ANTHROGURU

ANTHROPOLOGY

REPORTS SUMMARIES
( Xaxa , Renke commission,Mungekar ,Ranganath Misra)

CONTACT:

[email protected]

Telegram; anthroguru
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Reports summaries

1) Virginius Xaxa Report

2) Renke commission report

3) Mungekar report

4)National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities

Justice Ranganath Misra
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Virginius Xaxa Report

Tribes: Legal and Administrative Framework

1. During the colonial period, tribal communities inhabited areas were divided into ‘excluded’
and ‘partially excluded’ areas for purpose of administration. Such administrative arrangements
have found continuation in post-independence India in the form of Sixth and Fifth Schedules of
the Constitution. Laws enacted by the Governor-General in Council or Governor in Council were
not automatically applicable in these areas in colonial India unless Governor General or
Governor thought otherwise.

In post-Independence India, this legal provision has been continued in Sixth Schedule Areas, but
not in Fifth Schedule Areas. Thus, laws passed by the Parliament or State Legislature are not
directly applicable in Sixth Schedule Areas unless the Governor thinks it desirable. In the Fifth
Schedule Areas, laws passed by these bodies are automatically applicable, unless the Governor
thinks it to be not in the interest and welfare of the tribal communities of the State.

There have been laws and policies passed by the Parliament and State Legislatures such as the
Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Panchayat Acts (prior to
the passing of the 73rd Amendment in 1992), and so on which have had an adverse and
detrimental impact on tribal communities. Yet the Governors have not exercised their
constitutional power towards the protection and welfare of the tribal communities. This opens up
two possibilities:

(i) Laws and policies enacted by the Parliament and State Legislatures should not be
automatically applied in the Fifth Schedule areas (as was the case under colonial rule or as is
presently the case in the Sixth Schedule areas). Its applicability should be made contingent on the
discretion of the Governor who would determine its applicability or non-applicability or
applicability with modifications/amendments on the advice of Tribes Advisory Council and issue
a Statement of Objectives and Reasons for decisions on both applicability and inapplicability of
laws and policies.

(ii) In case the above is untenable, the Governor should be mandated to take the advice of the
Tribes Advisory Council and examine legislations and policies (particularly, though not
exclusively, those pertaining to issues such as forests, land acquisition, conservation, mines and
minerals, health and education) passed by the Parliament or State Legislatures and the
implications of the same on tribal welfare. A mechanism for such examination and action should
be clearly stated and established.

2. Actions taken by the Governor for safeguarding the interests of tribal communities should be
clearly mentioned in the annual Governor’s Reports submitted to the President. The Governors
must be mandated to ensure the timely submission of these reports. To this end, the Governor’s
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office must be adequately assisted by specially set up competent and dedicated team in the form
of Governor’s Cell for Scheduled Tribes (as has already been initiated in some States).

3. The Tribes Advisory Council is an integral part of the administrative structure of the Fifth
Schedule. Currently, the TAC consists of 20 members, of which two-thirds is comprised of
elected members in the State Legislature belonging to the Scheduled Tribes. The rest are
nominated members who generally tend to be government officials working in Ministries and
Departments associated with tribal development. In this regard, we recommend that:

(i) There needs to be a radical restructuring of the composition of the TAC. Instead of two-thirds
elected members from the State Legislature, this should be restricted to half the members of the
TAC. Moreover, these elected representatives must come from different political parties, rather
than only from the ruling party. The remaining one-half should be comprised of Chairpersons of
the district Panchayat bodies (or chairpersons of the Autonomous Council, wherever established)
of the Scheduled Areas on a rotational basis.

(ii) Tribes Advisory Council should be empowered, made active and responsible for the tribal
affairs in the State through the following measures:

The scope and responsibilities of TAC should be widened to transform it into the Tribes
Advisory, Protective and Developmental Council. Constitutional provisions, laws, policies, and
administrative matters pertaining to the Scheduled Tribes must come under its ambit.

The tribal development plan of a State and its outlay should be approved by the TAC before it
is placed before the Legislative Assembly.

In view of the serious responsibility placed on the TAC, it should be made compulsory for the
Council to meet at least four times a year.

The Tribal Welfare Department should be made accountable to the TAC. It should present its
annual plan, budget and performance report to the TAC and receive its approval for the next
year.

The agenda for the TAC meetings should be prepared through due consultation with the
members.

The Governor should be made responsible for the overall functioning of the TAC.

4. The provisions of the Sixth Schedule provide considerable space for autonomy and self-
governance. Through the Autonomous Councils, tribals have the opportunity to enact
legislations, execute programmes and adjudicate at a scale larger than their individual villages.
Such a provision has helped tribes of the Northeast to protect their habitat, land, forests, natural
resources, culture and identity. They have not experienced displacement and land alienation on
the scale that tribes in ‘mainland’ India have. In view of these powers of political autonomy, the
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tribal communities in the Northeast region have fared much better in respect of socio-economic,
educational and health status.

In contrast, the tribes in mainland have fared miserably in all these spheres. Hence, there is an
urgent need for extending the pattern of the Sixth Schedule in the form of Autonomous Councils
in the Fifth Schedule areas as has been provided for in the Provisions of Panchayat (Extension to
Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996. The specific provision notes that, “the State Legislature shall
endeavour to follow the pattern of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution while designing the
administrative arrangements in the Panchayats at district levels in the Scheduled Areas”.

There are several other reasons for this situation, most importantly, the relative homogeneity of
the population in Northeastern states, a tribal majority in many states and a history of
missionary activity. However, the provisions of the Sixth Schedule have also made a significant
contribution.

This pattern would provide tribal areas with an institutional structure that mediates between the
State Government and hamlet-level Gram Sabha. There are various forms of Autonomous
Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. These are represented by Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura
and Assam. On the question of which pattern would best suit the ‘mainland’ tribal regions should
be seriously deliberated and worked upon by the States with Fifth Schedule areas.

5. There are a large number of States wherein tribes form a sizeable population in blocks or
villages, for example, in States like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, etc.
Tribal areas in these States must be brought under the ambit of Scheduled Areas.

6. There are various impediments to the smooth and inclusive working of the Autonomous
Councils in Sixth Schedule areas which must be addressed. In order to do so, we propose the
following:

Autonomous Councils must be covered under State Finance Commission that is empowered to
review periodically the financial position and lay down appropriate principles of resource
distribution between State and the Autonomous Council. Funding should not be left to arbitrary
discretion of the State Governments.

The ADC should be reconstituted within six months of its dissolution.

There should be provision for reservation for tribal women (one-third) as well as smaller tribal
groups in the ADCs and other political institutions.

Traditional political institutions at the village/hamlet level should be formally recognized by

the State.
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Livelihoods and Employment Status

1. There is a dire need to establish agro-based training institutions and related labour-intensive
processing industries in tribal regions. Terms and quantum of micro-credit should be made
reasonable for individuals, SHGs, cooperative institutions and Gram Sabhas in Scheduled Areas
for the tribes to pursue these occupations.

2. In order to make use of land available with the tribal farmers, they should be motivated to
undertake organic farming and eco-forestry. This requires concerted efforts by the Departments
of Agriculture and Forest to motivate the tribal farmers to undertake such activities.

3. Although a majority of Scheduled Tribes have land, and cultivation is their main occupation,
water for agriculture is the greatest impediment in production. Micro watershed development
program with people-centered participatory approach is a good method for poverty reduction
through natural resource management in tribal regions. Therefore, micro watershed should be
given top-most priority in tribal areas to enhance agricultural productivity.

4. It is imperative to strategize water management in degraded and undulating land, dependent on

erratic monsoon. Water conservation through large dams has been proved contrary to the
interests of the tribes. Therefore, the best strategy would be to construct water harvesting
structures on various small and large water sources. Even on big rivers, small water harvesting
structures could be constructed, which would be environment friendly.

5. The deprivation of STs of cultivated land adds to their marginalization and penury. This
warrants the prevention of all kinds of tribal land alienation through strict enforcement of laws
and restoration of alienated land to the tribal owners as per the provisions of the PESA and the
confirmatory Acts by various States. There should be monitoring agencies at the National and
State levels to prevent alienation of tribal land and its restoration.

6. Since tribal inhabited regions have good forest cover (with or without trees now), they should
be allowed to participate in the protection and management of forests. The newly acquired land
under FRA, 2006 could be utilized in eco-forestry rather than for food grain cultivation, which
could give more return to the ST farmers, in case they want to opt for it.

7. Credit and marketing facilities need to be extended to the STs. Delivery of social justice must
be monitored by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, both at the national and state
levels.

8. There is severe under-representation of STs and pending vacancies in Central Government

services. As far as the representation of STs in Public Sector Banks, Financial Institutions and
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Insurance Companies, STs accounts for 6.55 per cent, which is less than the mandatory 7.5 per
cent of ST reservations to be followed by these institutions. Therefore, the Government should
follow a transparent policy with regard to jobs for STs in public sector. No ST candidates who
fulfill the basic eligibility criteria for a specific post should be rejected on the ground of no
suitable candidates found.

9. The discriminatory credit policy of the financial institutions is a major deterrent in the
participation of STs in business. Entrepreneurs among STs must be given credit facility on par
with other social groups. Further, all steps must be taken by the Government for skill
development among the tribal youth to make them employable or self-employed, according to
their aspirations.

10. The participation of STs in MGNREGA has been decreasing from its inception in 2006. This
trend is very disturbing, which should be investigated and monitored by a special agency under
the administrative control of MoTA.

11. Tribals should be encouraged to use their traditional knowledge to meet their needs by
recreating their forest ecosystem and forest-based livelihood.

12. The Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) among the tribes need special attention
due to their vulnerability in the present situation. Their customary right to land, forest and
sources of livelihood must be respected and protected. The issue of nomenclature must be
addressed by commissioning a special study. MoTA should ensure that all states having PVTGs
should take steps to have micro-projects for individual PVTGs to utilize the grants received
under SCA. The Project Offices for PVTGs should be made to report to the MoTA about the
development activities undertaken for the PVTGs under their jurisdiction, rather than submitting
allocation and expenditure statements.

13. Data on development parameters with respect to STs are not available for the purpose of
policy planning and implementation. Therefore, a National Institute of Tribal Development, an
autonomous research organization, has to be set up exclusively for undertaking research on STs.

Education

1. The purpose of education anywhere, including in tribal areas, should be to provide chidren
with an understanding of the environment and society in which they live and to endow them with
the capability to earn a livelihood in the local society and, for those who have the desire and
ability, in the national job market.

2. There is a marked gender gap with respect to education in tribal society. This is reflected in
the disparity in literacy levels, drop-out rates and enrolment in higher education. Hence, there is
a need for greater gender focus and social mobilization to encourage education of girls. The State
must develop certain mechanisms to this effect.
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3. Since the educational scenario in tribal areas is marked by poor infrastructure, providing
adequate infrastructure, such as classrooms, teachers and teaching aids as well as basic facilities
like electricity, water, boundary walls and toilets is absolutely essential for the proper
functioning of these schools and from the perspective of security and safety of children.

4. In view of the deteriorating condition of elementary education in tribal areas, where Sarva
Siksha Abhiyan has hardly been of help, recourse should be taken to the Right of Children to
Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which provides for compulsory enrolment of all
children between the age group 6 to 14, re-enrolment of those who have dropped out with the
facility of special coaching for admission in a class appropriate to his or her age, and admission
of a child in a neighbouring school of his or her choice. The Act should be stringently
implemented.

5. Keeping in view the difficulties of adjusting to a new cultural environment, teachers for
schools in the tribal regions should be recruited locally. Along with the teaching staff, the
administrative staff dealing with tribal education should have regular orientation courses to
appreciate tribal culture and way of life. To facilitate such training, the centers of training should
be located in the tribal areas. There should be a separate cadre of teaching and administrative
staff, who will serve among the tribal schools over the long run.

6. New teacher training institutions should be opened in the TSP areas to meet the full
requirement of qualified and trained teachers. The curriculum for the training should be drawn
up very carefully, taking into account the socio-cultural milieu, tribal ethos, language etc.

7. The dearth of teachers fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE Act is an
impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. For addressing the current crisis of
absence of teachers in tribal areas, special efforts need to be made to produce more teachers who
have qualified the Teachers Ability Test. This must be done on an emergency basis. In the
interregnum, teachers appointed in educational institutions must be given a term within which
they qualify the Teachers Eligibility Test, and facilities be provided to assist them in taking this
test, including training, courses and access to materials.

8. The State Governments should develop a policy for multilingual education, so that early
learning is conducted in the local language.

9. The experiment with the Model Primer developed in Odisha and other similar ventures may be
worked upon in TSP areas and in tribal languages in other states as well.

10. Inclusion of local culture, folklore and history in the curriculum can help in building
confidence of tribal children and enhance the relevance of education in their lives. Music and
dance are a central part of tribal life. Therefore, storytelling, theatre, painting, music and dance
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performances should be promoted. Similarly, sports such as football, archery and other popular
local sports are extremely beneficial and therapeutic for children, and should be promoted.

11. Recognizing that the tribal people have certain cultural ‘genius’, different aspects of
‘indigenous knowledge’ should be documented, researched and promoted. For developing better
understanding of the tribal cultures and their promotion, there should be appropriate number of
tribal cultural academies in regional centres. An important step in this direction is teaching tribal
history and culture in schools for both tribal and non-tribal children.

12. To address the problem of low representation of the tribals in higher education, it is
necessary to refurbish primary and secondary school education through special coaching.

13. Institutions of ITDAs/ITDPs and micro-projects support to the tribal schools should be
strengthened for prevention of dropouts.

14. The policy of no-detention needs a review. When the student, teachers, or parents of the
student request for retention of a child to enable him/her to acquire skills to move to the next
class, he/she should be retained.

15. In light of the harsh terrain of tribal inhabitations, norms concerning distance and Pupil-
Teacher Ratio, at all levels of school education, should be reviewed.

16. The policy of vocational education at the secondary and senior secondary level needs further
integration and strengthening.

17. There is a marked absence of quality secondary and higher secondary schools in tribal areas.
The Government needs to establish well-run residential schools such as Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalayas closer to the habitations (within a radius of ten kilometres) up to Class XII. These
schools must provide comprehensive facilities for marginalized children including quality
education, health care and academic support classes.

18. Residential schools should be set up specifically for Nomadic Tribes. The basic principles
are: (a) The residential schools should be in places where the weather is least harsh, (b) there
should be special security for the children, including girl children for whom there should be
women wardens, (c) the parents of students should be brought to these institutions so that they
are informed about the education, and quality of life, of their children, (d) there should be
proactive efforts by Tribal Affairs officials of the State to approach every family to help them
make an informed choice to send their children to the schools, (e) the holidays for these schools
should be fixed in such a way that the children can meet their family, when the family returns to
the place where they celebrate festivals, weddings, etc.

19. In residential schools, which are often in the news for incidents of sexual abuse of students,
strong mechanisms should be put in place to protect the students from abuse, neglect,
exploitation and violence.
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20. There is a need to recognise the adverse impact of violence on children’s education. No
schools or areas in the immediate vicinity of schools should be occupied by security forces or the
police, as has been the case in conflict zones in tribal areas. Demilitarisation of schools is vital in
order to restore schools as a place of safety, security and scholarship for students.

21. Involvement of community in educational interventions through the Panchayati Raj

Institutions needs to be institutionalized. Information on various schemes and benefits to
beneficiaries should be provided to the Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats, which would create
transparency and increase awareness about their entitlements.

22. There is a need for regular social audits to monitor the functioning of schools. To this end, a
monitoring committee at the block level for primary and middle schools and district level for
high and higher secondary schools should be set up.

23. Most of the educational ‘missions’ do not reach the tribal areas and where they do reach, they
are too rare to have any significant impact. The State educational machinery is largely
responsible for this situation. There should be proper accountability of the State educational
administration to end the longstanding stagnation in education in tribal areas.

24. The scope of education needs to be expanded for the purpose of scholarships and should
include tribal painting, art, craft, song, music and dance, etc. While the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
is now supporting scholarships for students belonging to Scheduled Tribes, the UGC and the
MoTA should support scholarships for tribal studies for non-tribal students also. A single
window scholarship portal targeting the Scheduled Tribe students should be established to
provide information on different scholarship schemes.

25. Regional Resource Centres in States with significant tribal populations should be established
to provide training, academic and other technical support for development of pedagogic tools and
education materials catering to multilingual situation.

26. It is suggested that owing to poor condition of the State Tribal Research Institutes, there is
the need to improve the same in terms of infrastructure, quality of staff, research output and
direction for policy. It is also recommended that a Central Tribal Research Institute, as has been
planned by the Central Government, be launched.

27. It is recommended that a Tribal Chair be established by the UGC in Universities in every
State comprising Fifth Schedule Areas.

Health

1. The first principle of any policy or program for tribal people is participation. Tribal people as
a population segment are not politically very vocal. However, they have different geographical,
social, economic and cultural environments, different kind of health cultures and health care
needs. Hence their views and priorities must get due place in any health care program, meant for
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them. We suggest making use of three types of existing institutional mechanisms to improve the
programs.

Tribal Health Assembly: From the Gram Sabhas at village level, upto the national level, Tribal
Health Assemblies should be annually organized in which the people (at the level of village) or
their representatives (at the higher levels) participate. For instance, such a ‘Tribal Health
Assembly’ is annually organized for the past 15 years by an NGO, SEARCH, in Gadchiroli
district (Maharashtra) for three purposes, a) to listen to the health problems and priorities of the
people, b) to get approval for the proposed health solutions and activities, c) to get their
feedback on ongoing activities. This can serve as a model at the local level in other Scheduled
Areas. At least one Gram Sabha meeting annually should be exclusively dedicated to the purpose
of health and related subjects.

Tribal Health Councils: These should be constituted by including elected representatives,

NGOs, experts and government officers for the purpose of planning and monitoring of programs.
Such councils should be constituted at the block or ITDP level, district, state and national level.
These should be empowered to shape the health plans and monitor implementation. These sub-
committees of Panchayat level, district level and Zilla Parishad could function as Tribal Health
Councils.

Tribes Advisory Councils at the state level: These Councils should approve the health plans
prepared by the Tribal Health Councils, and to review the performance of implementation.

2. In view of the enormous diversity among nearly 700 tribes in India, the second principle to be
followed is of area specific and tribe-sensitive local planning. The PESA provides an
institutional basis for this. The three institutional mechanisms suggested above, when created and
made operational at the block, district and state level, will allow local planning.

3. Social determinants of health – literacy, income, water, sanitation, fuel, food security and
dietary diversity, gender sensitivity, transport and connectivity – play very important role in
determining the health outcomes. Hence, inter-sectoral coordination for improvement in other
sectors is as important, if not more, as health care. Some specific suggestions for improving
health are:

The construction of drainage system, village sanitation infrastructure, personal toilets and the
environmental measures to control mosquito-breeding can be included in the MGNREGA
scheme and completed on priority basis in Scheduled Areas.

To reduce the household use of unclean fuels and biomass burning, the solar energy,
especially the solar cooker, water heaters and lights be promoted in Scheduled Areas. This will
also help save trees.
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Improving nutrition of children, adolescents and pregnant and lactating women is critical for
the Scheduled Tribes population. The nutrition awareness and feeding programs in the Scheduled
Areas can be better implemented in collaboration with the National Rural Livelihood Mission
and the women’s saving groups in the villages.

Health and income available for family will show improvement by controlling alcohol and
tobacco.

4. Empowerment of the Scheduled Tribe people is another cardinal principle. Building their
capabilities to care for their health is the long term solution far superior to a perpetual
dependence. This however does not mean that the government or the rest of the society can
abdicate their responsibility towards tribal people. But this responsibility can be better served in
long run by building local capacity. In other words, instead of ‘giving’ health care, the policy
should be to build ‘capacity to care for health’. This principle should guide in planning health
care – especially in the choice of who will provide health care, where, when and how.

5. To bridge the scientific knowledge gap of centuries, health care for Scheduled Areas should
give paramount importance to spreading ‘health literacy’ by way of mass educational methods,
folk media, modern media and school curriculum. Enormous scope exists for communication in
local dialects and for the use of technology.

6. A large number of Scheduled Tribe children and youth – more than one crore – are currently
in schools. This provides a great opportunity – both for improving their health and for imparting
health related knowledge and practices. Schools, including the primary schools, middle schools,
high schools, ashram shalas and also the Anganwadis should become the Primary Health
Knowledge Centers.

7. Special attention should be given to women, children, old and disabled people in the
Scheduled Tribe population as these are the most vulnerable.

8. Traditional healers and Dais play an important role in the indigenous health care. Instead of
alienating or rejecting them, a sensitive way of including them or getting their cooperation in
health care, must be explored. Traditional herbal medicines should be protected through
community ownership. The ownership and intellectual property rights of tribal community over
their own herbal medicines and practices should be ensured.

9. Apart from the physical distance, a huge cultural distance separates the tribal population from
others. Health care delivery to the Scheduled Tribe population should be culture-sensitive and in
the local language in order to overcome this distance.

10. Health care delivery system for Scheduled Areas must keep as its guiding principle the
Chinese axiom – How far can a mother walk on foot with a sick baby? Health care must be
available within that distance. This, for the tribal communities living in forests, means health
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care must be available in their village/hamlet. Sixty years of failure should teach us that health
care from outside is not a feasible solution. The design of health care in Scheduled Areas should
be such that major share of health promotion and prevention and a sizable proportion of curative
care is generated and provided within the village or hamlet.

11. In light of these principles and in view of the common disease pattern and needs listed earlier
in the conclusions section, we recommend that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
should redesign the primary and secondary health care services in Scheduled Areas. The new
pattern should not be enforced as a top-down, vertical, uniform national program, but should
provide a framework for local planning with local participation.

