Abstract
De-Notified and Nomadic Tribes, which were called “criminal tribes” during the colonial rule, are one of the most subjugated sections in modern India. The colonial administration enacted the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) in 1871 based on the notion of hereditary criminal class in contemporary Europe, incorrect understanding of the Indian caste system and the social causes of criminality in India, and in a bid to establish law and order in the subcontinent. The CTA, which mostly targeted the nomadic, wandering and peripatetic communities, not only violated the basic dignity of human life but also criminalized millions of individuals. In independent India, the CTA was repealed but later replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act, which retained many of the provisions of the CTA, and led to the continued labeling and criminalization of the DNTs. This process further led to the marginalization and social exclusion of the DNTs, and their ending up becoming de-citizenized. Women and children had to bear the brunt of the criminalization process, in terms of institutional and structural violence—poor access to food security, education, healthcare, social protection and justice delivery. As DNTs were criminalized through the creation of a colonial discourse, their reintegration needs to be informed by an alternate body of liberating knowledge from sociology and criminology. The chapter argues that the vicious circle forcing the DNTs to remain in the criminal nexus can be broken through concerted efforts by the State, community associations of DNTs, civil society and DNT individuals. Specific suggestions informed by criminological theory can bring about a desired change for integrating the succeeding generations and establish a just, egalitarian and violence-free society.
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Notes
- 1.
The Indian rebellion, which is also known as the “Sepoy Mutiny” against the East India Company (EIC), was a result of a combination of years of misrule by the EIC and precipitating social, political, economic and religious factors. For a more detailed understanding, read Heather Streets (2001), retrieved from http://www.sdstate.edu/projectsouthasia/Resources/upload/The-Rebellion-of-1857-Streets.pdf.
- 2.
The other narrative about Chapparbands is that they used to make coins during the reign of the princely states prior to British occupation. After the coming of the EIC and the gradual annexation of princely states, the Chapparbands lost their occupation, with the replacement of local coins by the new currency which was introduced throughout colonial India. The Chapparbands “rebelled” against colonial rule by making fake coins, being experts in making coins, to earn their livelihood and hurt the British economy.
- 3.
- 4.
Patel or Patil was the lowermost police functionary in the village whereas Deshmukhs were traditional revenue collectors.
- 5.
A police diary is a small notebook that the police may ask a suspect to maintain which records his/her attendance in the local police station, as and when called to the police station. A Station House Diary is a basic legal document maintained in every police station which records all official actions taken by the police, including registration of complaints, arrest and detention of suspects, help provided to citizens in distress, actions taken to maintain law and order, etc.
- 6.
Sheela Barse versus State of Maharashtra on February 1983, cited at 1983 AIR 378, 1983 SCR (2) 337. (http://indiankanoon.org/doc/174498/).
- 7.
Towards Advocacy, Networking and Developmental Action (TANDA), a Field Action Project of Centre for Criminology and Justice, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai is working with Nomadic and De-notified Communities (NT-DNTs). TANDA works towards “creating self-reliant NT-DNTs and ensuring the realisation of their constitutional and entitlement rights, as citizens of India”. TANDA strongly believes that NT-DNTs should organise themselves to advocate for their rights and dignity. The project aims to play the role of a change agent through generating knowledge, capacity building and networking with different stakeholders on relevant issues towards policy advocacy.
- 8.
The Sikligars are variously worded as Sikalgars, Siklagars, Shikalgars, etc. in various texts and government documents. We have used the word as spelt by Sher Singh ‘Sher’ (1966), who has written an authoritative account about the Sikh-Sikligars titled The Sikligars of Punjab: A Gypsy Tribe, New Delhi: Manoharilal Munshiram Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
- 9.
The DNTs are not enumerated as a distinct category in the Census and other official statistics. They are subsumed either under the SCs, or the STs, or the OBCs in different states, based on various criteria identified by different state governments for enumeration purposes. The politics of this enumeration process is based on contesting claims by different communities about their level of socio-economic backwardness and the clout they enjoy in the polity of the state. The fact that DNTs do not exist as a separate category except in one or two states (for example in Maharashtra), is evidence of their inability to stake claim in the political and democratization processes, and their continued subjugated status.
- 10.
- 11.
The left realists tried to combine the concerns of traditional criminologists with the concerns raised by Marxist and Neo-Marxist School, by viewing inner city crime as a growing and serious problem. This analysis highlights the square of crime—the State, society, the offender and the victim. All four factors need to be looked at for all types of crime (Carrabine et al. 2004, p. 79).
- 12.
- 13.
The Supreme Court has passed an order to all states and Union Territories to implement the recommendations of the National Police Commission, which has recommended the setting up of such bodies, among its many far-reaching recommendations. For more details, see http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&id=199%3Asupreme-court-directives-on-police-reform&Itemid=98.
- 14.
- 15.
Under this approach, the district collector or other competent authority, along with officials from all concerned departments organizes a camp for DNTs, whereby documents are issued to individuals based on oral depositions by the community members, rather than the typical approach of issuing citizenship documents on the basis of the applicant providing certain ‘eligibility’ documents/certificates.
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Bokil, M., Raghavan, V. (2016). Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: The Case of De-Notified Tribes in India. In: Kury, H., Redo, S., Shea, E. (eds) Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08398-8_27
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