Nagpur: The stigma of criminality which was bestowed upon denotified
tribes more than 150 years ago continues to shroud lives in fear and discrimination. To study the situation, the Anthropological
Survey of India (AnSI), Nagpur, has undertaken a project to analyse the extent of their human rights violation at primary level.
Anthropological Survey of India is a research institute which deals with anthropological research, especially in bio-cultural studies. It is highly recognized as the most advanced centres for research and training in anthropology and related disciplines.
“Most of the reports on these tribes are based on secondary sources. Even the population estimate is not properly available as these tribes have been migrating from one place to another. They travel as they do not have a fixed occupation and source of income. These tribes are usually found on the outskirts of the region,” said Ratna Dhar, city head.
Denotified tribes (DNTs), also known as ‘vimukta jati’, are the tribes that were originally termed as ‘criminal’ under several provisions of the Criminal Tribes Acts between 1871 and 1947. These communities were ‘denotified’ when the acts were repealed after India’s independence.
Three teams of two people each will undertake the project where they will camp near the tribe for forty-five days to make observations. In the first phase, the officials have chosen six communities, three each from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. “In Madhya Pradesh, Banjara tribes live near Chhindwara, Banchhada tribes live near Mansaur, and Sansi near Bhopal. In Maharashtra, we will study Bester of Aurangabad, Bhamta of Wardha and Kaikadi of Nanded. We will see the result of the study in its first year and make changes to our study if so demanded,” said Dhar.
“We wish to study the changes of how we have come to look at them over the years, and to what extent their human rights are being violated. These tribes are scattered and are not within the fold of society. There is still some degree of stigma related to the community at a primary level,” Dhar added.
As part of this first-hand study, AnSI will be talking to district officials and NGOs who work among these people. The team has started reading related literature on these tribes. The project will start by August and it will span over four years.
“We will see how they survive, what is the nature of their employment as their work may not be the same throughout the year. There are 14
denotified tribes in Maharashtra all of which we plan to study,” said Dhar.
(Representational picture)