Thus, the ‘Tribal Health Plan’ will have three feature: one, a process framework about ‘how’ to
prepare the local plan, which will be in the form of guidelines on mechanisms; second, a series
of locally developed need-based contents of the plan and third, a design or structure of the health
care system to deliver such services in all Scheduled Areas. This ‘Tribal Health Plan’ should
become an essential feature of the National Health Mission and of the Tribal Sub Plan. The goals
and monitoring indicators of this plan will be different than the regular MIS of the NHM.

12. Human Resources for Health: The well-known difficulties in deploying doctors, nurses and
other technical personnel from outside, into Scheduled Areas have made the problem of human
resources the Achilles’ heel of health care in Scheduled Areas. We recommend that, instead of
making futile efforts to import unwilling and unstable personnel from outside, the most feasible
and effective long term solution will be to select, train and deploy local Scheduled Tribe
candidates. This should be done at the following levels:

Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and Anganwadi workers –from the same village
or the hamlet.

The ANMs and paramedic workers – from the same block.

The doctors and public health program managers – to a large extent, from the same district.
The candidates must be local, belong to Scheduled Tribes, be fluent in local tribal dialects, be
selected on merit and should be committed to serve in the local Scheduled Area for at least ten
years.

The ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and ANMs will continue to be the mainstay of health
care in rural and tribal areas. Due to the physical isolation of tribal communities, compounded by
a lack of doctors, it will be pragmatic to train, equip and empower the three ‘As’ – ASHA
workers, Anganwadi workers and ANMs – in tribal areas to a higher level.

Since the selection for medical education is through a statewide and all India competitive
process, the local Scheduled Tribe candidates may not get selected. Hence, we recommend that
separate Medical Colleges for Tribal Areas be opened in selected scheduled districts, one college
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per three million Scheduled Tribe population in the state. All seats are to be reserved for such
committed Scheduled Tribe candidates, to be selected from the respective Scheduled Areas,
depending on the population and need for doctors in each Scheduled Area. The aim should be to
provide, in ten years, the required number of appropriately trained doctors to serve in these areas.

The High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Universal Health Care, appointed by the Planning
Commission, in its report (2011), has recommended that the District Knowledge and Training
Centers be developed and made into medical colleges attached to district hospitals, and nearly
187 new medical colleges should be opened in the country, especially in undeveloped regions.
These recommendations can be used to open Medical Colleges for Tribal Areas. Approximately
30 new medical colleges for tribal areas, each with 60 seats per year, will be able to produce
nationally about 1800 new doctors per year, selected from, trained and legally committed to
work in the Scheduled Area of their origin.

The Medical Education for Tribal Areas (META) should be, to some extent, different from the
regular MBBS, and hence, should not entirely follow the curriculum of the Medical Council of
India. Besides the regular medical curriculum, some modifications are necessary such as: i)
knowledge of and sensitivity towards tribal culture and language, ii) methods of communication
iii) training and management of a health team, iv) competencies in preventing and managing
health problems common among the Scheduled Tribe population by way of clinical, outreach
and public health approaches, v) collaboration with other sectors of development affecting
health, eg. sanitation, nutrition, education, forestry. If necessary, the MCI recognition for this
degree may not be sought, or a new degree different than MBBS be created, with legal
permission to function as a doctor in Scheduled Areas.

13. Addiction has serious effects on the socio-economic fabric of tribal society. It affects not
only health but also productivity, family economy, social harmony and ultimately, development.
Hence, i) the Excise Policy for Scheduled Areas, approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India, in 1976 and accepted by the states, should be implemented effectively, ii)
the availability and consumption of tobacco and drugs should be severely controlled and iii) the
availability and use of alcohol and tobacco products among the Scheduled Tribe population, and
the implementation of control policies by the states, should be monitored on selected indicators.
These efforts should become a critical part of the Tribal Sub-Plan.

14. The TSP budget, in proportion to the Scheduled Tribe population, should be an additional
input and not a substitute to the regular budget for routine activities of the Health Department in
Scheduled Areas. At least ten percent of the total TSP budget should be committed to the health
sector, the Tribal Health Plan in the Scheduled Areas, in addition to the regular health budget for
these areas.

15. Data on the Scheduled Tribe population is a basic ingredient for planning, monitoring and
evaluating health programs in Scheduled Areas. All national data systems – the Census, SRS,
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NFHS, NSSO, and DLHS – should be asked to plan for and generate Scheduled Tribe-specific
estimates on health indicators at the district level and above. One percent of the total budget for
the Scheduled Tribe population (TSP) should be allocated to the generation of reliable, timely,
and relevant segregated data on Scheduled Tribes population, from the local to national level.
This will provide the crucial instrument – the facts – necessary to guide program managers,
policy makers and the Scheduled Tribe population itself. Towards this, the specific measures
recommended are:

Construction of a composite Tribal Development Index (TDI)

Construction of a composite Tribal Health Index (THI) including the indicators on health
status, determinants and health care.

Ranking of 151 districts with more than 25 percent Scheduled Tribes population and of states
on these indices.

Creation of a high power national body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to
facilitate the commissioning and collection of relevant data and monitoring of the indices and
progress. This body should complete the work through the various existing agencies/surveys
such SRS, NSSO, NFHS, DLHS, AHS, NNMB, the TRTIs in the states, the ICMR institutes
network on tribal health, and finally, the health ministries in the states. Necessary administrative
and financial authority should be provided to this body. Broadly, one percent of the total health
budget for tribal areas (the regular health budget for Scheduled Areas, including the health
component in the TSP) should be devoted for this purpose.

16. Research: From the public health point of view, certain aspects of tribal health need research.
These are:

Epidemiology, disease patterns and mortality rates in Scheduled Areas,

Traditional belief systems and practices, and effective communication methods,

Tribal healing systems,

Methods of health care delivery in Scheduled Areas.

The AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) department and the Indian
Council of Medical Research should incorporate these into their scope of working.

17. The Proposed Goals of the Tribal Health Plan should be:

To attain the Millennium Development Goals (2015) on health and nutrition for the Scheduled
Tribe population in India by the year 2020,
 ANTHROGURU

To bring the health, sanitation and nutrition status of the Scheduled Tribe population to the
same level as that of the non-Scheduled Tribe population in the respective states by the year
2025,

To create the human resources necessary for provision of healthcare in Scheduled Areas, as
per the norms set by the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage (2011), by the
year 2025,

To create and make functional the institutions for participatory governance (Tribal Health
Assemblies and Councils) at all levels in the Scheduled Areas by the year 2016,

To annually generate Tribal Health Plans at all levels by the year 2017,

To annually allocate and spend 8.6 percent, in proportion to the Scheduled Tribes population,
of the total Health Sector Plan and Non-plan budget, plus 10 percent of the TSP for the
implementation of the Tribal Health Plan.

Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration

1. Serious effort is required by the State to minimize displacement. There should be a rights-
based approach to comprehensive rehabilitation for socio-economic reconstitution of victims of
development, including for the backlog of displaced.

2. The problem is with the expansive interpretation that has been given to the doctrine of
‘eminent domain’ by political and managerial elites. In this context, it is essential that the whole
process of displacement should be democratic and rights of tribal communities to say ‘no’ to
acquisition of their land and to access and manage forests and other CPRs, be recognised.

3. The new legislation, ‘The Right To Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition,
Rehabilitation And Resettlement Act, 2013, is progressive in the sense that it is the first to
legally mandate rehabilitation of PAP. However, it fails to address the need for minimizing of
acquisition of land and resources. This is not surprising, since the objective of the Act, which
seeks to address concerns of those whose livelihoods are affected, simultaneously aims at
facilitating land acquisition for industrialization and urbanization. This is in keeping with the
broader liberalization policies. Such policies will result in more displacement in Central India for
mining and in the Northeast for dams.

The 2013 Act already has a provision for safeguarding food security and states that multi-crop
irrigated land will not be acquired, except as a last resort measure. Further, the State Government
is to set limits on the acquisition of such land under this law. States are also required to set a
limit on the area of agricultural land that can be acquired in any given district. However, there is
no mention of the need to protect tribal land and community resources. Hence, a suitable
provision is required to be incorporated in the Act, to safeguard tribal land and community
 ANTHROGURU

resources in Scheduled Areas and disallow acquisition by a non-tribal, including private

companies.

The definition of ‘public purpose’ in the new law is very wide and will only lead to greater
acquisition and displacement in Scheduled Areas. The exercise of ‘eminent domain’ and
definition of ‘public purpose’ should be severely limited.

Government agencies acquiring land with the ultimate purpose to transfer it to private
companies for stated public purpose, should be kept outside the ambit of the new law, as the
Public-Private Partnership mode of acquiring land is simply a backdoor method of alienating
land in violation of the Constitutional provision to prohibit or restrict transfer of tribal land to
non-tribals in Scheduled Areas.

It is recommended that, as directed in the landmark Samatha judgment and the PESA Act,
every Gram Sabha should have the power to prevent alienation of tribal land and further that
minerals should be exploited by tribal people themselves. The stringent provisions of the
amended Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation, 1959, should be adopted
by other States, particularly the provision that facilitates the formation of Registered Scheduled
Tribe Co-operative Societies, which could take up mining activities in Scheduled Areas. By
doing so, the Samantha Judgment would hold good for all States with Scheduled Areas. It should
be the responsibility of the State to facilitate the formation of cooperatives of tribal people for the
above purpose.

Gram Sabha consent should be mandatory for acquisition of land by the Government for its
own use as well.

The Act does not have a provision to the effect that exploitation of natural resources in
Scheduled Areas must be with the consent of the Gram Sabha. This should be rectified.

4. In the interest of weaker sections such as tribal communities, the threshold should be kept very
low and R&R provisions of the new law should apply to all cases.

5. There is plenty of unutilized tribal land available with Central/State/PSUs, and Central/State
Governments which is not being used for the purpose for which it was acquired. Governments
should be legally mandated to return such land to the original landowner/successors or use the
same for resettlement of displaced tribals. This should not be left to the discretion of the State
Government. One example of this is of HEC, Hatia, Ranchi, where excess tribal land had been
acquired and people are agitating for the return of the land, but the State wishes to utilize it for
other purposes. In such cases, land should be returned to the original displaced families. The
Vijay Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Consolidation (2012) said,
 ANTHROGURU

“Over the next 24-36 months, there is yet another policy instrument for raising resources for
development and that is monetizing the government’s unutilized and under-utilized land
resources. These resources can finance infrastructure needs, particularly in urban areas. Such a
policy has been effectively utilized in many countries including USA, France, Canada, Australia
and China. For monetizing land resources, the potential is considerable given the under-utilized
prime lands of PSUs, Port Trusts, Railways, etc. Toward this, we recommend setting up of a
group to work out the policy framework and institutional modalities.”

The suggestion of the Vijay Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Consolidation (2012) that “unutilized
and under-utilized land resources” be used for “raising resources” to “finance infrastructure
needs particularly in urban areas” is against the purpose and intent of the land acquisition law
and should be roundly rejected, and unused land should be returned to the loser of the land and to
the community.

6. There has been inadequate recognition at the policy level that land represents an inalienable
resource, passed on from generation to generation in tribal communities, who otherwise have no
education and skill development. Studies have documented that those DPs who got jobs in lieu of
land and whose children did not receive education or training were worse off after the job-holder
retired from service. It is recommended that the objective of R&R should be to ensure that the
socio-economic status of tribal DPs/PAPs after displacement, should improve positively rather
than deteriorate further. Loss of land and CPR can be compensated only by proper R&R which
envisages restoration of livelihoods, health and education facilities and skill development for the
whole family and community of tribal DPs/PAPs.

There should be provision of ‘land for land’, in acquisition of tribal lands. Compensatory land
provided must be made cultivable with irrigation and agricultural inputs. Rehabilitation should
be treated as a continuous process to be monitored by the Project Authority and State until the
alternative livelihood becomes economically viable. They must be given a stake in the assets and
economic activities being created on their acquired land and CPRs (for example, land in
command area, irrigation of tribal land in the vicinity, jobs in industries, or shops/jobs in
industrial projects/townships). An expanding economy, particularly expanding labour-intensive
manufacturing sector together with adequate emphasis on health, education and skill
development, hold the key to humane R&R.

7. The 2013 Act is weak in matters relating to skill development and provision for livelihood for
DPs/PAPs. During a meeting between the HLC and representatives of displaced tribal people in
Bastar, Chhattisgarh, anger was expressed at the non-fulfillment of promises to give jobs to the
educated displaced persons. They were unhappy with the cash allowance being given in lieu of
jobs. The official response, that there were not enough jobs to accommodate all displaced people,
did not satisfy the aggrieved parties. A sum of two thousand rupees per month per family as
annuity for 20 years, with appropriate index for inflation in lieu of jobs, as stipulated in the new
Act, is too low.
 ANTHROGURU

Clearly, more has to be done for skill development and creation of alternative livelihoods. One of
the ways to ensure that jobs are provided to displaced people, including tribal families, is to
create a State level/National-level Virtual Employment Exchange with complete data of age, sex,
educational qualifications, and skill-set of persons displaced in the past, present and in near
future, for providing them employment and/or preparing them for employment/self-employment.
Global best practices could be studied for providing alternative livelihoods, which could include
imaginative self-employment schemes with backward and forward linkages to be provided by
Project Authorities.

8. Research studies stress that gross undervaluation of losses, replacement value of loss and costs
of resettlement, has led to inadequate financing of R&R and externalization of costs of R&R to
the displaced and the future generations. The new law has expanded the definition of ‘displaced’
to include project-affected persons; however, care has to be taken to ensure that all genuine cases
are included and compensation is properly computed.

In computing losses, it has to be recognized that there are instances of tribal DPs who do not
have documents to support their genuine claim but who base their ownership rights on oral
tradition. Such claims should not be rejected.

Forest rights have been covered under the Forest Rights Act, but other CPRs such as
Government land and Panchayat land has not been covered by any legislation. This needs to be
rectified. Moreover, survey by Government is incomplete – as a consequence, community land is
recorded as Government land and tribal communities, primarily tribes who practice shifting
cultivation on such land, are denied compensation. This problem needs to be addressed by
measures to include such cases under R&R provision.

Women require special consideration and affirmative action. Widows and unmarried adult
daughters should be recognized as a separate unit.

The principle for working out land compensation has been spelt out. For all other assets,
compensation should be based on replacement value or net present value of assets lost/destroyed.

While preparing the project cost estimates, the full cost for R&R should be included, and no
attempt should be made to reduce costs for a favourable cost-benefit ratio.

The rehabilitation package and process should take into account, the cultural displacement,
and loss of customs and tradition. For tribal people, their strength is their community, and
therefore, it is imperative that they be resettled and rehabilitated as a community, if they so
desire.

Infrastructural amenities to be provided in the resettlement area have been mentioned in the
new law, but provision of banking facilities has been missed out. With primary emphasis on
 ANTHROGURU

monetary compensation, it is essential that displaced tribals, who may not have experience in
handling money and understanding of the monetary economy, should be advised on handling
their cash compensation. Banking facilities should made available for keeping their money safe
and credit facilities should be provided by the State (to avoid exploitation by money-lenders).

9. Land and water sources polluted by industrial and mining projects in tribal regions require
attention and the onus for taking corrective measures should be on the Project Authorities. The
schemes of the Government could be utilized to treat polluted land and water resources of tribal
people.

10. The role of the Governor is crucial for protecting land, community assets, culture and
traditional institutions of tribal people and to ensure that they are treated fairly. This role extends
to ensuring socio-economic reconstitution of tribal DPs/PAPs. This raises the issue of suitability
of persons who occupy the important position of Governor and other offices, such as
Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and District Magistrates, in Scheduled Areas. It is
imperative that the antecedents and experience of persons be taken into consideration by the
Government to check whether they can protect the interest of tribal communities and are suitable
for such appointments, in view of the special role assigned to them in such States.

11. Implementation of the new law will be difficult in the absence of resettlement and
rehabilitation capacities in the local administration, local community and corporate entities. It is
essential that the State and corporate sector create such capacity by introducing professional
training and orientation courses for following the best R&R practices worldwide and replicating
them in the Indian situation. Offering tribal people monetary compensation and making promises
without attendant capacity to deliver on them will not resolve the impasse that has brought land
acquisition to a standstill. Sporadic attempts by instruments of the State to use force to acquire
land is unethical and unacceptable. Only a genuine and bonafide effort at comprehensive and
pragmatic R&R can persuade tribal people to part with their land.

12. The new legislation lays considerable emphasis on consultation and consent of Gram Sabhas.
It is essential that the State be vigilant through adequate monitoring mechanisms for ensuring
that consent is obtained freely and every displaced person gets adequate and comprehensive
R&R in lieu of land/livelihoods lost. The State must put in place a system to collect
disaggregated data of DPs/PAPs for all social groups. Oversight mechanisms must be created at
the District, State and Central levels, comprising officials and non-officials with proven
competence, integrity and commitment to public good. There is a view that, though the new
legislation has been enacted by the Centre, R&R is a State subject, which should continue.
However, the Centre has a responsibility along with the states to ensure comprehensive R&R.
The Central Government should decide on the monitoring mechanism to be put in place. One
possibility is to establish an Authority/nodal agency with a multidisciplinary team under the
Ministry of Land Resources.
 ANTHROGURU

13. In view of the large-scale discontent among displaced tribal people regarding poor R&R, a
High-Level Fact-finding Committee/Enquiry Committee should be set up to investigate the
quality of R&R in all medium and major development projects undertaken in the last fifty years
in Scheduled Areas and tribal-dominated districts of States without Scheduled Areas. This
Committee should be mandated to suggest ways and means to deliver justice to the displaced
families, who have not received any proper rehabilitation. This is essential, in view of the fact
that, the new law has not taken cognizance of the backlog of displaced people, a majority of
whom are tribal people.

14. Myriad grassroot movements against exploitation of tribal people and other weaker sections
hold the key to greater socio-economic justice. It would be desirable if the State recognizes this
and engages with democratic grassroot movements, instead of crushing these movements.

15. Tribal people who have been displaced by conflict in Chhattisgarh and the Northeast should
be rehabilitated by the State Government in their villages and provided facilities of housing, safe
drinking water, health and education, skill development, electricity supply, irrigation facilities,
and agricultural inputs. It is for the State to take preventive action and ensure safety and prevent
tribal land alienation in such areas. During a visit of HLC to Assam, civil society groups and
representatives of Autonomous Tribal Councils emphasized that influx of outsiders was a real
threat to the tribal communities. They also alleged that inter-tribal conflict was being instigated
by outsiders. It is the responsibility of the State Government to take measures to prevent such
conflicts.

16. Under the ‘Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, pattas/legal titles
for houses allotted in resettlement sites are not issued to the displaced. As a result, the displaced
lose their identity and are unable to access public facilities provided by the local administration,
thereby facing difficulty in obtaining Caste/Tribe certificates. Further, there is no provision for
payment of compensation before taking possession of land. The provision for returning land to
original landholders post-mining is rarely complied with. Clearly, there is a need to make
amendments in the Act.

17. Development projects have opened up tribal areas leading to influx of people from outside
the tribal region, seeking employment in various sectors. All this has resulted in increasing
urbanization of tribal areas and immigrants, rather than tribals, have benefited from this.
Consequently, the percentage of tribal population in some Scheduled Areas has declined,
although historically, these areas were almost exclusively occupied by tribal people. Hence, it is
recommended that there should be no reduction in the areas declared to be Scheduled Areas as
this will harm the interests of already deprived tribal communities by diminishing their space and
their resources. Rather, the representation of tribal communities should be enhanced and
strengthened in the politico-administrative institutions within Scheduled Areas.
 ANTHROGURU

18. Tribal people suffer predominantly from the phenomenon of poverty-induced migration, also
known as forced migration. An analysis of the Census data shows that there has been an
occupational change and the number of tribal cultivators has reduced while the number of tribal
marginal workers has increased. Micro studies indicate the increase in seasonal/circulatory
migration of tribal workers, which may help them to avoid starvation, but is not enough to
improve their standard of living. Hence, it is recommended that:

The Census and National Sample Surveys should gather data on the phenomena of
seasonal/circulatory migration, migration of children across social groups and poverty-induced
migration.

Priority should be given to STs in settlement of ceiling surplus land and wasteland,
investments to improve agriculture, support for high value horticulture, employment
opportunities in rural areas, access to credit facilities and skill-development to rural youth for
employment in labour-intensive manufacturing sector.

Complaints have been received that, due to seasonal migration of tribal people, they are not
enumerated in the Census and therefore, Census data is not a true reflection of tribal population.
This grievance requires to be redressed.

Apathy and incapacity of the State to implement the Inter-State Migrant Workmen
(Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, has led to exploitation of
tribal migrant families. In particular, tribal women and children suffer greatly. There is a
growing demand for enactment of a comprehensive Migrants Rights Legislation, which deserves
serious consideration.

19. Recommendations for measures to prevent illegal land alienation of tribal land are as
follows:

In pursuance of the PESA, 1996, Land Transfer Regulations/Tenancy laws of all Schedule V
Areas should be suitably amended to ensure Gram Sabha participation in the identification,
investigation and restoration of lands to tribal people. Gram Sabhas require to be strengthened by
State Governments to undertake these responsibilities.

Plenary powers could be given to Gram Sabhas to fight cases of tribal land alienation
collectively, as an individual tribal cannot afford to face prolonged legal battles, given their
socio-economic conditions.

The Gram Sabha should be empowered to restore the alienated land on detection, pending the
long legal battle, in order to potentially discourage a prospective non-tribal buyer of land in
Scheduled Areas. This needs to be legally examined.

Care has to be taken to ensure that District Councils and State-level Council do not have
powers to dissolve Gram Sabhas or to dilute the powers and functions of the Gram Sabha
 ANTHROGURU

Legal loopholes and ambiguities in all Scheduled Area Land Regulations and Tenancy laws
should be removed. For example, such a removal must ensure that tribal land is not transferred
for purposes such as settlement of refugees, housing, etc.

