Denotified tribes’ anger boiling over amid a stagnating scheme and classification deadlocks

With the Centre’s SEED scheme for denotified tribes just about taking off, caste certificates being denied to them in 29 States, and the Idate Commission’s 2017 report in cold storage, anger amongst the denotified tribes (DNT), semi-nomadic tribes (SNT), and nomadic tribes (NT) is growing across States like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat. This anger is now also frustrating Members of the Union government’s Development and Welfare Board for DNTs, SNTs, and NTs (DWBDNC), who are making fresh attempts to push for the implementation of the Idate recommendations which include a permanent commission, proper classification, and a detailed caste-census. 

As 2024 was winding down, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment prepared a “roadmap” to address the communities’ most pressing concerns, but the anger of these communities is now being wielded by its leaders to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) larger narrative on tribal identity, which has been constructed by centreing the reclamation of tribal leaders as the first ones to resist “foreign invaders” like Islamic rulers and European colonisers. 

“What kind of Hindutva is this?” asked Member, DWBDNC, Bharatbhai Babubhai Patni, in a phone interview with The Hindu, adding, “We were among the first to resist the British. As every other community succumbed to conversions, we were the ones who chose to stay within Hindu dharma.”  

Mr. Patni said that the government can no longer shut out voices calling for the Idate Commission’s recommendations to be implemented. “A Schedule must be put out listing out all the DNTs, alongside SC/ST/OBC certificates, there must be directions to issue joint certificates like SC-DNT, ST-DNT, OBC-DNT,” he added, echoing concerns raised by a host of other community leaders from Haryana and U.P. as well at a national-level meeting held in New Delhi last week.  

The government had constituted the National Commission for DNTs/NTs/SNTs in 2015 under the Chairmanship of Bhiku Ramji Idate, which had put out its final report in 2017, calling for the government to expedite the final classification of these communities, count their population by including a Caste-Census column in the 2021 Census, and provide a sub-quota for them under SC/ST/OBC quotas in public education and employment.  

The Idate Commission had concluded there were a total of 1,526 DNT, NT, and SNT communities across the country, of which 269 were not yet categorised as either SC, ST, or OBC.

The Renke Commission of 2005 had estimated their population to be around 10 to 12 crores at the time, though community leaders have estimated that their population would have risen to over 25 crores by now.  

Dr. B.K. Lodhi, who was Member Secretary in the Idate Commission and is now part of the Vimukt, Ghumantu, and Ardh-Ghumantu Janjatiya Vikas Parishad (Akhil Bharatiya) in Uttar Pradesh, said, “We were the first to resist British rulers and branded Criminal for it. How can this government not sort out these basic issues like DNT certificates across States?” 

Uttar Pradesh is among the seven States that technically have begun issuing DNT community certificates. But Dr. Lodhi, who attended the national workshop in New Delhi last week, said, “They are saying they have issued some 200-300 certificates and painting it as some huge achievement.” He went on to say, “It strikes at a core area, denying our identity. If the government cannot get States to issue DNT certificates, they might as well brand us Criminal again, at least we will get our identity.” 

Dr. Balwan Singh, Chairperson of the State Board for DNTs in Haryana, added, “There are no people from our community in leadership positions. The DWBDNC of the Centre does not have a full-time Chairman yet and the position has been given to the Social Justice Secretary as additional charge? How can we expect anything concrete to be done?” 

The SEED scheme – Scheme for the Economic Empowerment of DNT/NT/SNT communities, was meant to be the Centre’s flagship scheme for these communities. Launched in February 2022, the scheme offered assistance for livelihood, education, healthcare, and housing. But it took over two years for the scheme to take off, just in time for the beginning of this fiscal.  

As of November 2024, over 7,000 Ayushman Cards had been distributed, sanction was sought for around 3,000 housing applications, set up about 1,000 Self-Help Groups, and coaching centres had been started in States like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. Officials told The Hindu that the scheme needs NGOs in States to step up and work with the governments like in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Gujarat. “More states will soon have their NGO associations,” one top official said, adding that it is difficult to find beneficiaries because many DNTs are already found benefitting from schemes meant for SC, ST, and OBC communities.  

Just after the national workshop last week ended, another DNT leader from U.P., LN Singh told The Hindu, “These are basic issues which are not being sorted out and I believe that the beating BJP took in Lok Sabha in UP was partly due to the anger of the DNT communities. We don’t even have district-level complaints committees for our people.” 

In a meeting of top officials, chaired by Social Justice Minister Virendra Kumar last month, the government had resolved to urge States and UTs to start issuing DNT certification along with regular caste certificates, devise schemes to give land to landless DNT families, set up district-level complaints committees, and expedite scheme revisions to enable DNT families to access housing through PM Awas Yojana (Urban and Rural).  

“Work is proceeding in this direction, and the Minister has assured us of action but there are real concerns about the lack of implementation of the Idate Commission’s recommendations. So many people are not getting community certificates because of belonging to sub-castes, or spelling it differently, or having a hyphenated caste name,” Mr. Patni said, speaking to the urgency of addressing issues of classification.  

Mr. Patni told The Hindu that a meeting has been scheduled for later this month with top officials of the Social Justice Ministry, where he said he intended to press for these demands of the community.