What is the definition of 'Denotified' according to the Constitutions of India?
The criminal branding of the tribe goes back to 1871 after the British passed the "Criminal Tribes Act". About a hundred and fifty tribes were branded as criminal, and the police were given sweeping powers to arrest them and watch over their movements.
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| Phase Pardhi family |
Denotified Tribes (DNTs), also known as vimukta jati,[1] are the tribes that were originally listed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871,[2] as Criminal Tribes and "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once a tribe became "notified" as criminal, all its members were required to register with the local magistrate, failing which they would be charged with a crime under the Indian Penal Code. The Criminal Tribes Act of 1952 repealed the notification, i.e. ‘de-notified’ the tribal communities. This act, however, was replaced by a series of Habitual Offenders Acts, that asked police to investigate a suspect’s criminal tendencies and whether his occupation is "conducive to settled way of life." The denotified tribes were reclassified as habitual offenders in 1959.
The creation of these categories should be seen in the context of colonialism. The British authorities listed them separately by creating a category of castes or tribes labelled as criminal.
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| Hut to live |
The name "Criminal Tribes" is itself a misnomer as no definition of tribe denotes occupation, but they were identified as tribes doing their primary occupation. The first Census was in 1871 and at that time there was no consensus nor any definition of "tribe". The terms "Tribe" and "Caste" were used interchangeably for these communities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denotified_tribes_of_India
The SCOPE met the tribe's families in Daund Taluka of Pune district. These are Phase Pardhi, victims of a lot of suspicion and harassment.
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| Cooking Tea |
Phase Pardhi or Phasse Pardhi are a tribe in India. The tribe often faces harassment by Indian law enforcement agencies. The tribe is found mostly in Maharashtra and parts of Madhya Pradesh. The Phasse are a sub tribe of the Pardhi caste, which includes sub-castes like Gav-Paradhi, Berad-Paradhi, Gai-Paradhi, Chita-Paradhi. The Passe number 60,000, with 10,000 child beggars and only 3,000 literates in Mumbai alone. Pardhi is the term for "hunter". Widely found surnames among them include Chauhan, Pawar and Solanke.[1]
History
The criminal branding of the tribe goes back to 1871 after the British passed the "Criminal Tribes Act". About a hundred and fifty tribes were branded as criminal, and the police were given sweeping powers to arrest them and watch over their movements.
T. V. Stephens, a British officer at that time quoted:
"... people from time immemorial have been pursuing the caste system defined job-positions: weaving, carpentry and such were hereditary jobs. So there must have been hereditary criminals also who pursued their forefathers’ profession."
Volume XII of the 1880 Bombay Presidency Gazette has further comments about the group stating:
"They are still fond of hunting and poaching and have not got rid of their turn for thieving.... The Phase Pardhi [a sub-tribe] is nearly always ragged and dirty, walking with a sneaking gait."
In 1952, the tribe was denotified as "criminal" and named as a nomadic tribe. However this has not changed the public perception of the tribe, and they continue to be stigmatized and live as outcasts, further aggravating their backwardness and economic hardships.[3][4]
Another Paradhi tribe called the Gav-Paradhi, settled primarily in the Amravati District Maharashtra, escaped the label of 'criminal tribe' as they were mostly agriculturalists.
Discrimination
Despite being exonerated by the Indian government, the community is still perceived to be indulging in criminal activities. The criminal stigma is attached from birth, and by the age of sixteen, his name is usually featured in criminal records as a potential suspect. The police uses the "Habitual Offenders Act (1952)" to harass the community. Public pressure in villages often prevents the nomadic community from settling in village. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase_Pardhi>
SCOPE meets Phase Pardhis:
Mr. Vishwas met with the family. They were obliging to talk to him. In the course of conversation, he came to know that they did not have a ration card, no money to survive and three small children to look after without any facilities for kindergarten or any such school atmosphere. Hence, the SCOPE decided to search for more of such families in all the villages where SCOPE is working. The survey and knowledge will help the SCOPE to bring the children in the school atmosphere, give them a social identity by way of procuring Ration Cards of Below Poverty Line. The Ration Card will help them to get grains and other government aid to survive.
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| SCOPE Personnel Mr. Vishwas Chakranarayan with the children of Phase Pardhi |
