{"id":86027,"date":"2026-02-05T11:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=86027"},"modified":"2026-02-05T11:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T06:09:19","slug":"denotified-tribes-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/denotified-tribes-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Denotified Tribes in India &#8211; Demand for Constitutional Recognition"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Denotified Tribes Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Denotified Tribes in India: Background and Evolution<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denotified Tribes (DNTs) are communities that were historically labelled as \u201ccriminal tribes\u201d under colonial rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Criminal Tribes Act, 1871<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, empowered the British administration to notify entire communities as criminal by birth, subjecting them to surveillance, restrictions on movement, and social stigma.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This law was later amended in 1924, further institutionalising discrimination.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following Independence, the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed in 1952, and the affected communities were officially \u201cdenotified\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, these groups have been known as <\/span><b>Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, repeal of the law did not automatically translate into social acceptance or legal empowerment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stigma of criminality continued through policing practices and social exclusion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Socio-Economic Status of Denotified Tribes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Denotified Tribes remain among the <\/span><b>most marginalised communities in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, facing severe deficits in education, health, housing, and livelihood security.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many DNT communities follow nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles, limiting access to land ownership, ration cards, caste certificates, and welfare schemes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Economic survival often depends on informal labour, traditional occupations, or seasonal migration, making them vulnerable to exploitation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Administrative Classification and Policy Gaps<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unlike Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), Denotified Tribes do not have a dedicated constitutional Schedule.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over time, many DNT communities were subsumed under SC, ST or OBC categories, while others were left completely unclassified.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Idate Commission (2017)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> identified around <\/span><b>1,200 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, of which about <\/span><b>267 communities were not included in any constitutional category<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even those included within SC, ST or OBC lists often fail to access benefits due to intense competition with relatively better-off groups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This administrative misclassification has resulted in policy invisibility, as there is no reliable population data on DNTs at the national level.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Government Initiatives for Denotified Tribes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Union government has introduced welfare measures, including the <\/span><b>Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, covering education, health insurance, housing and livelihood support.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, utilisation remains low due to the absence of proper DNT certificates issued by States and Union Territories.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between 2020 and 2025, actual spending under SEED remained significantly below allocated amounts, reflecting implementation challenges rather than a lack of need.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>News Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the run-up to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/caste-enumeration-in-indias-2027-census-rethinking-data-collection-for-inclusive-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>2027 caste-based Census<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes across northern India have renewed demands for a <\/span><b>separate Census column and code<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They argue that without explicit enumeration, they will once again be statistically erased.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recommended their inclusion to the <\/span><b>Office of the Registrar General of India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which has agreed in principle to include them in the caste enumeration exercise.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, community leaders stress that mere inclusion is insufficient without a distinct category.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, there is a growing demand for <\/span><b>constitutional recognition through a separate Schedule<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, similar to SCs and STs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leaders also seek <\/span><b>sub-classification within DNTs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to recognise \u201cgraded backwardness\u201d between settled and nomadic groups, drawing support from recent Supreme Court judgments allowing sub-classification within reserved categories.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Significance of the Demand<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A separate Census entry would provide credible population data, strengthening the basis for targeted welfare schemes, budgetary allocation, and political representation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Constitutional recognition would acknowledge historical injustice and provide legal backing for affirmative action.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">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.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/denotified-nomadic-and-semi-nomadic-tribes-demand-separate-column-census-2027\/article70591623.ece#:~:text=Denotified%20tribes%2C%20nomadic%20tribes%2C%20semi,to%20highlight%20backwardness%20within%20grouping\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Denotified Tribes in India are seeking constitutional recognition and a separate Census entry to address historical injustice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":86031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[5162,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-86027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-denotified-tribes","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86027"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86047,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86027\/revisions\/86047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}