There is a provision in the Andhra Pradesh Act, wherein immovable property of tribals can be
mortgaged to banks and, in case of default, the property to be sold back only to tribal people or
tribal cooperative societies exclusively formed by tribal people. This provision needs to be
evaluated to explore replication in other Scheduled Area States. There is an urgency in doing so
to meet the financial needs of tribal youth.

There is a presumption clause in the Andhra Pradesh Act that, until the contrary is proved, any
immovable property in the Scheduled Areas and in possession of a person who is not a member
of a Scheduled Tribe shall be presumed to have been acquired by the person or his predecessors
through a transfer made to him by a member of a Scheduled Tribe. This clause should be
examined by other States for adoption and inclusion in their laws.

Suitable amendments should be made in all land laws for protection of tribal land in
Scheduled Area States to the effect that there should not be any time limit for restoring tribal
land.

Suitable provision should be made in land laws so as to bring all benami transfers, transfers in
the names of concubines, tribal servants or others into the purview to prevent fraudulent land
transfer in Scheduled Areas.

The move to notify rural areas as urban areas in order to nullify PESA provisions should be
stopped forthwith. Use of Master Plan in urban areas to alienate/displace tribal people from their
land should be curbed.

Increased investment is required to be made by State Governments to provide legal aid to

tribal petitioners so that they are in a position to hire competent lawyers to fight cases. The
Government must also provide legal training, literacy and awareness programs for youth and
women on State and customary laws contextualized with modernity processes, with the
participation of NGOs.

Ultimately, it is the duty of State Governments, to ensure that all officials and lower-level
functionaries do not connive in defrauding tribal people of their land. Regular monitoring at the
State and Central levels of disposal of cases and proactive efforts for restoration of tribal land is
required. It is the responsibility of the State to address the problem of contradictory judicial
pronouncements that jeopardize implementation of protective land laws by removing ambiguities
in all relevant laws.
 ANTHROGURU

Legal and Constitutional Issues

1. The past twenty years have been dramatic in terms of the changes in the economy, and in the
effect that economic policy has had on tribal communities. This has also been the period when
laws, notably the Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 and the
Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act,
2006, have been enacted which recognize autonomy and rights of tribal communities.

2. The implementation of these laws is, however, sputtering and reluctant. The FRA framework
includes provisions for: (i) recognition and vesting of rights (towards a secure tenure and
livelihood/food security of the Scheduled Tribes and Other traditional forest dwellers), (ii)
protection of the rights till the recognition and vesting process is completed, and (iii) control over
forests of the local community and the Gram Sabhas. This framework, however, is missing from
the process adopted for implementation of the law and the implementation structure does not
have the necessary mechanisms and the vision to realize the objectives of the law. What is
needed foremost is to strengthen the institutional system to support the process of
implementation, including strengthening of the Gram Sabhas and FRCs, streamlining functioning
of the sub-divisional and district level committees, strengthening the functioning of the state
level monitoring committees and a dedicated structure within the nodal ministry (Ministry Of
Tribal Affairs).

3. The implementation of the community forest rights has hardly taken off. It needs to have a
clear mechanism and plan for recognition of various community forest rights and rights of
vulnerable communities such as PVTGs and pastoralist communities.

4. The implementation of the protective provisions in the law and the process of recognition and
assertion of forest rights is so far largely affected (obstructed) by contradictory processes like:
diversion of forest land which, among other things, is displacing Scheduled Tribes/OTFDs and
alienating their rights, displacement from the protected areas and Tiger Reserves, and
displacement due to intervention by the Forest Department through forceful plantation in the
forest lands. While the protective clause under FRA is meant to prevent such cases of violation
of forest rights, the implementation process has almost entirely ignored the protective parts of the
law.

5. The democratic structure in forests with the Gram Sabhas as laid out in the FRA faces great
resistance from the current forest regime and the various forestry institutions and programs
implemented by the Forest Department and the MoEF. In the Joint Forest Management program,
for instance, the operation of working plans are found to be obstructing the process of assertion
of rights by the Gram Sabhas. It is necessary to remodel the entire structure of forest
administration, the Forest Department, the MoEF and its programs to complement and enable the
control and management of forests by Gram Sabhas and local communities.
 ANTHROGURU

6. The changed paradigm has not yet permeated administration, and projects and plans continue
to approach forests as the exclusive domain of the state. This is resulting in multiple ways and
situations in which the laws are subverted, and the rights of tribal communities denied. The
exception to linear projects and the decisions of the Cabinet Committee on Investment illustrate
the point. Such deliberate flouting of the law currently has no penalties attaching to it. Such
penalties that will deter the breaching of the FRA need to be introduced.

7. The FRA mandates the representation of women in Gram Sabha and in the other tiers
prescribed by the law. Effective participation has, however, been elusive. Given the close
relationship between forests, forest produce and women’s lives, there is work to be done to turn
this around.

8. The difference between states of poverty and of vulnerability has been explored in the context
of PVTGs. Access to resources in forests makes a difference in the extent of their vulnerability.
Where there has been a depletion of forest cover, and the emphasis is on timber trees, the effect
is to add to the vulnerability of PVTGs. Where, on the other hand, the resources are safeguarded
and the community has access, the ability to prevent nutritional distress can be augmented.

9. Displacement for creating Tiger Reserves and Elephant Corridors take away from the
provisions that recognize that tribals need to be asked to be displaced only if co-existence is
impossible and with Gram Sabha consent. The resettlement experience of those displaced speaks
to continued marginalization of affected communities. This is a common tale, and that is the way
it has largely been through the years. Even where the decision to displace is taken reasonably and
according to the process prescribed, the inability displayed in effecting rehabilitation has to be
acknowledged. There is an urgent need to review the ability of administrators who are
responsible for rehabilitation, and for revising the rehabilitation process. Failed rehabilitation has
consequences that have been ignored for far too long.

10. The import of PESA has not been internalized into administrative practice, and government
officials including Forest Departments continue to deny access to tribals to that which is their
right. Bureaucracies and judicial institutions need to be introduced to the changes that PESA has
brought into administration and control in Fifth Schedule areas.

11. An exercise to bring rules made by state governments in conformity with PESA needs to be
undertaken.

12. Government officials who were the agencies to prevent tribal loss of land are increasingly
being seen to be negotiators on behalf of project authorities. This is a very disturbing trend,
where the very authority who had been tasked with preventing land alienation from a tribal to
non-tribals becomes an agent for effecting such alienation. This must be stopped.

13. There have been recorded cases of Gram Sabha consent being fraudulently obtained or
forged; such conduct must face penalties, and projects that proceed on the basis of consent so
 ANTHROGURU

obtained cannot be allowed to proceed. If such consequences do not flow, there will be no
incentive to refrain from such actions.

14. Given the constitutional provision in Article 243-ZC, the creation of new Nagar Palikas or
the extension of those already in existence in Fifth Schedule areas and tribal areas, as defined in
the provision, must be preceded by a law made by Parliament, which sets out the exceptions and
modifications from the chapter on Municipalities introduced by the 74thAmendment to the
Constitution.

15. The amendments proposed to PESA has an important component of prior informed consent.
This is a necessary condition for the effective implementation of PESA.

16. There has been a proliferation of MoUs between states and companies that imposes
responsibility on the state to facilitate various aspects of project clearances including in matters
of environmental and forest clearances. Increasingly, the state undertakes to maintain law and
order for the smooth execution of the project. These MoUs make the state a party to an
agreement and take away the neutrality of the state. The idea such MoUs needs to be reviewed.
Institutions such as the Cabinet Committee on Investment that set priorities and pursue them
even where it is in direct breach of the law amounts to deliberate flouting of the law and such
practices of expediency need be halted.

17. Public policy and practice must draw on the iconic experience of Niyamgiri, and the adverse
lessons from the Salwa Judum.

18. The encounter of the tribal with criminal law has been one of the disturbing aspects in the
past decade. Large numbers of tribals, men and women, are in jails for what are termed ‘naxal
offences’. There is, of course, no legal basis for terming anything a ‘naxal offence’. Others are
charged in areas where there is resistance and protest against projects, provoking the assessment
that the criminal law is being used as a tool of the state to suppress dissent. The acquittal rate is
extraordinarily high, raising doubts about the use of criminal law. Yet, the years spent in jail,
multiple charges that are imposed on the tribals and the charges on tribal leadership and on
supporters have become the new normal. The committee is of the view that a Judicial
Commission needs to be appointed to investigate cases filed against tribals and their supporters,
only this will allay the concerns that have risen about the misuse of criminal law by the state.

19. De-notified Tribes have been asking that steps be taken to remove stigma and prejudice from
their lives. More specifically, the Habitual Offenders Act, which has served to continue to attach
criminality to them, should be repealed. Anti-beggary laws render the talents that they possess,
such as juggling and acrobatics, into punishable conduct; there are earnest demands for the
repeal of these provisions in the law. Women bear the brunt of this attribution of criminality, and
whole communities of women find themselves in prostitution without a choice. Complaints
about police brutality including custodial rape were rife, speaking of lawlessness among the law
enforcers. Such lawlessness is unacceptable and action must be taken in accordance with law.
 ANTHROGURU

20. The Andaman Trunk Road which the Supreme Court ordered to be closed in 2002 still
continues to be open to traffic. Although there are formal directions against plying commercial
traffic on the road, these have been observed only in the breach. Tourist vehicles including buses
and taxis ply on this road. In the past few years, the exploitation of Jarawas as a tourist attraction,
and the sexual exploitation of the Jarawas has been recorded and reported on. The problem has
however not abated. The Andaman Trunk Road will have to be closed if the Jarawas are to be
protected from such unwelcome interest. DNA testing on Jarawas has been reported. Efforts to
get the protocols used to ensure the consent of the indigenous population did not yield result.
This becomes of especial significance in the context of the Human DNA Bill, 2012, which
proposes the creation of DNA data bases. Informed consent is a necessary part of such exercises,
also among the indigenous population.

21. The persistence of bonded labour, and the trafficking, in large measure, of women from tribal
areas needs a concerted effort to end it. The state has to take primary responsibility to identify,
release and rehabilitate bonded labour, wherever they are found.
 ANTHROGURU

Renke commission report

Introduction

Independent India envisioned building an egalitarian society in which people with diverse socio-
cultural and economic backgrounds can have equal opportunities in different fields with dignity
and honour. To achieve this society, some sort of social engineering was imperative for bringing
the historically wronged and deprived communities at par with the historically favoured and
privileged. Positive discrimination along with developmental interventions, and capacity and
asset building, was considered essential to this social engineering. For achieving a state of social
and economic equality, the builders of modern India have undertaken certain measures right
from the time of Independence. As a part of this process the people who had been historically
wronged and disadvantaged were put under different social categories, such as the Scheduled
Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Each was accorded
certain privileges to overcome its socio-economic disabilities. In this categorisation, the
communities that were earlier part of the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes were
also included in the lists of SC, ST, and OBC categories.

However, their categorisation was not logical or uniform. There are still a number of Denotified,
Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes which have not been included in any one of these
categories. Instead, they are placed at par with the communities of the general category. These
communities have a long history of marginalisation, neglect and oppression, first during the
colonial rule, and subsequently, in independent India. This Commission will be a great service if
it is able to change the course of history of these people by improving their living conditions so
that they (and their posterity) are able to live with honour and dignity.

Background:

The initial concern about these communities after our independence from the British rule slowly
petered out. With the passage of time, these communities have become almost invisible, and the
‘mainstream’ communities, governments virtually lost sight of them. It is partly because these
communities are largely politically ‘quiet’- they themselves do not place their demands concertly
before the government, for they lack endogenous vocal leadership; and also, they are devoid of
the patronage of a national leader who can help bring them to the centre stage of political
discourse.

Perhaps, they have not been seen as constituting a decisive vote bank. It is apparent that there is a
lot of apathy among the policy makers and planners about these communities. For many of them
these communities are inconsequential. Many are not even aware of their existence. This attitude
is reflected in the successive Five-Year Plans. However, with the UPA (United Progressive
Alliance) government’s initiative in 2006, a National Commission was constituted to look into
the problems of these diverse communities and to suggest ways and means to ameliorate their
condition. The effort is to bring these communities at par with the other citizens of the country so
that they enjoy the fruits of economic and social progress. It is relevant to summarise the
 ANTHROGURU

reflections of the earlier commissions and committees on Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-
Nomadic Tribes or communities (DNN- SNT) constituted to look into the problems of the
Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, and the Other Backward Classes.

These Commissions and Committees, though included a number of these communities in the SC,
ST and OBC categories, have felt that the DN-NT-SNT need to be given a special focus, and
different development programmes be designed for them, as their problems are different from the
SC, ST and OBC communities. Also, culturally and socially, they are different from the others.
In other words, these communities deserve a separate treatment and plan for affirmative action.

Summary of Views of Different Committees and Commissions on Denotified and Nomadic

Communities:

a) The Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee, 1947

The Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee, 1947, was constituted in the United Province. In its
report, this Committee felt that till the Gypsies settled down, they would continue with criminal
tendencies. It proposed that ‘efforts should be made under sanction of law (suitable provision
may be made in the Habitual Offenders and Vagrants Act) to settle them and teach them a life of
industry and honest calling as against idleness, prostitution and crime to which their conditions
of existence make them prone’.

b) Ayyangar Committee

A Committee was established under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ananthsayanam Ayyangar in 1949.
After a detailed study of the working of the Criminal Tribes Act throughout the country, it
submitted its report in 1950, in which it made several recommendations for the repeal of the Act
and gave reasons for this. The Committee also emphasized the need for allocation of adequate
funds for their welfare and rehabilitation.

It recommended that the Central Government should make a liberal contribution not exceeding
50 percent of the allocation to the State Governments for the initiation and execution of the
schemes for a period of ten years in the first instance. The Government of India accepted some of
the recommendations of the Ayyangar Committee. It repealed the Criminal Tribes Act with
effect from 31 August 1952 by the Criminal Tribes (Repeal) Act, 1952 (Act No XXIV of 1952).
But, to keep effective control over the so-called hardened criminals, Habitual Offenders Act was
placed in the statute book.

c) Kalelkar Commission

The first Backward Class Commission was appointed on 29 January 1953 under the
Chairmanship of Mr. Kakasaheb Kalelkar. This Commission in paragraph 48 of its report
suggested that the erstwhile ‘Criminal Tribes’ should not be called ‘Tribes’ nor should the names
 ANTHROGURU

‘Criminal’ or ‘Ex-Criminal’ be attached to them. They could be called ‘Denotified

Communities’. The Kalelkar Commission further
recommended that “these groups may be distributed in small groups in towns and villages where
they would come in contact with other people, and get an opportunity for turning a new leaf.
This would help in their eventual assimilation in society”.The first Backward Class Commission
in paragraph 41 mentions that there were as many as 127 groups aggregating 22.68 lakhs in 1949
and 24.64 lakhs in 1951 described in official records as Ex-Criminal Tribes.

These groups could be divided into two sections, i.e., (i) Nomadic; and (ii) Settled. The nomadic
groups included the gypsy-like tribes such as Sansis, Kanjars, etc., and ‘had an innate preference
for a life of adventure.’ The settled and semi-settled groups were deemed to have descended
from irregular fighting men or persons uprooted from their original homes due to invasions and
political upheavals. The first Backward Class Commission took special note of the ‘wandering
communities’ separately in the later part of its report in paragraph no.

The relevant portion is quoted below: ‘There are a large number of small communities who eke
out a precarious existence in the countryside. They have no fixed place of residence and they
move from place to place in search of food or employment. They often rear pigs and poultry,
hunt wild animals to satisfy their hunger and collect forest produce to make a living. They live in
thatched sheds or gunny tents, and move in groups. They believe in witchcraft. Because of the
insecurity of their life, some of these communities are given to crime. It should be the special
responsibility of Government to give them a settled life’.

d) Lokur Committee

In 1965, an Advisory Committee was constituted for the revision of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes list by the Government of India under the Chairmanship of Mr B.N. Lokur.

The pre-independence list of ‘Denotified and Nomadic Tribes’ consequently got divided into the
three constitutionally recognized categories, i.e. Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other
Backward Classes. Although the Lokur Committee in general followed the strict guideline for
entertaining the requests of revision of the Schedule Caste and Scheduled Tribes lists, it had
given quite favourable recommendations with regard to Denotified and Nomadic Tribes.

The Committee was aware of the anomalous situation of the communities being listed as SC in
one State and as ST in another (and also OBC in another). According to the Committee, ‘This
anomalous classification appears to have had its origin in the fact that members of the denotified
and nomadic communities possess a complex combination of tribal characteristics, traditional
untouchability, nomadic traits, and anti-social heritage’ (p. 16).

The Lokur Committee observed that its ‘discussion with the State Governments, however,
revealed that the type of development schemes usually designed for Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes have not benefited the denotified and nomadic tribes to any significant
extent because of their relatively small numbers, and their tendency to be constantly on the
move. It is also clear that while these communities may possess some characteristics usually
 ANTHROGURU

associated with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the dominant factors which govern
their life are their anti-social heritage and tendency to move from place to place in small groups.

We are inclined to feel that it would be in the best interest of these communities if they are
taken out from the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and treated exclusively
as distinct group, with development schemes specially designed to suit their dominant
characteristics’ (p. 16). Lokur Committee further suggested that ‘the present anomalous
position regarding the denotified and nomadic tribes, who could more properly be identified as
communities rather than tribes, should be rectified as soon as possible after a detailed
investigation’ (p. 17).

e) Mandal Commission

The Second Backward Class Commission under the Chairmanship of Mr. B.P. Mandal (1980)
criticized the government policy for emphasizing the economic criteria and dismissing caste as a
criterion to determine social and educational backwardness. Mr L. R. Naik wrote a separate
minute of dissent with reference to the categorization of the socially and educationally backward
classes. He states that, ‘By way of clarity they would be hereinafter, called ‘Depressed Backward
Classes’ as distinct from the ‘Intermediate Backward Classes’…. The intermediate backward
classes, in my opinion, are those whose traditional occupation had been agriculture, market,
gardening, betel-leaves growers, pastoral activities, village industries like artisans, tailors, dyers
and weavers, petty business-cum-agricultural activities, heralding, temple service, toddy selling,
oil mongering, combating, astrology, etc. etc., who have co-existed since times immemorial with
upper castes and had, therefore, some scope to imbibe better association and what all it connotes
than many unfortunate ‘Depressed Backward Classes’ whose intermingling with the Indian
society was either denied, prohibited and even segregated obviously on account of stigma of
nomadism, resulting in their abysmally low social status.

They, generally, are excriminal tribes, nomadic and wandering tribes, earth diggers, fishermen,
boatmen and palanquin bearers, salt makers, washermen, shepherds, barbers, scavengers, basket
makers, furriers and tanners, landless agricultural labourers, watermen, toddy tapers, camel-
herdsmen, pig-keepers, pack bullock carriers, collectors of forest produce, hunters and fowlers,
corn parchers, primitive tribes (not specified as Scheduled Tribes), exterior classes (not specified
as Scheduled Castes), and begging communities etc. etc.…

These very names amply connote their social and educational backwardness and, therefore,
should have been postulated by the Founding Fathers of our Constitution as in the case of the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for the purpose of specification.… Liberty, Equality and
Fraternity so richly enshrined in the Constitution of our country have still to acquire meaningful
proposition for all of them’ (Pp. 229-230, emphasis added).

f) Justice Venkatachaliah Commission

The Report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution under the
Chairmanship of Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, submitted to Government of India on 31 March
2002, made a very focussed review on the plight of Denotified and Nomadic Communities in
 ANTHROGURU

Chapter 10 on ‘Pace of Socio-Economic Change and Development’ under 10.12.1 and 10.12.2
and recommended for the establishment of a Commission to review things related to these
communities.

The Report states that ‘The denotified tribes/communities have been wrongly stigmatized as
crime prone and subjected to high handed treatment as well as exploitation by the representatives
of law and order as well as by the general society. Some of them are included in the list of
Scheduled Tribes and others are in the list of Scheduled Castes and list of backward classes. The
special approach to their development has been delineated and emphasized in the Reports of the
Working Groups for the Development of Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and Backward
Classes in successive Plans and also in the Annual Reports of the Commissioners for Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
and the National Commission for Backward Classes. There are also special reports available on
de-notified tribes. Their recommendations have not received attention.

The Commission recommends that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and
the Ministry of Tribal Welfare should collate all these materials and recommendations
contained in the reports of the working groups and the reports of the National
Commissions and other reports referred to and strengthen the programmes for the
economic development, educational development, generation of employment opportunities,
social liberation and full rehabilitation of denotified tribes. Whatever has been said about
vimuktajatis also holds good for nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes/communities. The
Commission recommends similar action in respect of nomadic and semi-nomadic
tribes/communities as done in the case of de-notified tribes or vimuktajatis.

The continued plight of these groups of communities distributed in the list of Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and backward classes is an eloquent illustration of the failure of the machinery
for planning, financial resources allocation and budgeting and administration in the country to
seriously follow the mandate of the Constitution including Article 46.

The Commission also points out that the setting up of an integrated net work of National
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Authority, etc. recommended in para
10.5.2 to 10.5.3 above will provide a structural mechanism to deal in a practical way with
the vimuktajatis as well as nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes/communities within the frame
work of the SCP and TsP. Similarly the approach to the development of backward classes
referred to at para 10.14 below contains the approach to deal in a practical way with the
Vimuktajatis and nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes/communities who are in Backward
Class list’.

