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Panel presentation :
De-notified and nomadic communities are most marginalized group in India. There are around hundred of De-notified tribes which were branded as criminals by Britishers during colonial rule. Their experience during colonialism was remained unheard in the struggle for independence. They are declared as criminals by Britisher's Under Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) 1871. As a part of Criminal Tribe Act, the members of these communities were kept in barbed wire settlements; where there was strict surveillance on their movement. This branding led them to the formation of their stigmatized identity. After independence this act has been repealed and these communities are now known as De-notified tribes. Many of the nomadic communities had also become the victims of CT Act. Presently, De-notified tribes constitute approximately eight cores of India's population and live in extreme poverty. The illiteracy among these communities is more than that of other marginalized communities. The worse part about them is that, they have been treated as criminals by the state as well as the society at large. They are the first suspect in the locality when there is an instance of stealing and robbery. Most of these communities are linked to particular form of occupations. Due to the new form of development, modernization processes, taxing of natural resources and technological advancement; the skills of De-notified communities become redundant therefore those groups are at cross road today. After independence they were soon forgotten by state, as many of them nomads and away from the gaze of state. Many communities started settling down in the villages and cities, which lead to the conflict with the settled communities due to their different culture and stigmatized identity. This Proposal intends to explore the situation and experiences of various De-notified and nomadic tribes during the colonial and independent India. This proposal will also make attempt to study similarities in the experiences of immigrants and minorities which came in to contact with the host population after migration. ( shirishconnect@gmail.com)
