Denotified Tribes of India: Discrimination

Social stigmatization is a virtual curse imposed on certain Indian social sections by the colonial government as part of their contextual political strategies by late nineteenth century. The so-called denotified tribes (formerly known as ex-criminal tribes) in Indian society occupy this state-made category. Untouchability, on the other, was a Hindu cultural construct created and propagated by dominant upper classes. Legacy of these cultural/social and historical constructs continues till date in the country. According to the latest survey reports, India has 198 groups belonging to nomadic and denotified tribes: unorganized, scattered and utter nobodies. Social justice is alien to them and economic disempowerment eventually resulted in slavery, bonded labour and poverty.