Prejudiced past and forsaken future: the DNTs’ battle for dignity

Prejudiced past and forsaken future: the DNTs’ battle for dignity

Sub: Schemes

Sec: Vulnerable sector

Tags: Denotified Tribes

Context:

• Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, a group of marginalized communities across Andhra Pradesh, have been silently suffering neglect and caste-based discrimination for centuries.

About the recent plight?

• Getting access to quality education, jobs or even basic amenities such as water and electricity is a constant struggle, with the primary focus often being on securing enough food for survival.
• This is the reality for the Yanadis and 58 other Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) of the State.
• Until 1952, when these communities were denotified, they were branded criminals under the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871. 
• They were later designated as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes (BCs), and Minorities groups, with reservations and other measures to ensure equity.
• It is estimated that 20 crore people across the country belong to DNT communities, with around 60 lakh people in this category in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• Of DNT communities, Lambadas (STs) are the most vocal and visible, followed by Vadderas (BCs) in government sector and political spheres.
• The other communities, including Yanadis, Yerukulas, Nakkalas, Pamulollu and those falling in the SC group, rarely get their voices heard.

Who are Denotified Tribes?

• The term ‘De-notified Tribes’ stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between l87l and I947.
• These Acts were repealed by the Independent lndian Government in l952, and these communities were “De-Notified”.
• A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
• Terms such as nomads and semi-nomads are applied to social groups who undertook a fairly frequent, usually seasonal physical movement as part of their livelihood strategy in the recent past.
• The term semi-nomad is mostly used to describe those sections of nomads whose duration, distance and frequency of movement is comparatively less than others.
• The distinction between nomadic and semi-nomads does not involve distinguishable ethnic categories or social groups, it rather describes the degree of mobility practiced by them.
• It has been estimated that South Asia has the world’s largest nomadic population. 
• In India, roughly 10 percent of the population is Denotified and Nomadic.
• While the number of Denotified Tribes is about 150, the population of Nomadic Tribes consists of about 500 different communities.
• While the Denotified Tribes have almost settled in various States of the country, the Nomadic Communities continue to be largely nomadic in pursuit of their traditional professions.
• The Renke Commission (2008) was earlier commissioned to identify and list the DNT communities.
• Idate commission  was established in 2014 under the leadership of Bhiku Ramji Idate, to compile a statewide catalog of Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs).
• According to a report published by the National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes in 2008, there are 59 Denotified communities and 60 nomadic tribes in Andhra Pradesh.

About Yanadis tribe:

• The Yenadis also spelled Yanadi are one of the Scheduled tribes of India.
• They live in Andhra Pradesh in Nellore, Chittoor and Prakasam districts. 
• The Yenadis are a tribe in Andhra Pradesh living in extreme conditions of poverty and social exclusion.
• The tribe is divided among three subgroups: the Manchi Yanadi, Adavi Yanadi, and Challa Yanadi. Yenadis are the largest tribal group in Andhra Pradesh.

About Lambadas:

• Lambada are the most colorful of all the tribal groups of Andhra Pradesh, widely dispersed in almost all the districts.
• According to the Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Lists Modification Order of 1956, Lambadas are declared as Scheduled Tribe in Andhra area and as a Denotified Tribe in Telangana area of Andhra Pradesh.