It is further suggested in the Report of Justice Venkatachaliah Commission that, ‘The

Commission also considered the representations made on behalf of the De-notified and
Nomadic Tribal Rights Action Group and decided to forward them to the Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment with the suggestion that they may examine the same
preferably through a Commission’.
 ANTHROGURU

It is apparent from the observations of the above Committees or Commissions that the conditions
of the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes or Communities are deplorable and
deserve a separate and special treatment so that their lot can be improved. This is essential for
bringing this very large section of downtrodden citizens of India into the ambit of development
and to confer upon them the dignity of citizenship with all its appended social, cultural,
economic and political rights on par with the others. Otherwise, the words ‘constitution’ and
‘citizenship’ are hollow and irrelevant to them.

Way forward:

How to go about redressing the situation with regard to these communities, so that their
condition can be substantially improved? What are the bases for arriving at the enormity of the
problem? In this regard, we need to have a sound logic and rationale to proceed further to
analyse the problems of deprivation among the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic
Communities for some positive legislative and policy intervention.

One of the ways is to analyze and understand the problems (and their enormity) that these
communities have been facing for decades although some of them have been included in the list
of SC, ST and OBC. Here, we shall be required to compare their problems and vulnerability with
the SC, ST and OBC, with which they have been classified. It may also be noted here that there
are nomadic and semi-nomadic communities which have not been classified in any of the
constitutionally recognised categories for positive discrimination.

They may be, as noted in the beginning, existing along with the general population, hence denied
for ages the benefits and privileges that accrue with the policy of positive discrimination. The
fact remains that in comparison with SCs, STs and OBCs, they continue to be low in all indices
of human development. If they are with the general population, they are acutely invisible, totally
uncared for, and hence have to be taken out of the general population and scheduled for the
policy of positive discrimination.

Our Concerns:

In light of the above, the following concerns become very relevant for reflecting upon the
problems of DNT, NT, and SNT communities in order to arrive at suitable solutions for their
upliftment. They are:
1. To evolve a criteria of definition for the identification and classification of Denotified,
Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
2. To identify the benefits of reservation to the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi- Nomadic Tribes.
3. To draw a comprehensive plan to secure and deliver fundamental rights to these communities.
4. To develop a broad campaign for positive image building in the civil society about these
communities.

The Issue of Identification

The issue of identification of the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes is complex.
The State Governments have a separate and designated list of ‘Denotified and Nomadic Tribes’,
 ANTHROGURU

and it appears that they do not follow any well defined criteria for their classification. It has been
observed that the inclusion and exclusion of communities in such lists was done on political
considerations rather than on fair and uniform criteria. Several representations to the
Commission pointed out that such inclusion has undermined the interest of the ‘Original
Nomadic and Denotified Tribes’.

Hence, the Commission feels that these terms should be comprehensively defined to avoid any
ambiguities in future and to maintain uniformity throughout the country. The Commission held
discussions with experts in the disciplines of anthropology, sociology and other social sciences in
this regard and arrived at the definitions and criteria discussed below.

The De-notified Tribes:

These are communities (or ‘tribes’) that, during the British regime, due to specific administrative
as well as law and order reasons, were ‘notified’ as being ‘born criminal’ by the British
Government under a series of laws starting with the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. These laws
were enacted as crime was considered a ‘hereditary profession’ and the enactment of the law and
its entry into the working of police training as well as in the public arena slapped the brand of
being ‘born criminals’ on the entire population of these communities.

After Independence, this Act was repealed in 1952, and the communities were ‘de-notified’,
hence the name. Within the period of notification, while the communities were branded as
criminals quite unjustifiably, efforts were also made to settle them as large groups at several
places throughout the country. More than 50 such ‘settlements’ were established in the country
[in Ayyangar Committee Report (1951: 137-9) information about Bombay and Madras Provinces
was not available. The Criminal Tribes Act was already repealed by these two Provinces at the
time of Ayyangar Committee] where a large number of people from such communities were re-
located, who were confined to a specific locality and used as labourers in road or dam
construction and in different industries. Even while these were often termed as ‘open prisons’,
land was allotted to the people, housing created, though under strict police supervision, and
occupational training was imparted to them in various trades with a view to get them habituated
to a settled living earned through hard labour.

In addition to the wages paid to the working persons, special allowances were also paid to non-
earning persons. Schools were opened for children. As a result of these efforts, as it is observed
today, the living condition of the DNT population in the erstwhile settlements is ironically far
better as compared to their counterparts who never got into the settlements, or broke away from
them after the settlements were opened. Thus, the term ‘Denotified Tribes’ stands for all those
communities which were notified under the several versions of Criminal Tribes Acts enforced
during the British Rule between 1871 and 1947 throughout the Indian territory and were
‘denotified’ by the repeal of these Acts after India’s Independence. A list of such communities
was compiled by the Ayyangar Committee. The Commission has adopted this list along with
those sent by the States for the purpose of its investigation and inquiry.
 ANTHROGURU

Problem of Definition
Among these three categories of communities, the problem of defining the Nomadic and Semi-
Nomadic Tribes requires greater attention over those of the Denotified Tribes. There is better
clarity with regard to the Denotified Tribes, and therefore, we need to have conceptual clarity
with regard to nomadic and seminomadic tribes.

Definition of Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Communities

For the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (1995), the word nomad means ‘a
member of a group or people who move from one place to another rather than living in one place
all the time’ . Although no hint is given in this definition about the lifestyle of nomads, the
activity forming the pivot of their society, the example given in this Dictionary to illustrate the
usage of this word is, ‘Nomads travel these arid regions with their camel herd’, which amply
shows that the author
has ‘pastoral nomads’, or more specifically, ‘camel nomadism’, in mind, or when we
conceptualize nomads, the pastoral communities are the first to figure in our mind.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995: 786) defines nomad as ‘a member of a tribe
or people that moves with its animals from place to place and has no permanent home.’ The
second meaning given here is: ‘a person who does not stay long in one place.’ The meaning of
nomad that the Concise English Dictionary (1962: 777) gives is: ‘One of a tribe that wanders
about seeking pasture for their flocks’, and like the Oxford Dictionary, the second meaning of
this term is ‘wanderer’. It is clear from these two definitions (from different dictionaries) that the
first meaning of the term nomad is with reference to animal breeding: Nomads are animal
breeders, and move with their animals in search of pasture.

Registering our difference with the first dictionary meaning, we submit that we conceptualize
nomad not as a ‘pastoral’, but as a ‘peregrinator’. The focus in this term is on geographical
mobility than on the type of economy they practice. There are nomadic groups that entertain;
some supply herbal medicines to settled communities; some sell iron implements. They may
have a myth according to which they were settled at a place, but were constrained to move, and
may consider that place as the one to which they would eternally belong, but this belief in an
unchanging location where they emerged and, in some cases, to which they might like to return,
does not reduce their status as being nomadic. People think in terms of the alternating cycles of
wandering and settlement.

Keeping in mind the notion of mobility – or transformation of one type of society into another –
we may envisage a continuum, the left pole of which is of nomadic societies and the right, of
sedentary societies. Lying on the continuum are the various shades of society; there is a complex
and shifting continuum between pure
nomadism, partial nomadism, transhumance, and sedentary agriculture. Those to the left of the
continuum from its mid point are more nomadic, and those to the right are more settled. The
process of transformation is usually from left to right, that is from the state of nomadism to that
of sedentariness. The opposite process from right to left, that is from settled living to nomadic, is
also possible, as is spelt out in the myths of many contemporary nomadic societies, for the
continuum works both ways.
 ANTHROGURU

However, empirical examples of this process are not very easy to find, although once
communities are uprooted because of developmental programmes they may adopt a
peregrinating life until they settle down. This shows that the continuum principally works in one
direction, from left to right. Sedentarism is on rise; nomadism is on decline; and the continuum
may usually be characterized as depicting the ‘process of sedentarization’. It may be, at this
juncture, relevant to note that Rao and Casimir dedicated their edited volume on Nomadism in
South Asia (2003) to ‘millions of South Asians whose children may one day like to know more
about the nomadic lifestyles of their ancestors.’

Here, it is important to distinguish ‘nomadism’ from ‘migration’ on the one hand and ‘rotational
living’ on the other. People migrate from their villages in search of jobs. Thousands of people
come to cities and metropolises a couple of months before the major festivals (such as Dussehra,
Diwali) looking for the jobs of painter, cleaner, mason, etc., and return to their villages for
celebrations. Although one may carelessly use the term ‘nomadic’ for them, it is wrong to do so.
Migration is invariably linked to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors – either people are ‘pushed’ out of
their native areas to look for jobs elsewhere; or they are ‘pulled’ to cities and other places that
have opportunities.

Shifting cultivators have a ‘rotational living’ within the same tract of land. They clear up a
particular piece of land and cultivate it for a certain number of years, keeping in mind the amount
of annual production from it. Once it declines appreciably, and they are unable to meet both ends
with it, they move to another piece of land and cultivate it, before leaving it to clear another
field. In a circular fashion, they return to the land that was earlier left fallow. The community
decides which piece of land its group would subject to clearing.

Both ‘migration’ and ‘rotational living’ involve mobility, but they are different from nomadism,
which is a type of social formation. Nomadic communities are perpetually moving, for their
occupation demands it. They do not leave their areas temporarily because of poverty, crop
failure, or some natural calamity. They are also not shifting cultivators. In fact, nomadic
communities are not food producers. They are usually engaged in other non-agricultural
occupations. Hence, it would be wrong to characterize either seasonal migrants or shifting
cultivators as nomads. For us, nomadism is a way of life, and therefore, is not a common
metaphor for all kinds of mobile people who move from one place to another for earning their
livelihood.

Presently, there are thirty to forty million nomads in the world, divided into three types, viz.
hunter-gatherer, pastoral nomads, and peripatetic nomads. Perhaps, at one time, all communities
were nomadic. Nomadism was the lifestyle of the ‘centre’, so to say, rather than of the ‘margin’.
When the concept of private property had not fully developed, and land was plentifully available,
the communities afforded the luxury of shifting from one location to the other, depending upon
what appeared to it salubrious and lush in terms of the economic resources optimally needed to
meet the needs of people. Gradually, around 10,000 B.C., with the discovery of plough and
settled agriculture, some nomadic peoples started settling down, while others continued with
their long-cherished ways of life. With urban revolution came the overarching state, the political
organ, which tried to extend its control over all communities, including those that happened to be
outside its immediate boundaries.
 ANTHROGURU

Nomadism had developed a much-valued sense of freedom, which meant ‘not to be

under the authority of an alien power.’ Nomads saw the world without the ‘roof’ and the
‘barricades’, without ‘barriers’ and ‘boundaries’. The entire world, for them, was one, and they
moved in and around its niches in accordance with the demands of their lifestyle. The territorial
frontiers and limits that the state had imposed upon its people were unknown to nomads, and
they tried their best to escape from them.

In fact, state was the biggest enemy of the nomads, for it represented the interests of the
dominant classes, for whom peregrinating communities were both a threat and a nuisance. They
could harm the settled people and disappear in wilderness.
Lest their acts of deviance go unpunished, the state not only considered them as a threat to
security, thus describing them as ‘criminal’ in many cases, to be dealt with severely, but also
delineated stringent measures to force them settle down. Once they sedentarized, it was thought
that the law would be able to keep a vigil on them.

Nomadism made them independent and unshackled, whilst sedentarization came hand in hand
with surveillance. This would explain why nomads have time and again opposed their settling
down that the state planned for them. Nevertheless, nomads have sedentarized, often forcibly,
sometimes willingly. One of the conclusions we may reach here is that human history began with
nomadism. It is the oldest way of life. Once human beings settled down, the concept of private
property came up, so did properly structured kin groups.

Against this background, a nomad may be defined as ‘one who is constantly on spatial
movement.’ A group (or society) of constantly moving (or migrating) people is nomadic, and the
lifestyle and symbolic system the nomads have is known as nomadism. Here, people eke out
their livelihood by migrating from one site to another within a specific territorial zone. The fact
that people move should not be interpreted as meaning that they journey from one eco-zone to
another, or, to put in empirical terms, the nomads from the Himalayas travel to central India. As
a lifestyle, nomadism is always adapted to a habitat. Nomads have a specialized knowledge of an
area, and their economy is suited to that. Nomads are journeyers in a habitat; they process the
resources that they find there. In other words, they are not parasites on nature.
The concepts of nomadic society and nomadism are easy to understand, but problem surfaces
when a list of the communities which are contemporaneously nomadic is to be drawn up for
micro-level, community-specific development. Along side the term ‘nomad’ figure terms such as
‘transhumance’, ‘seasonal nomadism’, and ‘semi-nomadism’. Let us look at the differences
between them. ‘Transhumance’ and ‘seasonal nomadism’ are used interchangeably. It is a form
of nomadism organized around the migration of livestock between mountainous pastures in
warm seasons and lower altitudes the rest of the year.

Migration occurs between lower and upper latitudes; for example, the Siberian reindeer graziers
move between the sub-arctic region and the arctic tundra. In case of some of these communities,
nomadism has virtually disappeared. The Norwegian Sami men, for instance, accompany their
reindeers alone while their families reside in permanent houses. For such situations is used the
term ‘semi-nomadism’, which indicates a distinctive lifestyle resulting from a differential
amalgamation of pastoralism and sedentary habits (Falah, 1990, The evolution of semi-
 ANTHROGURU

nomadism in non-desert environment, Geojournal, 21, Vol. 4). These people have a fixed abode
for part of the year, although its duration varies from one community to another.

French geographers call what we have called here ‘semi-nomadism’ ‘semisedentary mode of
life’ (Clarke, 1959: 95-6, Studies of semi-nomadism in north Africa, Economic Geography, 35,
Vol. 2). In this state of social formation, different proportions of pastoral nomadism and
cultivation are combined. For French, this is ‘semi-sedentary mode of life.’ Semi-nomadism, for
them, is a way of life dependent upon sheep- or goat-tending, or ass tending, which is usually
carried out in desert peripheries, the semi-arid regions. The term ‘nomadism’ is used for a social
life based upon camel tending and breeding. In this sense, writes Gottwald (1999: 445, The
Tribes of Yahweh: A Sociology of the Religion of Liberated Israel, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY),
the term ‘semi’ is “taken to mean ‘less fully developed’ or ‘less independent of the settled zone’,
or both, and ‘full’ is taken to mean ‘more fully developed’ or ‘more independent of the settled
zone’, or both.”

In this definitional cluster, those who are more dependent upon settled communities, like sheep
tenders, are semi-nomadic in comparison to those who are
less dependent, like camel herdspersons. For the latter is used the term ‘nomadism’.

Both these types of societies are distinguished from those that are nomadic during part of the
year and sedentary during the other part. They were formerly full nomads, now in transition from
a continuous nomadic life to complete sedentariness. Seminomadism, in this perspective, is a
distinct way of life, which can endure over time instead of being sedentarized. Thus, in literature,
two meanings are ascribed to the term ‘semi-nomadism’. First, it is a differential combination of
nomadism and cultivation; and second, it is a kind of nomadism which for its survival requires
more dependence upon settled communities.

Ecological factors are closely related with different phases of nomadism MacArthur (1980,
quoted in: Sustainable Management of Common Natural Resources in Mongolia, Ministry for
Nature and the Environment, Mongolia), for instance, has drawn a relationship between the
quantum of rainfall and the state of nomadism.

Areas having less than fifty millimetres (mm.) of rainfall have occasional nomadic stock
keeping. Those having between fifty and two hundred mm. of rainfall have nomadism with long
migrations. All types of nomadism, transhumance, and supplementary arable farming are
associated with areas having rainfall between two hundred and four hundred mm. of rainfall.
Areas having rainfall ranging from four hundred to six hundred mm. have semi-nomadism,
transhumance, partial nomadism, with a strong emphasis on arable farming. Transhumance and
partial nomadism are found in zones with rainfall ranging from six hundred to one thousand mm.
Semi nomadism may result mostly because of the ethnic tradition. Areas having more than one
thousand mm. of rainfall have partial nomadism and stationary stock keeping.

As an ideal type, the nomads do not have a fixed home. They may have a story of their origin,
the place where they lived before journeying eternally, but they do not
have a place to which they return after travelling for some months in connection with their
livelihood. Semi-nomads are ‘partial nomads’ – they have fixed habitations to which they return
 ANTHROGURU

once a year, or when their occupational activities are expected to cease for a while. One of the
main examples of semi-nomads is of pastoral people, who move with the herds of their animals
after the monsoon harvest and return to their respective villages just before the onset of rains. For
eight to nine months, when they are out of their settlements, moving with their animals in search
of pasture, their houses either remain locked, or they leave their women, children, old people and
infirm there, not only to look after the habitation, but also to sow winter crops, if any.
Invariably, they have some small tracts of land, which they cultivate during monsoon, after
returning from the grazing expeditions. The characteristics of their respective social
organizations flow from the kind of migratory pattern they have.
The problem in producing separate lists of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities is bound to
come because the communities that were nomadic at one
point of time have become semi-nomadic at another, and in many cases, have settled down once
and forever.

Therefore, although conceptually, one can distinguish nomadic from semi-nomadic communities,
in reality, it would be extremely difficult to do so, and one would be forced to decide this rather
arbitrarily. Moreover, one comes across different patterns of living within the same ‘nomadic’
community. Take the case of Gaddis of Himachal Pradesh – some of them oscillate with their
animals between their summer and winter habitations; some have permanently settled down in
villages, but their men take their animals for grazing in the nearby pasture every morning and
they return in the evening, or what is called the ‘radial movement’; and some permanently settled
families are in non-pastoral occupations. Each of these strata is also a connubial circle. Against
this background, it would be difficult to call the community ‘nomadic’ or ‘semi-nomadic’, since
both the patterns of living are coeval. Therefore, an attempt to draw up separate lists of nomadic
and semi-nomadic societies would not succeed.

This would lead us to another issue. Earlier, we noted that nomadism is on decline. More and
more communities, which would have preferred nomadic existence, have been settling down,
and in times to come, nomadism would be an artefact of the past. From this, it should not be
surmised that once the nomadic communities settle down, their economic status improves and
they are respectfully integrated with the outside world. On the contrary, the stigma of being
nomadic continues. Even when the communities have physically sedentarized, they are viewed
as ‘on the move’. Our first hand experience from Rajasthan informs us that although the Raika-
Rabari, a pastoral group, have their permanent hamlets (called dhānī) where they have been
living for years, the villagers think that their huts are flimsy, can be easily dismantled, and they
would move to some other place. In other words, the nomads and semi-nomads are viewed as
groups largely ‘unreliable’ and ‘fleers’.

Many folk sayings in Rajasthan depict Raika-Rabari as people who ‘live outside the village and
tread a path much different from that of the villagers’. They are also not called gaonwale
(villagers); they are dhānīwale. They are like the ‘flimsy’ hamlets they dwell. The point is that
the past of a nomadic community lingers even after it has sedentarized. That is why, for
preparing a list of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities, we must adopt an historical
approach – look for the recent past of the communities.
 ANTHROGURU

Probably, at one time, as we have argued, all communities were nomadic, but the process of their
settlement began with the advent of the system of food production. Since then, different nomadic
communities have settled down at different points of time, and the process of their settlement has
varied widely and heterogeneously. Some communities sedentarized centuries ago, and have
since then progressed extremely well. The adverse social consequences of nomadism are
nonexistent in their cases. Some communities lead a semi-nomadic existence, and they are able
to continue with it instead of feeling the need of settling down.

By comparison, there are communities which have been nomadic till quite recently, and their
condition has deteriorated after their settlement. As said earlier, it would be a futile exercise
producing two different lists of communities, nomadic and seminomadic, because in
contemporary India, nomadic communities are in the process of sedentarization. The theoretical
distinctions that we made between nomadism and semi-nomadism are not today reflected in
communities that have a nomadic antiquity.

It is, therefore, proper to prepare just one list, calling it the ‘List of Nomadic and Semi-nomadic
Communities’. There is another point suggesting that we should not belabour distinguishing
nomadic from semi-nomadic communities, since the measures of development and
compensatory discrimination we suggest are for all of them. In other words, we are not
proposing different sets of benefits for nomadic and semi-nomadic communities respectively. If
the benefits and positive measures are going to be the same for them, there is no point in
struggling with the issue of separating nomadic from seminomadic communities, for in reality,
they cannot be separated in the way some theoretically-inclined scholars have tried to do. The list
can be prepared by collating the following sources:

(1) The Census of India, 1931, which gives a list of nomadic communities, under the rubric of
‘wandering communities’.
(2) The People of India Project, which provides short ethnographic sketches on 4,635
communities. A close reading of the volumes of this project will help us in identifying nomadic
communities or communities that had a traditional nomadic background; may be a century ago,
they were leading a fully nomadic or semi-nomadic existence.
(3) The list of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities provided by different states and union
territories of India.
(4) The list of nomadic and semi-nomadic communities prepared on the basis of the field survey
undertaken by members of the Commission.
(5) The representations made by different communities claiming to be traditionally nomadic.

For examining their claims, the following criteria should be adopted:

(a) Communities that have a traditional social background of nomadism; that is to say,
which were nomadic in the past, say a century ago, and their claim is supported with authentic
historical evidence, whether supplied by the community itself or by independent researchers; in
all cases, the veracity of sources needs to be ascertained before. Such communities had (or may
continue to have) a variety of occupations, such as pastoralism, begging, providing entertainment
(sometimes with animals, such as bears, monkeys, snakes, parrots), herbal treatment and fortune
telling, artisan work, hawking and vending, semi-skilled or skilled labour, etc,
 ANTHROGURU

(b) Marginalization from social and economic mainstream. In global economy, goods and
services are standardized and centrally controlled by multinationals and other organizations. The
newly emerging global economic system does not allow these communities to lead their
traditional life, with the result that nomadic communities have lost their livelihoods and
independence. Folk artists of the past have become destitute; artisans who supplied agricultural
implements or weapons of warfare are reduced to beggars; pastoralists who once owned large
flocks of animals are now landless labourers or marginal farmers.

