Denotified Tribes in India – Demand for Constitutional Recognition

Denotified Tribes Latest News

• Denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes have demanded constitutional recognition and a separate column in the 2027 Census to address long-standing political and administrative marginalisation. 

Denotified Tribes in India: Background and Evolution

• Denotified Tribes (DNTs) are communities that were historically labelled as “criminal tribes” under colonial rule. 
• The Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, empowered the British administration to notify entire communities as criminal by birth, subjecting them to surveillance, restrictions on movement, and social stigma. 
• This law was later amended in 1924, further institutionalising discrimination.
• Following Independence, the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed in 1952, and the affected communities were officially “denotified”. 
• Since then, these groups have been known as Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs). 
• However, repeal of the law did not automatically translate into social acceptance or legal empowerment. 
• The stigma of criminality continued through policing practices and social exclusion.

‹ ›

Socio-Economic Status of Denotified Tribes

• Denotified Tribes remain among the most marginalised communities in India, facing severe deficits in education, health, housing, and livelihood security. 
• Many DNT communities follow nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles, limiting access to land ownership, ration cards, caste certificates, and welfare schemes.
• Studies and official committees have repeatedly highlighted that literacy levels among several DNT groups are extremely low, with some communities reporting negligible school completion rates. 
• Economic survival often depends on informal labour, traditional occupations, or seasonal migration, making them vulnerable to exploitation.

Administrative Classification and Policy Gaps

• Unlike Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), Denotified Tribes do not have a dedicated constitutional Schedule. 
• Over time, many DNT communities were subsumed under SC, ST or OBC categories, while others were left completely unclassified.
• The Idate Commission (2017) identified around 1,200 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities, of which about 267 communities were not included in any constitutional category. 
• Even those included within SC, ST or OBC lists often fail to access benefits due to intense competition with relatively better-off groups.
• This administrative misclassification has resulted in policy invisibility, as there is no reliable population data on DNTs at the national level.

Government Initiatives for Denotified Tribes

• The Union government has introduced welfare measures, including the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED), covering education, health insurance, housing and livelihood support. 
• However, utilisation remains low due to the absence of proper DNT certificates issued by States and Union Territories.
• Between 2020 and 2025, actual spending under SEED remained significantly below allocated amounts, reflecting implementation challenges rather than a lack of need.

News Summary

• In the run-up to the 2027 caste-based Census, Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes across northern India have renewed demands for a separate Census column and code. 
• They argue that without explicit enumeration, they will once again be statistically erased.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recommended their inclusion to the Office of the Registrar General of India, which has agreed in principle to include them in the caste enumeration exercise. 
• However, community leaders stress that mere inclusion is insufficient without a distinct category.
• Additionally, there is a growing demand for constitutional recognition through a separate Schedule, similar to SCs and STs. 
• Leaders also seek sub-classification within DNTs to recognise “graded backwardness” between settled and nomadic groups, drawing support from recent Supreme Court judgments allowing sub-classification within reserved categories.

Significance of the Demand

• A separate Census entry would provide credible population data, strengthening the basis for targeted welfare schemes, budgetary allocation, and political representation. 
• Constitutional recognition would acknowledge historical injustice and provide legal backing for affirmative action.
• Without these reforms, DNTs risk remaining trapped between categories, unable to compete within SC, ST or OBC lists, yet lacking an identity of their own.

Source: TH