{"id":61884,"date":"2024-12-20T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=61884"},"modified":"2025-12-10T08:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T02:54:42","slug":"why-are-nt-dnt-tribes-struggling-to-establish-their-identity","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/article\/rights\/why-are-nt-dnt-tribes-struggling-to-establish-their-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Denotified and nomadic tribes struggle to establish their identity\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Why are denotified and nomadic tribes struggling to establish their identity?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/T5SM8kd-5vU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/ccnmtl.columbia.edu\/projects\/mmt\/ambedkar\/web\/readings\/Simhadri.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Criminal Tribes Act<\/a>, introduced by the British in 1871, labelled several nomadic, semi-nomadic, and denotified (NT-DNT) communities in India as &lsquo;habitual offenders&rsquo;, forcing them to regularly report at police stations. Although the act was repealed in 1952, its stigma persists. For example, many police training manuals still identify certain communities as suspects in crimes by default. This historical prejudice continues to marginalise NT-DNT communities, depriving them of access to education, stable livelihoods, and government welfare programmes.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of these communities, such as the Kalbeliyas, Banjaras, Kalandars, and Gadiya Lohars, once played crucial roles in India&rsquo;s social, economic, and cultural life through crafts, performances, and provision of essential services. Today, members of these communities are often found in precarious, informal jobs or forced into begging.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ghumantu Sajha Manch, a collective of denotified and nomadic tribes, is working to collectivise these scattered communities, advocating for recognition, reservations, welfare programmes, and political representation. Their demands include establishing a distinct Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (NT-DNT) category; creating employment schemes rooted in their traditional skills; and simplifying access to essential government services such as housing, education, and social security.<\/p><div id=\"idron-2811486433\" class=\"idron-article-in-content idron-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idranswers.idronline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png\" alt=\"What is IDR Answers Page Banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1.png 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-300x60.png 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-1024x205.png 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-150x30.png 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/What-is-IDR-Answers-Page-Banner-1-768x154.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Gyan Singh, Moin Kalandar, Madan, Wahid, and other members of the Ghumantu Sajha Manch contributed to this video<\/em>.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&mdash;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-know-more\">Know more<\/h3><ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/ruralindiaonline.org\/en\/library\/resource\/voicing-the-community-a-study-on-the-de-notified-and-nomadic-tribes-of-rajasthan-gujarat-and-madhya-pradesh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this study<\/a> on the NT-DNT communities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=muslim+miroor+music+langa+manganiyar+rajasthan&amp;sca_esv=625157b32196c1a0&amp;rlz=1C1UEAD_en-GBIN1081IN1083&amp;sxsrf=ADLYWIIYGIuvQ0XuDW6JRVS726w3a2teng%3A1734665419186&amp;ei=y-RkZ436CqygseMPtIqSoA8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjNi_WgtLWKAxUsUGwGHTSFBPQQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=muslim+miroor+music+langa+manganiyar+rajasthan&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLm11c2xpbSBtaXJvb3IgbXVzaWMgbGFuZ2EgbWFuZ2FuaXlhciByYWphc3RoYW4yCBAAGIAEGKIEMggQABiABBiiBDIIEAAYgAQYogQyCBAAGKIEGIkFSNkZUL0CWLcYcAF4AJABAJgB2AGgAYIWqgEGMC4xMi4zuAEDyAEA-AEBmAIFoAKaBsICChAAGLADGNYEGEeYAwCIBgGQBgOSBwUxLjIuMqAH0iY&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:04bfe399,vid:nhNzaUGI05g,st:1579\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this video<\/a> about the syncretic songs of the Langa and Manganiyar community.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Read <a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/article\/inequality\/why-are-nt-dnt-communities-still-excluded-from-education\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this article<\/a> about how NT-DNT youth are systemically excluded from accessing education.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div id=\"idron-3468491071\" class=\"idron-troublemakers-placement idron-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/donate\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"donate banner\"><img src=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg\" alt=\"donate banner\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-300x60.jpg 300w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-1024x205.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-150x30.jpg 150w, https:\/\/idronline.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Donate-banner-1-768x154.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" width=\"1250\" height=\"250\"   \/><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":61887,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[582,2652,24],"tags":[3578,3666,3722],"series":[],"meta-filter":[],"schema-filter":[743],"no-display":[],"class_list":["post-61884","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-instagram","category-rights","category-social-justice","tag-adivasi-communities","tag-marginalised-communities","tag-tribal-rights","contributor-noor-mohammad-kalandar","states-india","schema-filter-article"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why are NT-DNT tribes struggling to establish their identity? 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