(c) Low human development index and high relative deprivation index. In other words, in
matters of health, livelihood, occupation, and education, their communities are lowly placed.
They have long periods of hunger; they remain in debt-bondage for longer period, and are unable
to pay off their loans for
generations; they perpetually experience the scarcity of resources. This is reflected
in their social, economic, cultural, and educational backwardness.

(d) Large deprivation from the gains of planned development. As a consequence of their
occupational requirements, they are unable to take advantage of the development programmes;
therefore, their life continues as it is.
(e) Lack of empowerment. The nomadic communities have been at the margin of the political
system. Since they do not have a permanent residence, they have not been able to obtain an
‘identity card’, or any other proof of their being a citizen of the state. Their names do not exist in
the list of voters. As a consequence of this disability, they are debarred from all those ventures
that require a proof of their citizenship. They are denizens of the nation without the rights of
citizenship.
(f) Carriers of social stigma. The label of ‘criminal’, ‘beggar’, and ‘untouchable’ is attached to
them. The peasant villages consider pastoral nomads as ‘nuisance’.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The Terms of Reference of the Commission refer to Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic
Tribes. The Denotified Tribes include various Tribes notified as Criminal Tribes under the
Criminal Tribes Act, 1871. Some of these Tribes are Nomadic Tribes as well. The difference
between Nomadic Tribes and Semi-nomadic Tribes (including pastoral nomads) is based on the
frequency of their movement from one place to another. It is, therefore, desirable that the three
categories may be reduced to two categories, viz. Denotified and Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) for the
purpose of reference to these Tribes as a target group in the context of dealing with various
issues relating to them. Henceforth, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes will be referred to as DNTs.

2. For implementing welfare schemes for DNTs, it is desirable that these Tribes are identified
and their State/UT-wise lists are prepared by the States/UTs. The details of Denotified Tribes are
contained in the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871, and its subsequent amendments to facilitate the
preparation of State/UT-wise lists of Denotified Tribes to the Commission in response to the
Commission’s questionnaire. Some States have made and sent the lists of Denotified and
Nomadic Tribes, but these lists do not appear to contain all the castes included in the category of
Denotified & Nomadic Tribes.
 ANTHROGURU

It is suggested that the State Governments/UTs which either do not have such lists or have
incomplete lists may constitute a small Committee under the Chairmanship of the Chief
Secretary along with concerned officers, 2 – 3 Community Leaders from DNTs, and one or two
prominent anthropologists or sociologists as members to examine the inclusion of various castes
in the list of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in the State/UT. To assist the aforesaid Committee
in the States/UTs, the Commission has also prepared State/UT wise lists of nomadic tribes along
with their synonyms based on evidence collected from various sources. These lists are only
suggestive and the Committee may consider them for inclusion in the State/UT lists only after
proper survey and verification.

3. To conceptualise the welfare schemes for the DNTs and to work out the financial implications
it is necessary that the States/UTs have information about their population in the State/UT in
various Districts. Since DNTs have not been enumerated in the census as DNTs, it is necessary
that the States/UTs undertake a quick house to house survey of the families of DNTs to work out
their estimated population and their concentration in various Regions/Districts of States/UTs.
This process may be completed in six months.

4. There is no authentic information about the population of DNTs in various States/UTs. Efforts
were made to work out an estimated figure for their population. A rough estimate based on the
1931 census and other relevant information from various sources put their population between
10-12 crores in the country. However, to have a correct estimate of their population it is desirable
that the Union Government initiate steps to enumerate DNTs in the next census due in 2011.

5. The Commission, during its visits to various States, noted that the Departments dealing with
the welfare of DNTs are not adequately conversant with the socio-economic conditions of DNTs
largely because of their lack of exposure to them. It is suggested that the State Governments may
constitute an Advisory Committee at the State level/UT level under the Chairmanship of the
Chief Minister/Administrator of the UT.

The Committee may include prominent anthropologists and sociologists, activists and
community leaders of DNTs in addition to the concerned senior officers of the State Govt./UT
Administration. Similar Advisory Committees may be constituted at the District level under the
Chairmanship of the District Magistrate and may include the Superintendent of Police, social
activists and community leaders of DNTs. These Committees may hold their meetings at least
every three months and may review and monitor the progress of various welfare schemes being
implemented in the State/District for DNTs and may draw up future action plans.

6. It has been seen that a large number of DNTs have been included either in the list of SCs, STs,
or the OBCs from time to time. However, these DNTs have not been able to take the benefit of
various developmental schemes being implemented for SCs, STs, and OBCs. In order to enable
the DNTs to take the benefit of various developmental schemes being implemented for the poor,
it is necessary that the Union/State/UT Governments frame and implement separate welfare
schemes for them as a separate target group irrespective of the fact whether they belong to SCs,
STs or OBCs.
 ANTHROGURU

7. To enable the members of DNTs to avail the benefits of various welfare schemes, it is
necessary that they are issued Caste Certificates expeditiously and in a time-bound manner by
the District Administration. The position with regard to the issue of Caste Certificates to DNTs is
far from satisfactory. Also, if the applicant for the Caste Certificate is also an SC, ST or OBC,
only one certificate needs to be issued for his belonging to a particular Denotified/Nomadic Tribe
and either SC, ST or OBC. It is also suggested that the District Administration may be made the
final authority for the issue of caste certificate and no higher Committee need to be constituted at
any other level to judge the genuiness of the certificate issued by the District Administration. It
was found by the Commission that the Government of Maharashtra has constituted a ‘Validity
Committee’ at the State level which examines each and every certificate issued by the District
Administration. This not only takes a long time but also involves a great deal of hassle and
inconvenience for the applicants. It is, therefore, recommended that the Government of
Maharashtra may abolish the ‘Validity Committee’ forthwith.
It is also suggested that the District Administration may organise special on the spot camps in the
hamlets inhabited by DNTs for the issue of caste certificates so that the applicants may get caste
certificates without much running around various Government offices.
8. The Commission wants to strike a note of caution to the States/UTs to exercise adequate
vigilance and supervision in the matter of issue of Caste Certificates to avoid the possibility of
issue of false certificates.

9. BPL (Below Poverty Line) card is another handicap faced by the DNTs and without BPL
cards, they are not able to qualify for the benefits of various welfare schemes meant for the
weaker sections and the downtrodden. The State Governments may launch a special programme
to have BPL cards issued to the eligible families belonging to DNTs.

10. Similarly, a large number of DNT families are without Ration Cards which deprive them of
the benefits of the Public Distribution System to purchase essential commodities at concessional
rates from the Fair Price Shops. The Nomadic Tribes are the worst hit by this situation.
Denotified Tribes, particularly Nomadic Tribes, are largely BPL population. It is, therefore,
necessary that the States/UTs undertake the exercise of issuing Ration Cards to DNT families by
organising a special campaign both for urban and rural areas.

11. The Denotified and particularly the Nomadic Tribes are unable to exercise their right to vote
as either they are ignorant or are on move from one place to the other and have not been included
in the voters’ list. It is also because these people may not have permanent residences. Steps need
to be taken by the Union Government, the Election Commission of India, and the State
Governments to undertake a special campaign for inclusion of their names in the voters’ lists.

12. It has been seen that DNTs are living in slum conditions all over the country both in urban
and rural areas. They live either in the open, small and makeshift tents or in small hutments or
improvised pucca or kachha houses. Not only the space occupied by such houses, etc., is far too
inadequate in comparison to the size of their families but their settlements are virtually slums.
During their visits to such settlements in some States, the Commission found that these
settlements did not have the facility of common amenities like sanitation, clean drinking water,
sewerage, electricity, roads and public latrines, etc. The local body did not appear to have done
anything in this regard. The need of the hour is that the local bodies ensure that the situation in
 ANTHROGURU

such settlements is improved forthwith so that the DNTs are able to enjoy at least the basic civic
amenities till they get shifted to better places of settlement.

13. It has also been seen that there are some housing colonies of DNTs in some cities and towns
in the country but, apart from the fact that such colonies miserably lack civic amenities, they do
not also have the facilities of a Community Centre/Panchayat Hall, which could be used by the
DNT families for marriages and other similar social functions/get-together(s), etc. Similarly,
there are no play grounds for their children, gyms, etc. It is well known that members of DNTs
are not allowed to use these facilities available in other nearby areas of the city/town. It is
suggested that Local Bodies provide such facilities to the housing colonies of DNTs.
14. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and State Governments/UTs are
responsible for implementing various schemes for the development of Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). These schemes, inter alia, relate to grant
of various kinds of scholarships, construction of residential schools for boys and girls, hostels,
coaching centres, educational loans, studies in foreign universities, training for various technical
jobs like pilots etc. It is suggested that the Ministry may earmark appropriate outlays for such
schemes for DNTs in the same ratio as is being presently done for SCs & STs through a
dedicated delivery system. Similarly, the Ministry of Rural Development may earmark separate
funds for old age pension to DNTs. It is also suggested that all the Ministries/ Departments/
PSUs and other Govt. agencies and institutions may extend the same benefits and concessions,
etc., to DNTs as are being done for SCs.

15. Housing is a basic human need. While a large number of Denotified Tribes are settled,
Nomadic Tribes are generally on the move in pursuit of their traditional occupations for
livelihood. Also, in view of the changing economic scenario, their age old traditional occupations
are gradually losing relevance in providing the desired livelihood support. The Nomadic Tribes
are increasingly veering to the view that they settle themselves at one place or the other and take
to alternative professions. Indira Awaas Yojana is the flagship scheme of the Union Government
for providing housing to the rural poor which is being operated on 75:25 basis. The annual flow
of funds from the state exchequer was Rs.4400 crores during the Xth Plan. While DNTs are also
covered under the eligibility criteria under this scheme but since their priority is so low that it is
estimated that the number of beneficiaries of this scheme from the category of DNTs is
negligible. The Commission is of the strong view that considering their number and the fact that
they have not been given much importance in providing houses, the Central Govt. may earmark
at least 50% of the current outlay for Indira Awaas Yojana for building houses only for DNTs
during the XIth and the subsequent Plans and this scheme for DNTs may be rechristened as
Indira Awaas Yojana for DNTs.

16. The problem of housing in urban areas is still worse. The continuing influx of population to
urban areas has led to, inter alia, slums where a large number of poor families have come and
settled in tents. These families consist of migratory labour as also the DNTs. The living
conditions of these families are not only subhuman but also create pressure on basic urban
services for the entire urban population. It is gratifying to note that the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Poverty Alleviation has already launched an ambitious scheme under the Jawahar Lal
Nehru National Urban Mission for slum clearance and for the improvement of urban
infrastructure in general. Since a large number of families belonging to DNTs live in such slums,
 ANTHROGURU

the slum clearance programmes under the above scheme will enable these families to enjoy the
benefits of this scheme in terms of housing and urban infrastructure.

However, considering the poor plight of DNTs, it is suggested that the above scheme is slightly
modified to provide that the DNTs of these slums may be given top priority for housing and
development of urban infrastructure. It is hoped that a large number of DNT families will be
benefited by the implementation of this scheme. The scheme also lays down that housing should
not be provided free to the
beneficiaries and a minimum of 12% in general and 10% in the case of SC/ST/DC/OBC/PH and
other weaker sections be charged. The Commission is of the view that considering the poor
conditions of Nomadic Tribes, they may be charged only 5% as against 10% for SC/ST, etc. The
Commission had an occasion to see this scheme being implemented by the Union Territory of
Chandigarh and the Small Flats Schemes, 2006, being implemented by them. Though there was
no distinction kept between the general and the DNT slum dwellers, the Commission found the
implementation of the scheme to be one of the best and compliments the UT Administration for
the same.

17. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is presently applicable only to
certain big cities and towns in the country. There are a large number of smaller cities and towns
also in the country. A large number of DNTs have settled and created slums in such small cities
and towns as well. It is suggested that the States/UTs may implement similar Housing Schemes
for DNT slum dwellers as in big cities and towns with a beneficiary contribution of 5% in case of
DNTs. This scheme may be taken up for implementation on priority basis. It may also be ensured
that the DNT families are not uprooted from their present location until alternative housing
facilities are created for them.

18. The Central Government launched a scheme, namely, Golden Jubilee Rural Housing Finance
Scheme in 1997-98. This scheme envisages the sanction of credit to individuals desirous of
constructing/acquiring new dwelling units and for improving or adding to existing dwelling units
in rural areas at normal rates of interest. Considering the shortage of houses for DNTs, it is
suggested that this scheme may be reviewed and modified suitably in the changed circumstances
with a view to benefiting the DNTs by providing for suitable subsidy in the rate of interest.
19. Considering the size of the demand for houses for Nomadic Tribes, it is also suggested that
the Union and the State Governments may launch a scheme to develop Special Socio-Economic
Settlement Zones (SSESZ) for Nomadic Tribes at suitable locations on the lines of the Special
Economic Zones for industrial units. The SSESZs may be developed to provide built up houses
to live along with a small piece of land attached to such houses to enable the family to carry on
their profession as well. Locations of such SSESZ can be in the neighbourhood of either SEZs or
the other industrial areas or trade or business centres to enable the residents to get an opportunity
for employment. Such SSESZs can be developed for at least 100 families at one place with
minimum infrastructure, like electricity, drinking water and schools, etc.
20. Education, by far, is a basic agent of change in the process of socio-economic development
of disadvantaged groups. DNTs are no exception. While the Central Government launched its
flagship programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in 2001-02 for the whole of the country
irrespective of caste or religion and the national rate of literacy is gradually inching up, it has not
been able to make much headway for DNTs mainly for two reasons. One, there is not enough
 ANTHROGURU

awareness for education among the DNTs living in far flung areas and moving round the year
from one place to the other in search of livelihood; and second, the children of these Tribes are
looked at as additional hands for eking out livelihood for the family. Thus, the rate of literacy
among DNTs is much less than any other social segment of population. It is, therefore, necessary
that special efforts are made to undertake a massive awareness programme for DNTs to convince
them to send their children to schools. Though SSA also promotes girls’ education to eliminate
gender disparities, the position of girls’ education in DNTs is far too bad and special efforts are
to be made to improve the situation.

21. To attract more and more DNT children to schools there is an urgent need to open primary
schools in the areas predominantly inhabited by DNTs if they do not already exist and provide
free education to these students along with the ICDS facilities. Such schools can be run either by
the State Government or by good NGOs with appropriate grants from the State Governments.

22. The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) aims at universalising elementary education with
community-ownership of the school system. The National Mission of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
has constituted six sub-missions for various areas of SSA. While one of the sub-missions relates
to education of disadvantaged groups including girls, SC/ST/minorities/urban deprived children
and disabled children; this sub-mission does not specifically mention the DNT children. It is
suggested that a separate sub-mission may be constituted for the DNT children to facilitate
regular review of the performance of states in this regard. Similarly, a separate Task Force (TF)
be constituted for this sub-mission with experts and specialists so that the TF can review and
monitor the progress of SSA for DNTs including the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme.

23. To further strengthen the educational infrastructure for DNTs, the Government needs to open
residential schools separately for boys and girls in the areas inhabited by DNTs for upper
primary students. The scheme of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya launched in July, 2004
needs to have a separate annual target fixed for girls belonging to DNTs residing in interior rural
areas in various States/UTs. This is a useful scheme and needs to be implemented on priority
basis.
24. In order to further spread education among DNTs, the State Governments should open
Residential Schools separately for boys and girls in DNT dominated areas for free education,
lodging and boarding.
25. To facilitate the process of attracting boys and girls belonging to DNTs to Post Matric levels
of education including technical education, the Government needs to open and run hostels
separately for boys and girls at the District and Taluka levels. One or two such hostels need to be
opened in Delhi on the same lines as done for the students belonging to the North-Eastern
Region.
26. Along with the educational infrastructure, the Government needs to create infrastructure for
skill development of DNT students at various levels of education. This is extremely important in
view of the increasing need for skilled manpower in the changing economic context as also the
need for creating opportunities for the employment of DNTs. This will mean setting up
polytechnics, it is, etc., in the DNT dominated Districts so that DNT students are equipped with
the required skills to enable them to seek employment.
27. National Small Industries Corporation is running Technical Centres at various places in the
country. It is also understood that NSIC is planning to open more such centres in partnership
 ANTHROGURU

with the private entrepreneurs on franchise basis. These centres provide training for the
development of entrepreneurship and also training in various trades to men and women
irrespective of age. The minimum educational qualification for training in various trades is the
ability to read and write. This facility of talent building will be extremely useful to the youth of
the Denotified & Nomadic Tribes. It is suggested that the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment may execute an MoU with the NSIC for training men and women belonging to
Denotified & Nomadic Tribes in various parts of the country to enable them to either set up their
cottage industries or seek wage employment in the trades in which they take training. The
arrangement for such training to the Denotified and Nomadic Tribes may be made free of cost.

28. Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC), being the largest employment provider in
rural areas, are implementing a number of schemes for self- employment, or for setting up micro,
small and medium industries in rural areas. For example, Rural Employment Generation
Programme (REGP) is their latest flagship programme to provide employment in rural areas. It
has been noticed that REGP and other schemes of KVIC do not specifically mention DNTs as
beneficiaries like SC/ST/OBC/Women, physically handicapped/ex-servicemen and Minority
community. It is recommended that KVIC may also include DNTs as the potential beneficiaries
of their on-going schemes. This will provide DNTs an opportunity to seek gainful employment
to improve their living standards.

29. A large number of members of Denotified & Nomadic Tribes are small artisans and make a
variety of handicrafts in various parts of the country. These include items made of clay, plaster of
paris, glass, stone, marble, bamboo, etc. The major problem being faced by these artisans is in
the areas of procurement of raw material, marketing and credit, etc. It is, therefore, desirable that
the Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Limited, the Handicrafts and Handlooms
Exports Corporation of India Limited, extend the benefits of their schemes to the artisans
belonging to the Denotified & Nomadic Tribes.
30. A large number of DNT families earn their livelihood by selling vegetables, fruits, datun,
second hand clothes and many other similar articles as street vendors/hawkers/ peddlers.
However, they face difficulties in getting licenses from the Local Bodies. It is suggested that
special market zones may be developed at suitable places in large cities, giving them priority in
the allocation of space. Such special markets exist in several cities but under the titles of
‘Bhikbazar’ or ‘Chorbazar’, which actually are the poor man’s markets. These should be turned
into dignified market places for the DNTs with priority given in space allocation for them.
31. It is also suggested that State Government may arrange to provide small showrooms and
marketing outlets to artisans belonging to Denotified & Nomadic Tribes in the urban market
places. It will help them to market their products.
32. The Central Government launched a scheme, namely, Golden Jubilee Rural Housing Finance
Scheme in 1997-98. This scheme envisages the sanction of credit to individuals desirous of
constructing/acquiring new dwelling units and for improving or adding to existing dwelling units
in rural areas at normal rates of interest. Considering the shortage of houses for DNTs, it is
suggested that this scheme may be reviewed and modified suitably in the changed circumstances
with a view to benefiting the DNTs by providing for suitable subsidy in the rate of interest.
33. It is gratifying to note that the Government has adopted ‘financial inclusion’ as
 ANTHROGURU

the mainstay of the rural credit policy in the country. In this context, it is strongly recommended
that the Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes be extended the benefit of this policy on
priority basis by forming Self Help Groups of men and women among these Tribes.

34. DNTs are, by and large, the poorest section of the society and except that some of them have
been included in the lists of SCs, STs, and OBCs from time to time, no separate welfare schemes
have been implemented for them. As suggested earlier, DNTs need to be treated as a separate
target group for the purpose of implementation of poverty alleviation programmes. In this
context, it is necessary that a DNT Sub-Plan on the lines of SCSP may be implemented as an
umbrella strategy to ensure flow of targeted financial and physical benefits from all the general
sectors of development for the benefits of DNTs. Accordingly, States/UTs and Central Ministries
may be required to formulate and implement DNT Sub-Plan for DNTs during the XI Plan as part
of their annual plans by earmarking resources in proportion to their share in total population.

35. A separate Finance and Development Corporation for DNTs, like National Scheduled Castes
Finance & Development Corporation, may be set up at the centre which may implement similar
welfare schemes for DNTs as is being done for the Scheduled Castes at present.

36. Similarly, DNT Finance and Development Corporations be set up by the States for
identifying eligible DNT families and motivating them to take advantage of the development
related schemes, sponsoring the schemes to financial institutions for credit support, providing
financial assistance in the form of margin money at low rates of interest and subsidy in order to
reduce the repayment liability and providing necessary tie-up with other poverty alleviation
programmes. The State level Finance & Development Corporation may also finance employment
oriented schemes covering (i) Agriculture and allied activities; (ii) Small Scale, Micro and Tiny
Industry; and (iii) Transport and Service Sector.
37. DNTs constitute the most socially and economically backward sections of the population.
The fact that some of these tribes have been included in the list of SCs, STs, or OBC from time
to time it has perhaps been presumed that they are getting the benefits of the welfare schemes
implemented for SCs, STs or OBCs. Sadly, the situation is far from it. It is, therefore, extremely
necessary that considering their population in the country the focus now shifts to DNTs as a
separate target group of population and a suitable mechanism is evolved to channalise the
Government assistance earmarked for them through a separate dedicated delivery system.

Accordingly, there is a need for a separate department for the welfare of DNTs at the State level,
a separate Directorate of Welfare of DNTs and a separate District level officer for the welfare of
DNTs in the State. Similarly, there is a need for a separate Ministry/Department for the welfare
of DNTs at the Centre.

