measures taken by the government and examine how it has fared
4. Suggest measures
5. Conclude