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Home/Anthropology/Mains PYQ/2022/Paper II/Tribal India
UPSC MainsAnthropology Optional Paper II 2022 10 Marks Model Answer Available

Problems of Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Groups — 2022 Paper II

Question · 2022 · Paper II · 10 Marks

Major problems of nomadic and semi-nomadic groups

Model Answer

VAID ICS

Approach

  • Demand of Question: Analyze the unique, historically rooted deprivations of Denotified (DNT), Nomadic (NT), and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (SNT), moving beyond generic poverty to issues of mobility, stigma, and state classification.
  • Structuring the Response: Introduce the legacy of the Criminal Tribes Act; categorize problems (stigma, documentary exclusion, livelihood loss, classification gaps); highlight institutional interventions (Idate Commission, SEED); conclude with the need for portable welfare.
  • Key Dimensions to Cover: CTA 1871; Habitual Offenders Act; sedentary state vs. mobile citizens; Renke and Idate Commissions; DWBDNC; SEED scheme; 2025–26 SHG data.

Model Answer

Introduction: Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DNT/NT/SNT) face a distinct form of marginalization rooted in historical injustice and geographical mobility. Many of these groups were unjustly branded as "born criminals" under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act (1871). Although denotified in 1952, the structural and social stigma persists today.

Major Problems Faced by Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Groups:

  • Historical Stigma and Police Harassment: Despite denotification, the subsequent Habitual Offenders Acts in various states perpetuated police suspicion. These communities are often scapegoated for local crimes and face deep-seated social boycotts.
  • Documentary Exclusion (The Sedentary State Bias): The Indian welfare state is designed for settled populations. Constant mobility prevents these groups from securing domicile proofs, making it exceptionally difficult to obtain Aadhar, caste certificates, ration cards, or voter IDs.
  • Classification Anomalies: There is immense ambiguity in their constitutional status. A community might be classified as Scheduled Caste (SC) in one state, Scheduled Tribe (ST) in another, and Other Backward Class (OBC) elsewhere, causing them to fall through the cracks of affirmative action.
  • Loss of Traditional Livelihoods: Pastoralists (e.g., Rabaris, Bakarwals) face shrinking village commons, strict forest regulations, and blocked traditional grazing corridors. Similarly, itinerant traders and performers have lost livelihoods to modern entertainment and changing markets.
  • Educational and Healthcare Deficits: Continuous movement severely disrupts children's schooling, leading to high dropout rates. Women face acute vulnerabilities due to a lack of access to institutional maternal healthcare.

Policy Perspectives and Institutional Measures:

  • Committees: The Renke Commission (2008) and Idate Commission (2018) highlighted that these groups are the "poorest of the poor" and lack political voice.
  • Current Interventions: The Development and Welfare Board for DNTs (DWBDNC) implements the SEED Scheme (Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs), focusing on coaching, health, livelihoods, and housing. As of 2025–26, the Ministry of Social Justice reported the formation of over 5,061 SHGs covering 61,133 beneficiaries to boost local economic resilience.

Conclusion: The fundamental crisis for nomadic groups is not their mobility, but an administrative apparatus designed solely for sedentary citizens. Mainstreaming them requires portable constitutional entitlements (leveraging platforms like ONORC), accurate national enumeration, and the decriminalization of their traditional ways of life.

 

2026 Dravidian language family and its tribal speakers. 2026 Buddhist tribes of India. 2026 Nature-Man-Spirit-Complex. 2026 Make a critical appraisal of Surajit Sinha's line of argument that tribes and castes may not be isolated social categories, but are a part of the great Indian civilization.

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