38. The Commission has noted that a large number of nomadic tribes have been pursuing their
traditional occupations, and thus have been catering to various needs of the society.
Unfortunately, almost all these professions have come to a naught due to either technological
advancement and/or enactment of certain laws on various subjects in the country. A typical
example of this phenomenon is the enactment of laws relating to Wild Life Protection,
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Environment Protection. As a result of these laws,
lakhs and lakhs of snake charmers, monkey players, Kalandars, bird catchers and people using
 ANTHROGURU

plants for herbal medicines, etc., have not only lost their professions in the middle of their lives,
but are also facing police action and harassment by the NGOs and the Government employees
every now and then. After having lost their professions being the only source of their livelihood
through out the history of mankind, they are on the verge of starvation with there being no
possibility of changing their professions for want of education or technical skill and know-how.
While there is no denying the fact that such laws are desirable in the overall ecological and
environmental security of the country, it is perhaps equally desirable to ensure that the people
affected by such laws are satisfactorily rehabilitated. India is a large country with immense bio-
diversity, flora and fauna.

Even if the relevant laws are amended to allow the Nomadic Tribes to pursue their traditional
occupations involving wild life and plants, etc., it is not going to make much difference to the
overall position of biological diversity in the country. It appears that this aspect has not been
given adequate weightage before enacting these laws. It also needs to be appreciated that the
current generation of people who have been pursuing these professions for a long time cannot
take to alternative sources of livelihood at this late stage of their life. Also, training wild and
domestic animals for entertaining people particularlin semi-urban and rural areas is not only a
great ‘art’ in itself but also a great source of entertainment to the people. Since the animals
provide a source of livelihood to a large number of families, it is unfair to think that they would
treat their animals with cruelty. In view of this background, the Commission strongly
recommends that the existing laws may be revisited and suitably amended to enable the nomadic
tribes to continue to use wild animals and herbal plants without any restrictions to pursue their
traditional professions.
39. Pastoral Communities are an integral part of Nomadic Tribe population in the country. Their
traditional occupation has been livestock breeding and marketing and sale of livestock products
like milk and wool, etc. The livestock generally include sheep, goat, buffalo, cow and camel.
Unfortunately, with the passage of time, they are in distress and are finding it difficult to
continue their traditional occupation for certain reasons. The basic and the foremost reason is the
diminishing grazing lands for their herds. Traditionally, grazing lands have been earmarked in
rural areas but, unfortunately, with the passage of time, these lands have either been illegally
occupied or have been diverted for some alternative use. This is adversely affecting the
occupation of pastoral communities. In view of this situation, State Governments have to ensure
that pastures and grazing lands as provided in the revenue records of villages and towns are
restored to their original character. In addition, new pastoral zones with basic amenities for the
pastoralists may also be developed.
40. The Commission has already recommended the setting up of residential schools for the
children of nomadic tribes. It is suggested that similar residential schools be run for the children
of pastoral communities and should be located on the migratory routes of these communities so
that the parents find it easy to send their children to such schools and to remain in touch with
them during their movement from one place to the other.
41. It is also suggested that Mobile Dispensaries for veterinary care be provided on the migratory
routes of the Pastoral Communities for their cattle as also for their families. Arrangements
should also be made to deliver technical guidance on continuous basis to the pastoralists to
upgrade the quality of their livestock.
 ANTHROGURU

42. It has been seen in the past that the herds of the pastoralists suddenly fall prey to natural
calamities and thus adversely affect the pastoral communities. It is suggested that the
Government compensate these communities for the adverse effect of such calamities.
43. Pastoralists rearing sheep, goats and camels are deprived of several benefits as these animals
are not included in the list of “useful animals”. It is suggested that the above mentioned animals
may also be recognised as ‘useful animals’ and necessary steps undertaken for their
development.
44. One of the major problems being faced by the Denotified Tribes is a continuing stigma of
criminality about them which has made them vulnerable to frequent police action merely on the
basis of suspicion. It is, therefore, necessary that the Denotified Tribes get rid of this stigma at
the earliest and live a dignified life like the mainstream citizenry of the country. To achieve this
objective it is necessary that the syllabus and contents of training for police from top to bottom is
reviewed by a small Committee under the Chairmanship of the Union Home Secretary in the
Centre and the Chief Secretaries in the States/UTs, and based on its recommendations necessary
steps initiated to implement these recommendations in the country to save DNTs from the
avoidable harassment by police by implicating them in false criminal cases. It is also necessary
that a massive awareness programme is launched to sensitise both the police and the public that
these Tribes are not criminal by birth.
45. The DNTs are also victims of atrocities like Scheduled Castes committed by anti- social
elements. It is, therefore, necessary that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 be, mutatis mutandis, made applicable to DNTs as well and
the central assistance be granted to the States in the same ratio as in the case of SCs and STs.
Similarly, special cells may be set up by the States for the implementation of the above Act. To
expeditiously prosecute cases under this Act, the number of Special Courts be suitably increased
to effectively deal with the cases relating to DNTs.
It is also necessary that the progress for implementation of this Act is reviewed and monitored by
the Central Government with the senior officers of the State Government from time to time.
46. It has been observed in many villages that villagers do not want the DNTs to stay in their
villages or village area; some Gram Panchayats (GPs) have resolved to evict the DNTs from
their GPs; and in some villages Bastis of the DNTs are raged or destroyed. Hence, to curb this, it
is suggested that the Government may award incentives in the form of subsidy/loan or other
monetary assistance to the villages where the DNTs are included in the development process of
the village through creation of assets for the DNTs like houses, pattas, small piece of agricultural
lands, right to use the water source of the village, employment guarantee schemes, etc.
47. It has been observed that in most of the cases of atrocities committed against the DNTs the
villagers or a group of villagers are involved and all the accused get acquitted due to lack of
identification and evidence. Hence it is recommended that whenever such a crime takes place
where all the villagers or a group of villagers are involved, the entire village should be
collectively punished. The punishment may be in the form of stopping or holding up the financial
assistance, or loans which are supposed to come to the village for at least 2/3 years.

48. The effect of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 is the legacy of the British and it needs to be
brought to an end to save a large number of people belonging to Denotified & Nomadic Tribes
from avoidable police harassment. Apart from the aforesaid recommendations, it is also
suggested that the investigation of criminal cases filed against the Denotified & Nomadic Tribes
is done by a Dy. S.P. It is also suggested that a senior police officer at the District level be
 ANTHROGURU

specially authorised to hear the grievances of misuse of law against and harassment of the
members of the Denotified and Nomadic Tribes. Also, in case the investigation of a criminal
case against a member of the Denotified & Nomadic Tribe does not fructify for prosecution, the
victim should be financially compensated by the State Government for his harassment for which
a suitable policy/criteria may be determined by the State/UT administration.
49. The stigma of criminality and the consequent harassment of Denotified & Nomadic Tribes is
the major problem affecting crores of people in the whole of the country. It is suggested that the
Union Government may organise a conference of Chief Ministers of States and Administrators
of Union Territories to discuss various issues relating to this problem and the steps that need to
be taken not only to sensitise the administration in general and the police in particular but also to
generate awareness among the people at large to save Denotified & Nomadic Tribes from
harassment at the hands of the police and the anti-social elements. The major problems affecting
the DNTs are their involvement in false cases by the police, atrocities by anti-social elements and
restricting their freedom of movement in pursuance of their traditional occupations, etc.
50. To prevent the harassment of DNTs in general, it is recommended that a Member each of the
National Human Rights Commission at the National level and a Member of the State Human
Rights Commission at the State level is appointed from amongst the DNTs.
51. The women belonging to DNTs are particularly prone to harassment not only by police but
also by antisocial elements. To save DNT women from such harassment and to enquire into such
cases and to create a feeling of goodwill about them in society, it is desirable that a Member each
of the National Commission for Women and of the State Commission for Women be appointed
from amongst the DNT women.

52. The Union Government has opened a new chapter in the history of the process of upliftment
of socially and economically disadvantaged groups by constituting the National Commission for
Denotified, Nomadic, and Seminomadic Tribes and by entrusting it the task of making
recommendations for the development of DNTs in the country. Considering the fact that the
Denotified and Nomadic Tribes are the most marginalised and disadvantaged sections of our
society, it is desirable that a regular National Commission for the Denotified and Nomadic
Tribes is constituted to provide constitutional safeguards to the members of the Denotified and
Nomadic Tribes like the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes, and to aid and assist the Union and the State Government to
review and monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the National Commission for
Denotified and Nomadic Tribes. The National Commission may be created by an amendment in
the Constitution on the same lines as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

53. Considering their socio-economic conditions, which are generally worse than those of the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, it is suggested that they may be given constitutional
status and support on the same lines as given to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
under Article 341 and Article 342 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Constitution may be
amended by adding Article 342 A as follows:- “342-A. Scheduled Communities -

(1) The President may with respect to any State or Union Territory and where it is a State, after
consultation with the Governor thereof, by public notification specify the castes, races or tribes
or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes which shall for the purpose of this Constitution
 ANTHROGURU

be deemed to be Scheduled Communities (Denotified and Nomadic Tribes), in relation to that

State or Union Territory, as the case may be.
(2) Parliament may, by law, include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Communities
specified in a notification issued under clause
(1) any caste, race or tribe or part of or group within any caste, race or tribe, but have as
aforesaid a notification issued under the said clause shall not be varied by any subsequent
notification. ”
54. Similarly, the Constitution may be amended to include “Scheduled Communities” under
Article 330 and Article 332 to enable these communities to be eligible for reservation of seats in
the House of the People and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
55. Simultaneously, Scheduled Communities (Denotified & Nomadic Tribes) which have been
included in the list of Scheduled Castes and in the list of Scheduled Tribes may be excluded from
these lists in accordance with Article 341 (2) and Article 342 (2) of the Constitution. Also, such
Scheduled Communities as have been included in the list of the OBCs may be excluded from
such list in accordance with the provisions of National Commission for Backward Classes Act,
1993.
56. Considering the population of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes in the country and their non-
participation in the democratic process, it is suggested that seats in every Gram Panchayat may
be reserved for Scheduled Communities (Denotified and Nomadic Tribes) including women on
the same lines and on the same principle as is being done for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Similarly, seats may be reserved for Scheduled
Communities (Denotified and Nomadic Tribes) in Block/Taluka Panchayats and Zila
Panchayats/Zila Parishads on the same lines and on the same principle as is being done for
Scheduled Castes.
57. A large population of Scheduled Communities (Denotified and Nomadic Tribes) is living in
cities and towns all over the country. It is suggested that seats may be reserved in all the Urban
Local Bodies for Scheduled Communities (SComs) on the same lines and on the same principle
as is being done for Scheduled Castes to enable them to participate in the democratic
process.
58. Considering the Commission’s recommendations for a separate DNT Sub- Plan, a separate
Ministry/Department at the Central Government level, a separate Finance & Development
Corporation for DNTs at the national level, additional resources will have to be provided in the
Union Budget. In view of the continuing robust growth in the collection of Government
revenues, it may not be difficult to provide budgetary support for the welfare schemes to be
launched for DNTs. This will also hold good for the States/UTs.
59. To mobilise additional resources to improve the socio-economic conditions of DNTs, it is
suggested that 10% of the funds earmarked for M.P. Local Area Development Fund may be
spent on schemes and programmes involving creation of physical infrastructure for the welfare
of DNTs. This may include construction of residential schools, hostels, vocational training
centres, and purchase of land and construction of houses for DNTs. Similar arrangement may be
made in respect of funds allocated to MLAs/MLCs in the States and Councillors in Urban Local
Bodies.
60. It is a welcome development that the corporate world is increasingly undertaking various
welfare projects for the benefit of the poor in the discharge of their Corporate Social
Responsibility as a voluntary initiative. These projects include creation of facilities in the field of
healthcare, insurance, education, vocational training and housing, etc., both in rural and urban
 ANTHROGURU

areas. This may be a major source of non-governmental assistance which can be channelised for
the welfare of DNTs in various parts of the country. It is suggested that the Union and State
Governments may proactively encourage and motivate the growing private sector to take their
support and cooperation to undertake need based projects for the welfare of DNTs in particular.
61. If the resources still fall short of the requirement to fund the welfare schemes and
programmes for the DNTs, the Union and the State Governments/UTs may impose a suitable
cess like the education cess for generating additional resources.
62. It is also suggested that the schemes and programmes for the welfare of DNTs may
preferably be implemented on Public Private Partnership basis as far as possible. This will not
only reduce the financial burden of the Government, but will also help in raising the efficiency of
the delivery system to maximize the impact of welfare schemes for DNTs.
63. Nomadic Tribes are communities living unsettled over generations. However, times have
changed and the communities have reached a dead end, where they cannot continue with their
wandering life style any more. The vanishing common property rights, improvement in
infrastructure in the communication systems and media have made the whole world a small
village and has thrown these communities out of gear since they are not able to continue with
their traditional sources of livelihood. In order to provide sustainable livelihood to these
completely assetless people, top priority should be given to create new settlements where
activities like housing, education and creation of the source of income will be started
simultaneously. For this purpose, they should be settled on Government lands lying idle or on
lands to be acquired by the Government.

The Government should immediately bring into effect a ‘Right to Minimum Land Holding Act’
according to which each Nomadic family (of not more than five persons, larger families getting
more allocation in that proportion) may be allotted at least one acre of cultivable land on nominal
lease basis with assured irrigation. Such Pattas may be allotted to SHGs of Nomadic Tribes in a
pooled manner for those who want to engage themselves in agro or primary food production
activities, on a non-transferable basis so that the group together can create sustainable assets on
the land, on a scientific basis, with proper training.
64. It is also suggested that the allotment of houses or plots or agricultural land may be allotted
to DNTs on the condition that the allottees will not be able to transfer the house, plot or
agricultural land to any person.

65. Since education is the cornerstone for the upliftment of DNTs, the Ministry of HRD may
earmark separate outlay for the DNTs for the XI Five-Year Plan and monitor its utilisation
accordingly. This will ensure focussed attention of the Government on the education of DNTs
and the required flow of funds therefor.

66. Presently, SCs, STs and OBCs are enjoying the benefit of reservation in Government jobs.
While some of the Scheduled Communities (Denotified and Nomadic Tribes) being in the lists of
SCs, STs and OBCs are also eligible for such reservation, in effect, they are getting virtually no
benefit as the comparatively better off and dominant castes in these lists take almost the entire
benefit of reservation. In order to enable the Scheduled Communities (Denotified and Nomadic
Tribes) to enjoy the benefit of reservation, a separate percentage of reservation in Government
jobs needs to be given to them on the same lines and on the same principle as is being given to
SCs and STs. It is estimated that their population is more than ten crores. In view of this, it is
 ANTHROGURU

suggested that the Scheduled Communities be given 10% reservation in Government jobs even if
the total reservation exceeds 50% as an integral part of the Affirmative Action programme for
the socio-economic upliftment of these communities.

67. During its visit to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Commission found that Section
63 of the Bombay Tenancy of Agricultural Land Holding Act, 1948, inter alia, prohibits transfer
of land to non-agriculturists. In view of this provision, a member of the Denotified or Nomadic
Tribe who is not an agriculturist cannot purchase agricultural land for himself. Since most of the
DNTs are non-agriculturists, they are not able to purchase agricultural land for themselves. It is
suggested that the State Governments may revisit such provisions and suitably amend the
relevant provision to enable DNTs to purchase agricultural land for their livelihood support.
Other States/UTs may also examine the relevant laws for a similar action.
68. The Commission also found that Rules regarding admission to Agriculture Colleges in
Maharashtra bar admission to Agriculture Colleges if the applicant is not an agriculturist.
Therefore, if applicants belonging to DNTs apply for admission to Agriculture Colleges do not
get admission as they are not agriculturists. This Rule appears to be unfair and needs to be
changed to enable DNT applicants, most of whom are non-agriculturists, to seek admission in the
Agriculture Colleges in the State.
69. A major handicap in enabling DNTs to take advantage of various welfare schemes of the
Central and State Governments is not only their ignorance about such schemes but also lack of
initiative, confidence, courage and conviction due to their long standing social exclusion. In such
a situation, the implementing Government agency at the grassroots needs to organise an
aggressive sensitisation campaign for them by visiting their settlements both in urban and rural
areas familiarising them about various welfare schemes and helping them in preparing their
applications, etc., forwarded to the relevant authorities, and thus ensuring that the maximum
number of such applicants get the benefits of the welfare schemes.

70. The Central and State Governments/UTs may promote the setting up of a Community
Service-cum-Information Centre for DNTs through an NGO with the objective of helping DNTs
needing guidance and counselling in the fields of education, health and employment. The Centre
may be equipped with computers and latest literature on the relevant welfare schemes. Experts
available at the Centre will especially guide DNT youth in choosing the career options, acquiring
skills for self-employment and availing bank credit either individually or through Self Help
Groups. The Centre may also be equipped with a toll free help-line.

71. Since DNTs and particularly, nomadic tribes, live and wander in far flung areas, which are
not easily accessible, it is suggested that suitable programmes regarding various welfare schemes
being implemented by the Government are regularly broadcast in the local language from the
nearest All India Radio Stations. This will enable them to familiarise themselves with various
welfare schemes being implemented. Similarly, a weekly TV programme may also be introduced
on the lines of Krishi Darshan by Doordarshan to sensitise and familiarise the DNTs living in the
urban and semi-urban areas about various welfare schemes, etc., being implemented for them.
72. During its visit to various States, the Commission found that a large number of States (about
seventeen) have set up Research Institutes for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which
undertake research on various issues relating to SCs and STs as also the evaluation of impact of
 ANTHROGURU

various welfare schemes relating to their socio-economic development. It is suggested that

similar Research Institutes should be set up by the States/UTs for DNTs.
73. Considering the rich cultural heritage and the need to preserve it, it is recommended that a
multicultural complex/Academy may be set up in every State/UT to develop, preserve and
exhibit the diverse and rich cultural heritage of DNTs. It will support and preserve arts, crafts,
music, dance, folk-lore and indigenous knowledge systems of DNTs for their further
development.

74. The Commission during its field visits observed that in the School Leaving Certificates of
some students belonging to the nomadic tribes, the name of the caste of the student was written
as Beggar or Bhikshuk or Firaste (Wanderer), etc. It may be because the parents of such students
being illiterate do not know how to fill up the enrolment form and therefore, they request either
the teachers or someone else to do the same. In such cases the teachers/middle men write the
name of caste of the students as per their own understanding and knowledge. The result is that it
becomes very difficult for the students to get caste certificates from the competent authority on
the basis of caste. It is, therefore, recommended that the name of the caste of the student (which
was registered wrongly) should be corrected in the school records itself. For this, a
request/application to the concerned school should come from the concerned student, approved
by his/her caste panchayat or general body of the community.

75. DNTs are by and large assetless and jobless. To assist them economically, the following
steps are recommended.
(i) Some communities (like Oddar, Od, Vadar, Beldar, etc.) have been traditionally associated
with occupations related to lime work, digging earth, carrying sand, mining, quarrying, and so
on. Presently in many States/UTs, a large number of these people are engaged in construction
industry as unorganised labourers in carrying, loading and unloading of sand, cutting and
crushing stones, etc. It is suggested that the State/UT Governments may organise Self Help
Groups (SHGs) and Cooperative Societies of these people and provide the above said jobs to
their Self Help Groups and Cooperatives on contract basis so that the concerned communities are
assured of a sustained living.
(ii) A large number of DNTs are engaged in rag picking in cities and towns and are living in
extremely unhygienic conditions with no knowledge and understanding of the aspects of safety
in their jobs. It is suggested that the State/UT Governments may make arrangements to ensure
safety and health of these people while they are in their occupations dealing with hazardous
waste material as a part of their occupation. It is also suggested that those who are engaged in
collecting solid waste material may be given training in waste recycling process and provided
with support and assistance to set up wasterecycling plants/units. The State Governments/UTs
may also provide access to the solid wastes to their SHGs and Cooperatives free of charge. It is
further suggested that the waste paper from Government offices may be sold to the SHGs or
Cooperatives of the DNT communities through negotiation and not through Tender.
(iii) It has been observed that there are unused Government lands along the banks of rivers,
ponds, dams, etc. Similarly, lands along the highways are lying idle. It is suggested that such
lands may be allotted to DNTs on lease basis to enable them to grow crops, vegetables, plants
and flowers and herbs, etc.
 ANTHROGURU

76. As stated earlier, a number of castes/communities from amongst the Denotified, Nomadic
and Semi-nomadic Tribes have been included in the lists of SCs, STs, and OBCs from time to
time. It has been noticed that in many cases the same caste/community has been included in the
list of SCs in one or more States, and the same caste/community has been included in the lists of
STs or OBCs in some other States and has not been included in any list at all in some States.
Similarly, a caste/community has been included in one list in some Districts of the State and in
another list in some other Districts and in no list in the remaining Districts. This is not only
unreasonable but also discriminatory and iniquitous and has created anger and dissatisfaction
among various castes/communities in the country. Such examples have been referred to in the
chapter in ‘Anomalies’. It is, therefore, strongly recommended that all such anomalies be
identified and corrected to ensure that a caste/community is in the same list in all the States and
also within the same State.
It has also been noticed that various Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes have been
identified district-wise in the same State. This is also unreasonable. In an age of occupational
mobility, if a family moves from one district to another, it should not mean a loss of status of that
family. A typical example of this is the State of U.P. It is, therefore, recommended that narrow
area restrictions be removed forthwith and castes/communities ordinarily be allowed to enjoy the
same status throughout the State.

Mungekar report

1.Tribal people though not a homogeneous group, have their own system of g overnance and
dispute redressal mechanism. Harassed by the repeated Tribal rebellions and uprisings. the
British chose to leave them alone and decided not to interfere with their day-to-day
administrative affairs. As a result, the general laws of the Centre or the Provinces were not
extended in routine to these areas known under different nomenclatures as 'agency areas',
'excluded areas '. and 'partially)
excluded areas ' . however the Governor was empowered to extend any law with necessary
exceptions and modifications to these areas in his discretion.

2. The framers of Constitution were conscious of the distinct needs of the Tribal people and their
areas, and thus, provided a comprehensive framework for the protection and advancement of this
disadvantaged sections of the society to enable them to catch up with the rest as early as possible.
 ANTHROGURU

3. While providing a number of specific provisions for protection and welfare of Tribal people
in the Constitution of India, Part X of the Conslilution deals exclusively with the Scheduled
Areas (SAs) and Tribal Areas (TAs). According to sub-clause (I) of Article 244 of the
Constitution, the provisions of the Fifth Schedule (FS) apply to Para 3 the administration and
control of the SAs and Scheduled Tribes in any State other than the States of Assam, Meghalaya,
Tripura and Mizoram. Sub clause (2) envisages application of the provisions of the Sixth
Schedule (SS) to the administration of the TAs in these States.

4.The President of India has, under Article 244(1) of the Constitution, declared 'Scheduled Areas'
(SAs) in nine States of the country under Para 6 of FS on the basis of the preponderance of
Tribal population, compactness and reasonable size of the areas, a viable administrative entity
such as a district, block or taluk, and economic backwardness of the area as compared to the
neighboring areas.

5. Paragraph 5 of FS deals with 'Laws applicable to Scheduled Areas'. Subparagraph

(1) authorises the Governor of the state having SA to make 'such exceptions and modifications'
in 'any particular Act of. Parliament or of the Legislature of the State' in its application to 'a
Scheduled Area or any part thereof in the State' as he may specify in the notification.:' Paragraph
2 of the Fifth Schedule makes the executive power of the State in respect of the SAs therein
'subject to the provisions of this (Fifth) Schedule.' :'Paragraph 3 extends the executive power of
the Union 'to the giving of directions to the State as to the administration of the said (Scheduled)
area. ' In addition, Article 339 specifically envisages control of the Union over the
administration of the SAs and the welfare of STs.

6. It is in this perspective on governance that Governors concerned are mandated under

Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule to send their respective Annual Reports to the President on the
''Administration of SAs " annually or whenever so desired by him. The Annual Reports of the
Governors about administration in the Scheduled Areas are crucial as these are the basis on
which the Union Government can give directions. In the same continuation, the executive power
of the Union extends to giving directions to Scheduled area States as to the drawing up and
execution of schemes specified in the direction essential for the welfare or the Scheduled Tribes
in the State.

7. In essence, 'particularisation, not generalisation'. and 'discretion, not rule by rote' comprise the
moving spirit of this frame.

8. If one looks at the political map of the country, one would be distressed to observe that despite
being the richest in mineral wealth, the Scheduled Areas and forest areas, and non-Himalayan
forests of the country representing rich natural resource base, wildlife and water resources are
inhabited by the poorest people of the country, and which also now unfortunately happen to be
the operational areas 'of Naxals. The various activists groups spread in the mineral-rich forest/
Scheduled Areas of the Central India, exploit this situation of neglect to further fuel feelings of
alienation and despair. The combined -effect of non-development, alienation due to undefined
property rights, non empowerment, and increased and constant threat of displacement etc., has
been causing frustration, anger and unrest in the Tribal areas, posing a serious crisis of internal
 ANTHROGURU

security in administering the Schedule V areas of the country. The problem in fact is multi-
dimensional and inter-sectoral haying far reaching implications on the people relating to
equitable distribution of growth, environment, wildlife, use of rich natural resource base, internal
security. General law and order and so on.

9. This Report on "Standards of Administration amd governance in Scheduled Areas is the third
Report of the Standing Committee that critically examines the efficacy of the Constitutional
safeguards' vis-a-vis the current status of the SAs and the level of development level of tribal
people focusing on the efficacious means: to address the dis-satisfaction in the Tribal areas.
There is an urgent need for distinct policy prescriptions for'Scheduled Areas and accordingly
separate strategies 'under each sector viz health, education, housing, drinking water, 'roads, rural
development, etc., and programmes there under based on the specific needs of the Tribals and
their milieu. The approach of 'One solution fits all" cannot work. The main recommendations of
the committee are summsried below.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Scheduled areas:

i. All laws now cover Scheduled Areas in routine. There is a need to stop the practice of
routinely extending ali laws to the Scheduled Areas without adaptation to the Tribal milieu and
to consciously adapt the laws to the Scheduled Areas. There is no realisation that a great damage
had been done when general laws first flooded Tribal areas in 1950 with no mechanism for their
review. There is an urgent need for the Central Government and the State Governments to review
these Acts.

ii. There is a need for an in depth situational analysis of the problem of unrest in the SAs
covering all its facets along with the response strategy. A knee-jerk sort of a response with police
action cannot be the right approach to tackle a complex problem arising out of socio economic
exclusion and the control of outsiders over natural resources.

iii. The Office of the Governors in Scheduled Areas should have a separate, well staffed and well
equipped set up to take care of the ST-related matters.

iv. It is necessary for the Government to take the following action in a time-bound manner with
respect to the Scheduling of Left-over Areas::

(a) All areas already identified as Tribal majority areas should be brought under the Fifth
Schedule 'within a. period of one year in pursuance of the commitment made in 1976.
(b) All Tribal majority areas that have been left out for any reason whatsoever or that may have
newly qualified by virtue of new communities being classified as STs as in Uttar Pradesh should
be identified within a year and brought under the Fifth Schedule within two years

v. Administrative reorganisation of these areas within the. Concerned States should be taken up
and completed within two years so that compact tribal areas are brought under the same
administrative units at an appropriate level.
 ANTHROGURU

2. Governor's Report:

1. The Governor's Rcport should prescnt an overall assessment of the Tribal conditions/situation
in the State with special reference to weak spots and corrective actions, and discontinue the
present practice of being a routine exercise that too not every year'. The annual Report should
contain specific protective measures, developmental activities. clearly bringing out a comparison
between the non-Tribal areas of the same State. It must also contain the Action Taken Report on
the Governor's Report of the earlier year/so .

II. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs must critically examine these reports and submit action points
to the President. The President may consider allotting specific time in the Annual Conference of
Governors for discussion on governance in the Scheduled Areas.

3. Reviving institutions of self-governance:

I. The effectiveness of the Gram Sabhas (GS) as the institutions of self governance as envisaged
in PESA holds the key to peace and good government in the Scheduled Areas. The Gram Sabhas,
therefore, must be given a top priority by all concerned irrespective of the position they may hold
in the System.
II. Immediate action in the current year should be taken to erase the dissonance in keeping with
the spirit of the Constitution, especially PESA read with the Fifth Schedule through:
(a) Adaptation of laws through Governor's Notifications coverings all items of PESA,
(b) Conferring ownership of minor forest produce on the Tribals
(c) I,ssue of 'Guidelines' about the role, responsibilities and functioning of the. Gram Sabhas
(GSs) honouring their 'competence', and
(d) Framing of model regulations in relation to all facets of administration not covered by (a), (b)
and (c) above

iii. Devolution of powers to the nearest level in the field 'should be the rule. Instances of misuse
should be met with a stringent action against the culprits and institutionalizing effective
correctives. It should not be, however allowed to be used as a ploy for its reversal. Devolution of
powers to the Gram Sabhas under PESA should be treated as sacrosanct. Any attempt to mislead
or influence the Gram Sabhas and misuse the aura of their authority of any description -
administrative, institutional or political - should be treated as an offence against democracy.
IV. The Gram Sabha should become fully functional in the image of Village- Republic within
this year The concerned States should immediately take the fallowing steps in this regard:

(a) Prepare Guidelines in the form of a Regulation tor the functioning of the Gram Sabhas with
the comprehensive frame as envisaged in PESA so as to enable the people to deal with the
System with confidence and authority: and (b) Frame a Regulation to the effect that
'notwithstanding anything in any law for the time being in force, all formal or informal
transaction of any description whatsoever between a tribal and any other person, including
 ANTHROGURU

ajuridical entity shall be in the open assembly of the Gram Sabha and shall have no effect unless
the GS authenticates the same '.

v. Participatory Approach of Programme Implementation should be a compulsory pre-requisite

for programme implementation. The community should be explained the programme, and its
likely impact and taken into confidence in this regard. This would inter-alia involve capacity
building for the Gram Sabha. Expert institutions in the field of local self Government and Tribal
Affairs could be utilized for this purpose. The Gram Sabhas should be legally and operationally
empowered to conduct social audit of Tribal development programmes to enforce people's
participation, transparency and accountability of the implementing agencies and officials.

4. Governance:

1. Governance should cover, among other things, the following issues:

(i) Ending the confrontation between the Tribal people and the State that has accentuated after
Independence because of:
(a) incongruous laws,
(b) disputed command over livelihood resources,
(c) unbridled functionaries of the State and other agencies and ,
(d) flooding of these areas with funds through ubiquitous contractors as these areas got opened
up in the name of development,
(ii) Single line administration that is responsive to the people,
(iii) .State Tribal Development Department as a nodal agency with all other Departments and
other agencies responsible for their respective areas of responsibilities and
(iv) A nodal tribal welfare unit in the Government of India with all Ministries assuming
leadership in their respective areas of responsibility. The nodal unit must ensure that a
comprehensive frame develops cutting across all format boundaries with a clear mandate to step
in and supplement the effort of other 'institutions so that the the tribal cause does not suffer on
any count whatsoever

II. Other elements of governance include the following:

(a) Ensuring the Tribal areas are not treated as punishment postings,
(b) Personnel in the area are suitably oriented and are subject to a special code of conduct to be
formalised through a suitable comprehensive regulation,
(c) Creation of sub-cadres for Scheduled Areas (Haldipur Report refers).
(d) Ensuring that no Tribal area falls under one or more blocks/districts,. State boundaries etc ..

5. Regaining the Confidence of Tribal people:

 ANTHROGURU

I. The following measures should be immediately taken as a part of the resolve of the State for
'Regaining the Confidence of Tribal people'.
(a) All those cases pending in the courts or under investigation, which
(i) involve technical violation of the laws concerning forest, fishing, wild life and excise. and
(ii) come within the ambit of 'dispute resolution' of Gram Sabhas under PESA. should be
withdrawn or sent to the concerned Gram Sabhas for disposal.
(b) All those cases where a party is alleged to have proceeded with the establishment of any
project in the Scheduled Areas on the basis of contrived consent of Gram Sabhas should be
referred to the District Tribunal.

ii. Effective Protection: Protective measures must precede developmental programmes with
suitable amends in the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) frame to ensure that the story of their earlier
neglect is not repeated. The following are some of the urgent issues for time bound action.

iii. Land Alienation and its Restoration: All State laws about land alienation should be reviewed
and suitably amended to enable Gram Sabhas to take effective action for protecting Tribal Jand
and restoration of illegally alienated lands in keeping with the spirit of PESA as has been done in
Madhya Pradesh. All the pending cases
should be disposed of in special drives and delivery of possession simultaneously effected. The
task should be taken up as a campaign and completed within 2 years.

iv. No Displacement: The very concept of displacement of tribals for facilitating implementing
development projects violates the spirit of the Constitutional schema. The transition, which
Tribal people have to negotiate in the process of development including use of natural resources
for a variety of developmental projects, should be meticulously planned with prior informed
consent of likely affected people. As recommended by the Bhuria Committee, the plan. With
statutory backing, must ensure a place of honour on terms of equality in the new economy of the
area for all.

6. Effective delivery mechanism: A Comprehensive Frame – The ITDPs

1. For ensuring effective delivery mechanism there is a strong need to resuscitate ITDPs by re-
strengthening and revamping for being able to be the implementing agencies for the new
proposed deal.

ii. The process of planning from below should begin with ITDPs. It should move on to block unit
in the form of a broad perspective along with annual plan exercises in not more than three years.
This preliminary exercise should pave the way for a real process of planning from below for
Scheduled Areas in the 12Th Plan. Competent Micro planning units should be established at
Statee and also ITDP levels.
iii. A single line administration should be established at the level of ITDPs with a clear chain of
command: and specific wide-band functional domain. While Panchayat Raj institutions at the
District/intermediate level should have decision-making. powers in relevant areas,
implementation should be the exclusive' domain of administration. On the other hand, the
domain of Gram Sabha should remain non-violable with administration playing a supportive
role.
 ANTHROGURU

iv. At the District level, all TSP funds flowing to. 'the Scheduled Areas should be through the
ITDPs. Since the flow Of funds at the district level for Scheduled Areas is in many cases likely
to exceed Rs.200 crore annually, an officer equal in rank and experience to that of the CEO (ZP)
or Project Officer (DRDA) should be provided with a fixed tenure as the District Tribal/Welfare
Officer or Project Director ITDP ..

v. At least for Tribal majority districts such district level officer should be selected by an Expert
Committee headed by the Chief Secretary of the State Government. The district level office
should be appropriately strengthened and the strength should be reviewed once in 5 years. The
entire personnel should be brought under a special disciplinary regime. The District level officer
should be vested with full authority, as in Andhra Pradesh, to coordinate with all line
Departments, deal with delinquent staff, including termination of service contracts. He/She
should also be vested with the administrative authority in respect of regular Government
ernployecs upto class-II level officers posted/working in Scheduled Areas.

vi. At the Block level. in Scheduled Areas. monitoring units should be created with modern
office and communication facilities under the District Officer in charge of Tribal Affairs. 1\s far
as TSP funds are concerned, DDOs should be answerable to the Project Director of the ITDP
vii. With a set of urgent tasks and need for effective implementation, the holistic frame of TSP
should also be put in place immediately for Ministries of Government of India. The Central
Ministries/ State Departments must assume their responsibilities. They should assess the lost
ground and make good omissions in the II th and subsequent Plans. It is necessary that a well
defined structure is put in place with the backing of a formal order.

viii. The unacknowledged health crisis in Tribal areas should be handled in a mission-mode in a
holistic frame. It should cover all aspects of people's health from pauper-like diet status at one
end and invasion of new diseases at the other. The traditional healers and trained daies should be
integral part of this Mission. Comprehensive health coverage should begin with establishment of
full facilities at the Primary Health Centres (PHC) and APHC level to be accomplished within 3
years.
ix. The minimum population norm or criterion, where-ever stipulated in any infrastructure
scheme,should be relaxed where these facilities are to be extended to the Tribal population.
x. in .sparsely populated hilly or desert areas, villages may be very small or divided into small
hamlets. In such cases, an Anganwadi may be set up in a village or a hamlet having a population
of 300 or more.
xi. A major special thrust is necessary to ensure that:
(a, Elementary education of good quality is imparted to all free of cost
(b) Special handicaps are overcome and the great cultural heritage is used as the foundation of
real education and
xii. A time bound programme should be taken up comprising inter alia:
(a) Universal enrolment in elementary stage as a campaign within 2 years;
(b), A system of 'academic linkage and guidance' should be established right from thc nursery to
the University (from 'n to u') within 2 years so as to make the entire educational system vibrant
and capable of moving in unison with a purpose: and
 ANTHROGURU

(c) The school in the village should become the hub of citizen education, equipped with it good
library.

xiii. Strengthening/reorienting /revamping of the implementing machinery: There is strong

necessity of formulating suitable personnel policies to make postings in the Tribal areas as
attractive andsatisfactory rather than being considered as punishment postings as is the present
opinion across the board with a few exceptions. An effective system of postings, rewards and
punishment should be worked out for the Scheduled Areas, To start with all positions in the
Ministries/Departments dealing With the Tribal affairs must be held by offices who may have
worked in a Tribal area for not less than two years.

xiv. Since no authentic data regarding the land use, including surface and the ground water
availability in the Tribal/Scheduled Areas is available, support of the National Remote Sensing
Agency (NRSA) may be taken to provide land use, surface and ground water availability in each
of the 195 ITDAs of the country so that the specific development plans based on increasing the
water regime of the Tribal land may be prepared resulting in enhanced productivity and income
thereof. Such periodic assessments, say at interval of two years; would provide comparative
status in a time series and form scientific basis of the concurrent review.
xv. All markets should be suitably regulated under the aegis of ITPPs and 'the Panchayati Raj
Institutions within a year. The entire· Tribal produce, mainly MFP should be brought under
support price system with in 2 years. >
xvi. A single window system for credit, marketing and supply under the system of Large Sized
Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS) should be established, or revamped where already established,
with competent and reliable personnel under the unified control of the ITDP.

Creation of Critical Infrastructure: Bridging the Divide:

I. The first proviso to of Article 275(1) is unique in the sense that it provides special dispensation
for financing developmental programmes for STs and for raising the level of administration in
SAs as grants-in-aid to the States.
ii. The quality of administration is the firm foundation of planned economic development. This
aspect has somehow been neglected notwithstanding the provisions in Article 275( I). Due to
inbuilt exclusion of tribal areas on the basis of population norms and routine extension of general
programmes without ST - centric planning to the Scheduled Areas, the level of funding continues
to be inadequate and SAs suffer from utter neglect. The potent provisions of the Fifth Schedule,
and Article 275 (1) read with Article 339 (2) need to be effectively used to avoid a situation of
poorest infrastructure in the resource-rich Scheduled Areas inhabited by poorest people.
iii. Special State-wise projects may now be prepared after a thorough analysis of the existing gap
in the infrastructure in Scheduled Areas and funds under the first proviso of Article 275 (1) may
be effectively used for this purpose . .
IV. Adequate infrastructure could not be created in Scheduled Areas as many conlmlll1ity as
well as individual developmental activities were considered as non-forestry activities under the
Forest Conservation Act. 19RO and thus hit by that Act.. Now with the passage of Forest Rights
 ANTHROGURU

Act, 2006 under which creation of infrastructure in Tribal areas is permissible, there is an urgent
need to cover the lost ground and create infrastructure on priority to bring a level of
administration at par with rest of the areas in the respective States. It is therefore necessary to
focus on creation of such infrastructure in Tribal areas, which enhances the production capacity
of the land and ensures value addition right at the grass root level.
v. The Government of India should institutionalize annual review of administration in the
Scheduled Areas. The first review under this Constitutional mandate should be done within the
current year itself in terms of a clear frame that may be prescribed and funding ensured under
Article 275 (1) to bridge the gaps in each sector of development within the current Five Year
Plan.
VI. The naxalites try to derive benefit from overall under-development and from sub-normal
functioning of field institutions like police stations, tehsils, development blocks, schools, primary
health centres and anganwadi centres, which administer and provide services at the ground level
and also reflect the State presence and writ. There is, thus, a need for putting in place adequate
infrastructure for critical functionaries in the fteld/grassroots level of the State. Creation of new
posts and filling up of existing vacancies in the development staff at the field level are important.
vii. The development grants allocated for the Naxal-affected areas should be non-lapsable and
non divertible.
viii. The in'ititutional mechanism for public grievance. redressal system should be strengthened.

The Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) : Shift from notional to reality

I. The following measures need to be taken to make TSP effective:

(a) There should be a separate Budget Head for each Ministry/Department for TSP.
(b) A minimum quantum of 8% (which shall not be the upper limit) of the Budgetted funds of
Ministry/Department concerned with social sector programmes shall be allocated towards TSP.
Serious and speci'fic directions need to issue to all line Ministrie? in this reg.ard from the highest
levels in the Government.
(c) The TSP funds of each Ministry/Department should be made nonlapsable and non-divertible.
(d) As in the case the North East Fund, the unutilized and non lapsed TSP funds of each
Ministry/Department, should be made eligible for pooling at the end of the year.
(e) Every Ministry/Department shall prepare its ST-specific Annual Tribal Sub-Plan.
(f) A better and targeted implementation of TSP funds could be achieved by a concerted
planning of resources flowing to Tribal areas through well thought out visible interventions. In
other words, instead of every Ministry spending resources in a disjointed and uncoordinated
manner, it would be beneficial if the TSP funds of all Ministries/Departments are managed on
the advice of a single nodal agency .
(g) The TSP funds should be spent in a judicious and concerted manner under the ST-specific
Annual TSP in consultation with the nodal agency, namely, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
(h) There shall be established a Committee (called the "Committee for Approval and Monitoring
of Annual TSPs of Central Ministries/ Departments ") chaired by Member, Planning Commission
and consisting of the Secretary of the concerned Ministry/Department and the Secretary (Tribal
Affairs) to consider the Annual TSP Plans for the concerned Ministry.
(i) These Committees should be empowered to approve TSP components and make
recommendations regarding subsequent allocations from the non-lapsable funds after the first
year of allocation,
 ANTHROGURU

j) The Planning Commission should devise a policy to ensure that the Annual Plan of any Central
Ministry would not be cleared if there was no TSP component therein.
(k) The Planning Commission should not approve the Annual Plans of any Ministry/Department
unless the TSP Annual Plans are first approved by the above-mentioned Committee,
(l) The Committee should be serviced by the M/o Tribal Affairs and the Ministry shuuld be
enabled to do so. The implementation of the projects approved by the Committee shall be the
responsibility of the corcerned Ministry/Department.
(m) Similarly, the TSP of ench State shall be appraised and approved by the Ministry of Tribal
Affairs ttlld 'Planning Commission shall consider 'the Annual State Plan only aft~r such approval
on TSP.

ii. There should be closer involvement of Pancnayati Raj Institutions at the ITDPI/ITDA level.
DRDAs/ITDPs should fun'ction under the, directions of the Zila Parishaus. ITDPs, which are
historically older than ORDAs, should lie administratively and technically empowered.

iii. It was all right generally to have some norms based un population criteria etc. to provide
some basic infrastructure facilities like primary schools, health centers, roads, electricity, etc. But
the same norms should not be applied ,for STs as the ST clusters being sparsely habitated could
never satisfy such norms. Hence. there is a need for relaxing such norms to make them flexible.

IV. At the· State level, the Departments in charge of Tribal Affairs, besides under taKing the
somewhat routine coordination functions, should plan and devise TSP programs for Scheduled
Areas.

V. These nodal Departments should be responsible for planning and overseeing schemes under
all TSP funds. The budgeting exercise should be carried out at the State level in the nodal
Department and TSP document prepared for scrutiny by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Govt. of
India prior to approval of the State plan of the concerned State by the Planning Commission.

vi. A demi-otlicial letter addressed by the Prime Minister to the Central Ministries in 1980 (D.O.
letter No.280/PMO/80 dated 12.3.1980) is the main source of authority behind the concept of
TSP. It is high time that orders are issued by the Cabinet Secretariat formalizing the
recommendations suggested above.

Rejuvenation of the Traditional Economy:

i. The truth of the Tribal economy is that it has been badly mauled through incessant
expropriation in countless forms and weakening communitarian traditions. A comprehensive
'Opera/ion Rejuvenation' (OR) should be taken up forth with in every village in the Scheduled
Areas. While Operation Rejuvenation is on, steps should be taken for laying the foundation for
sustainable development by delineation of micro agroclimatic zones that would provide the
frame for long-term sustainable development.
ii. The foremost agenda of each of the 1TDP should be to undcl1ake comprehensive and
continuous assessment of the local situation, advising concerned Gram Sabhas, providing direct
assistance, preparing micro turn-key projects and helping entrepreneurs in dealing with the
 ANTHROGURU

unknown new economy. ITDPs should be re-strengthened to take up the task of preparing
village-wise plans with the approval of Gram Sabhas.
iii. About 15% of the Tribal people, located largely in the North-East and parts of Orissa and
Andhra Pradesh still subsist on shifting cultivation. It is necessary to improve this method of
cultivation on more scientific basis A ten year project transformation should be launched under
the overall guidance of a National Centre on Shifting Cultivation with a strong functional Unit in
every concerned State.
iv. An unequivocal national resolve to pursue the path of (Dcvelopment with Equity withh Tribal
People at the Centre of the Stage' alone can measure up to the great crisis in the Tribal areas. The
very concept of 'displacement' and 'rehabilitation' as two distinct entities is incongruous in the
Tribal context.
v. The confidence of the people in the system must be regained with a clear resolve that no
scheme of any description shall be taken up without prior informed consultation with the
community that should virtually mean their consent. Any violation of this spirit by one any
regardless of his position restrict in life shall be treated as an offence.
vi. The urban centers of expropriation should be transformed into pulsating centers.of holistic
development. Any entrepreneur starting a venture in a Scheduled Area on Tribal land should be
legally bound to induct the owner of the land as an equal partner. The Provisions of the
Municipalities in Part IXA should be extended to the Scheduled Areas with exceptions and
modifications as recommended by the Bhuria Committee.

10. Priority Accorded Tribal Groups:

i. Mission Navajeevan (PTGs): The situation of the most Vulnerable groups is much too complex
and delicate to be handled by routine administration. Even special Projects with built-in
flexibility did not click because of routine handling As the issue here is of survival, a dedicated
small team, including a doctor and a social scientist, committed to the cause and prepared to
work in a mission mode, should be constituted for each group or part thereof under an umbrella
organisation, Navajeevan Mission

ii, Mission Abhayadan for Vulnerable Girls: Implications of the weakening community with a
comparatively weak family in tribal area have been overlooked. The young girl's are the worst
victims. They are enticed, deceived and even captured from open markets by gangs for domestic
service and flesh trade in an unknown world with no one to defend. The situation 'is serious in
Jharkhand and Orissa. The issue should be flagged for urgent and strict administrative action
under a regulation for immediate relief. A long-term plan should also be prepared, on the basis of
a timebound systematic study of2 years or so.

iii. Mission Dignity for Migrant Labour: There is a large exodus from the Scheduled Areas in
search of work at bare subsistence or even sub-subsistence wage level. There are gruesome
stories of thcir exploitation, especially of women and girls. As the saying goes in Tribal pockets
in Wynad, Kerala, 'The girl goes for filling her belly; she returns with a filled' belly'. Effective
legal and institutional protection should be provided for migrant labour from, Scheduled Areas.
 ANTHROGURU

11. Employment Policy:

i. Instead of a 'low-cost, low-calibre' employee policy it is necessary to engage competent people

and pay them accordingly. Increased annual financial outgo should not be considered as cost to
the country. but investment in human resource as it would be more economical to build up the
Tribal people as human resource. than to allow them to be deprived and underdeveloped and pay
the same costs later. There need not be any doubt whether they would come to a remote Tribal
village. If the attraction of good salaries takes competent personnel to the Gulf and Africa, it
could certainly attract them to the Tribal areas.
ii. Selected personnel with empathy for the Tribal people should be posted in Tribal areas with
an extendable tenure of not less than five years and provision for in situ promotion. They should
not be entitled to seek transfer to urban areas. They should be bound by an Objective
Performance Based Policy of hire and fire. But they should be entitled to a Career Progression
Policy for good performers in tribal areas speedier than the rest.
iii. Recruitment of staff for the field level should be for the specific vacancy and should not be
transferable. Government employees in regular appointment and working in the Scheduled
Areas, should be given appropriate incentives. including enhanced pay and additional
allowances. All employees working in the Scheduled Areas should be offered opportunities for
continuous training and opportunities and pass competency tests. Such competency tests should
be carried out once in 3 years and those failing them should be debarred.

IV. There is a need for a posting and transfer Policy both of security forces and development
functionaries working in the naxal-affected areas so as to ensure the posting ur willing and
dedicated staff in these areas.

The policy could include:

a) accommodation of family within the State as per the choice of the employee:
b) Insurance for the staff of developmental section
c) ex-gratia payment
d) place of last posting to all officers/men deployed in underdeveloped tribal areas
c) financial inccntiws
f) uul uf lul'll promotion for outstanding contribution in the tleld
g) recognition in the form of mcdals and financial incentive

h) in-built mechanism of periodical enhancement of knowledge and capabilities by exposure to

foreign training and

v. Social sector schemes included in the 69 schemes identified by Ministry of Rural

Development fol' improvement of rural livelihoods and house-hold incomes, expansion of
quality basic social services, upgradation of infrastructure, management of risk, enhancement of
agricultural productivity, direct intervention of wages etc. should be given priority attention in
underdeveloped tribal areas.

vi. Tribal Administrative Service: There is a need to examine the necessity for constituting a
Tribal Administrative Service cadre for tribal areas, with the Ministry'of Tribal Affairs acting as
 ANTHROGURU

the Cadre Controlling Authority for selection of suitable officers from various Departments, who
are enthusiastic and. committed to work in the tribal areas. In larger States sub-cadres :may be
established with a provision for choice to join the main stream after ten years service.
vii. There is a strong need to provide co~tinuous reorientation of employees at all levels
appropriately with: sensitivities of the Tribal. people. They should be sensitized to respect'ofthe
customs, culture, dignity, traditions, etc. of the Tribals.' Their capadty building program could
include adopting 'participatory approaches in implementing schemes, developing methods that
avoid conflict with the value system of Tribals. A code of conduct prescribing dos and don'ts
could also be considered in this respect.

12. Implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Traditional Forest Dwellers
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006:

1 The recently enacted Scheduled Tribes and the Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition
of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is one silver lining seen in the recent past. It has taken more than fifty
years to recognize these rights by enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Implementation of the Act in right
earnest within a reasonable time frame with the same enthusiasm in all the States poses a serious
administrative challenge, especially with, respect to settlement of livelihood and traditional
rights like ownership of MFP conferred as a right under this Act. However, much will depend
upon its implementation, in letter and spirit.

II. All claims of the occupants over forestland under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 should be
settled within 2 years. Regulations should also be made so that the Gram Sabhas can protect
forests tn their traditional habitats.
iii. For the management of natural resources it is crucial to move away from the regime of
concessions-based approach to the rights-based approach. The involvement of forest rights
holders in the management of natural resources should be inbuiIt in all efforts aimed at
protection, regeneration and harnessing of benefits.
IV. The ownership over minor forest produce has been reiterated now in the Forest Rights Act. It
must be ensured that the old story does not repeat and the community rights become a reality
beginning with the next season and the primary collector is assured of full value of his collection
without any levy of any description whatsoever.
v. The monopoly of the State-owned Corporations and the contractor system needs to be urgently
done away with as the contractor in most of the Tribal areas are understood to have nexus with
the naxal groups and pay extortion money to them for their trade. The poor STs are presently just
employed by the contractors as helpless labourers.
vi. It is also high time that Minimum Support Price (MSP) be introduced for at least those MFP
which are collected by the Tribals in bulk and substantial support to their economic welfare. A
mechanism similar to the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices should be put in place
for pricing of MFP and then MSP extended for selected MFPs.
vii. Forest Villages were set up during the British period for providing cheap labour for forestry
operations. These Forest Villages require to be converted into Revenue Villages. Special
financial provisions should made for bridging the infrastructural gap created over decades of
neglect in these villages.
 ANTHROGURU

13. Early finalization of Tribal policy

i. There is no comprehensive Tribal policy covering all facets of Tribal life and their habitat. The
recent Draft Tribal policy circulated by the Ministry of Tribal affairs still remains a draft and yet
to see the light of the day. It is high time that the National Tribal Policy is finalized.
ii. ST-centric planning: Improving delivery of services: With effective protective shield in
position as envisaged in the Fifth Schedule and resurgent spirit of self-governance, the
community will be ready to move 'forward with confidence. It would make good the loss
sustained so far and take advantage of the new deal. The potential of community spirit, the
greatest treasure of Tribal people, should be so harnessed that it reinforces the communitarian
frame and promotes equitable sharing of all.

14. Role of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Welfare Departments:
I. The Ministry/Departments in charge of Tribal affairs at the Centre and in the States should be
devoted exclusively to the nodal role. This should, inter alia, include coordination in preparation
of sectoral plans and giving them a holistic frame. They should provide, if necessary,
supplemental inputs of any description as may be demanded by the situation. They should
monitor and oversee implementation and act as trouble-shooters,
11. No Line Functions for the Nodal Ministry/Department: The nodal agencies at national and
State level should have no line functions whatsoever. Their representatives should be constantly
on the move in the field amongst the people to have a realistic idea from the people's end about
the quality of administr&tion, shortfalls of the System, nature of problems that remain
unattended and improvise remedial measures followed by systemic amends.
iii. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs should take a more pro-active stand in compelling! urging the
concerned line Ministries to act positively in matters relating to the mandate provided in
Schedule V. The Ministry should not hesitate in giving formal directions to State Governments if
need be.
iv. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs should regularly ask the States for the Annual Reports and
other interim reports or specific reports, if necessary. The State Governments should be asked to
ensure that these are not reduced to routine Action-taken reports. Instead, these Reports should
have the critical observations by the Governor and of the action taken or failed to have been
taken by the State Government for the welfare of sTs.

v. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs should have a break from its tradition of' implementing
programmes'. The Ministry should avoid taking up small schemes for Tribal welfare, which
normally do not make significant impact, except for providing support for strengthening and
modernizing the State, District and Block level monitoring mechanisms. It could take up one or
two flagship programs of significance, say for infrastructure development, in Scheduled Areas.

VI. The Ministry should play a formative as well as a normative role visa- vis the wide range 'of
government programmes for the development and welfare of the Tribal people The formative
role would imply the Ministry of Tribal Affairs interfacing with the other Ministries in the
'formulation of the schemes and programmes for providing major inputs which would define
both the content and thc methods of operationalization of the scheme.

vii. The Ministry should actively participate in all proposals relating to policy, programmes and
schemes of various Union Ministries so far as these impact the Tribal population. The normative
 ANTHROGURU

role would imply where the Ministry would set the standards against which the efficacy of the
scheme could be measured. The normative role would not only be limited to setting standards but
also include task of 'monitoring' implementation and 'ensuring' efficacy of the programme or
scheme.

VIII. The Ministry should play a pivotal role in intervening in the following order of priority:
a) Policy formulation
b) Land Administration as per State specific regulations
c) Implementation of Forest Rights Act etc.
d) Conferring ownership of Minor Forest Products'
e) Universialisation of Primary Education
t) Coverage of Primary Health Care
g) Implementation of provisions of PESA
h) Setting of standards, defining benchmarks, measuring
outputs and undertaking mid-course correction,

IX. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs should annually review the Reports from the Governors in
meetings with the Governors. which should be addressed by the President.
x. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will have to work in close liaison with the President on the one
hand, and the Governors of States with Scheduled Areas, on the other, so that theTribal
development agencies will be free from political interference, with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
required only to inform the President and the Governors of the Fifth Schedule area States
regarding the progress made in the tribal areas. Once an efficacious development process is
actualized, adherence to violence and politics of violence will abate and manipulation of these
areas will also hopefully disappear.

XI. Tribal Affairs Units in Ministries/Departments: All Ministries/Departments, except those

especial!) exempted, at the Centre and States_should immediately setup strong Tribal Affairs
Units (TAUs). These Units should go ahead to identify their rolc and responsibility in
consultation with the nodal Ministry/Department of Tribal Affairs in tcrms of the immcdiate and
long-term tasks taking into consideration, inter alia, the issues identified here.

XII. Sensitive indicators spanning the entire gamut of administration should be worked out for
monthly. quaI1erly and annual reports with the ITDP, State Department and the Union Ministry
as the nodal points for qualitative assessment, review, identifying weak points and action
thereon.

xiii. A new chapter of concurrent and collaborative study and research should begin with the
collation of whatsoever is available and defining the future tasks in terms of the past experiences.
and future vision. The proposed National Tribes Advisory Council may also provide a platform
for providing direction to the TRIs
 ANTHROGURU

15. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST):

I. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is unable to focus its attention on the
other areas of its mandated functions. It is necessary that the benefit of constant review and
advice by the NCST as mandated is available to the Government. If the Commission suffers from
staff constraints, the Government should suitably strengthen the hands of the Commission to
enable it to function effectively.
II. The Central Government should also consult the Commission on various policy matters and
utilize its expertise like scheduling of Tribals as Scheduled Tribes and de-scheduling of notified
Scheduled Tribe communities.

iii. The expertise base of the NCST should be expanded to induct renowned persons in addition
to political representation. The appointment of the Chairman and members of the Commission
should be entrusted to a Committee comprising the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and the
Minister in charge of Tribal Affairs iv. The Reports of the NCST have not, however, addressed
issues facing Tribals and the Scheduled Areas in compl'ehensive manner. The Reports of NCST
may concentrate on the working of Constitutional safeguards and present the situation from the
people's perspective based on its own investigations, complaints received and the findings of
researches by other institutions as against the present practioe of devoting disproportionate time
on service matters. The National Commission should make implementable recommendations.

v. The President may prescribe a strict time schedule for the presentation of the Report of the
NCST to the President and its consideration by the Parliament.

16. Scheduled Areas & Scheduled Tribes Commission (SA&ST Commission)

I. The Report of the 2nd Scheduled Areas & Scheduled Tribes Commission (SA&ST
Commission) has not seen the light of the day. The Report should be laid in Parliament
alongwith the Action-taken Repqrt of the Government, which should indicate the corrective
policy and structural changes adopted by the Government.

17. Structure at the Apex level:

I. There is an urgent need for establishing a body that:

(i) is free from routine and
(ii) has access to all relevant authorities/institutions within the System and outside .

II. An apex body, namely, the ~National Tribes Advisory Council' headed by the Prime Minister
should .be able to have a realistic perception of the total situation on a continuing basis. It should
be able to identify omissions and opine on the efficacy of various measures in achieving the
national task.
iii. The National Tribes Advisory Council should be established comprising experts with
different backgrounds with deep understanding of the Tribal situation. The proposed Advisory
Council could provide more space and access to those concerned with Tribal affairs and be
useful: for advisory role and they should continue to be consulted for legislation and policy
formulations for Tribal population with powers to suggest measures of good governance to the
 ANTHROGURU

State Advisory bodies. The Governor. on receipt of such recommendations, must consider
converting them into Regulations for administering the Tribal areas.
IV. A Standing Committee of the Cabinet with the a senior Minister in Chair should be
constituted tor regular review of the Tribal situation in the country and measures taken by
concerned authorities on vital issues emerging from the system proposed in this report.

The Finance Commission:

I. The 7'h Finance Commissions considered funding for raising the level of administration in the
Scheduled Areas as a part of the Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) exercise and agreed to give ad hoc
assistance for the same. The 8th Finance Commission also followed suit. The 9th Finance
Commission, however, did not continue the practice for want of formal presentations by the
concerned States.
11_ The Government of India should specially revise the Terms of Reference of the Finance
Commissions so that (i) the state of administration in the Scheduled Areas is especially assessed
and (ii) specific provisions are made in its implementation

iii. The practice of special consideration and dispensation for the Scheduled Areas by the
Finance Commissions should ,be revived and earmarked. Flow of funds to the Scheduled Areas
on the basis of formula covering' population in the Scheduled Areas and spread of geographical
area out of the funds' recommended for States should be institutionalized.

20. SCs & STs (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: '

(i) Special Courts should be set up to fast track disposal of pending cases on priority within a
specified time: frame and legal assistance extended to the victims.
 ANTHROGURU

National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities

Justice Ranganath Misra:

Who are the Minorities?

1. The Constitution of India uses the word ‘minority’ or its plural form in some Articles – 29 to
30 and 350A to 350 B – but does not define it anywhere. Article 29 has the word “minorities” in
its marginal heading but speaks of “any sections of citizens…. having a distinct language, script
or culture.” This may be a whole community generally seen as a minority or a group within a
majority community. Article30 speaks specifically of two categories of minorities – religious and
linguistic. The remaining two Articles -350A and 350B relate to linguistic minorities only.
2. In common parlance, the expression “minority” means a group comprising less than half of the
population and differing from others, especially the predominant section, in race, religion,
traditions and culture, language, etc. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Minority’ as a smaller
number or part; a number or part representing less than half of the whole; a relatively small
group of people, differing from others in race, religion, language or political persuasion”. A
special Sub-Committee on the Protection of Minority Rights appointed by the United Nations
Human Rights Commission in 1946 defined the ‘minority’ as those “non-dominant groups in a
population which possess a wish to preserve stable ethnic, religious and linguistic traditions or
characteristics markedly different from those of the rest of population.”
3. As regards religious minorities at the national level in India, all those who profess a religion
other than Hindu are considered minorities since over 80 percent population of the country
professes Hindu religion. At the national level, Muslims are the largest minority. Other
minorities are much smaller in size. Next to the Muslims are the Christians (2.34 percent) and
Sikhs (1.9 percent); while all the other religious groups are still smaller. As regards linguistic
minorities, there is no majority at the national level and the minority status is to be essentially
decided at the State/Union Territory level. At the State/Union Territory level – which is quite
important in a federal structure like ours – the Muslims are the majority in the State of Jammu
and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. In the States of Meghalaya, Mizoram and
Nagaland, Christians constitute the majority. Sikhs are the majority community in the State of
Punjab. No other religious community among the minorities is a majority in any other State/UT.
4. The National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 says that “Minority for the purpose of the
Act, means a community notified as such by the Central Government”- Section 2(7). Acting
under this provision on 23-10- 1993, the Central Government notified the Muslim, Christian,
Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi (Zoroastrian) communities to be regarded as “minorities” for the
purpose of this Act.
5. The Supreme Court in TMA Pai Foundation & Ors vrs State of Karnataka and Ors (2002) has
held that for the purpose of Article 30 a minority, whether linguistic or religious, is determinable
with reference to a State and not by taking into consideration the population of the country as a
whole. Incidentally, ‘Scheduled Castes’ and ‘Scheduled Tribes’ are also to be identified at the
State/UT level. In terms of Article 341 to 342 of the Constitution, castes, races or tribes or parts
 ANTHROGURU

of or groups within castes, races or tribes are to be notified as Scheduled Castes or Scheduled
Tribes in relation to the State or Union Territory, as the case may be.

6. The State Minorities Commission Acts usually empower the local governments to notify the
minorities e.g. Bihar Minorities Commission Act, 1991, Section 2(c); Karnataka Minorities
Commission Act 1994, Section 2(d); UP Minorities Commission Act 1994, Section 2(d); West
Bengal Minorities Commission Act 1996, Section 2(c); A.P. Minorities Commission Act 1998,
Section 2(d). Similar Acts of M.P. (1996) and Delhi (1999), however, say that Government’s
Notification issued under the NCM Act, 1992 will apply in this regard – M.P. Act 1996, Section
2(c); Delhi Act 1999, Section 2(g); Section 2(d). In several States (e.g. Himachal Pradesh,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, U.P. and Uttarakhand), Jains have been recognised as
a minority. The Jain community approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the
Central Government for a similar recognition at the national level and their demand was
supported by the National Commission for Minorities. But the Supreme Court did not issue the
desired direction, leaving it to the Central Government to decide the issue (Bal Patil’s case,
2005). In a later ruling, however, another Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the UP Law
recognising Jains as a minority (Bal Vidya’s case, 2006).

Rights of Minorities
7. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and its two International Covenants of 1966
declare that “all human beings are equal in dignity and rights” and prohibit all kinds of
discrimination – racial, religious etc. The UN Declaration against all Forms of Religious
Discrimination and Intolerance 1981 outlaws all kinds of religion-based discrimination. The UN
Declaration on the Rights of Minorities 1992 enjoins the States to protect the existence and
identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for promotion
of that identity; ensure that persons belonging to minorities fully and effectively exercise human
rights and fundamental freedoms with full equality and without any discrimination; create
favourable conditions to enable minorities to express their characteristics and develop their
culture, language, religion, traditions and customs; plan and implement national policy and
programmes with due regard to the legitimate interests of minorities; etc.

8. In India, Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution prohibit the State from making any
discrimination on the grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent place of birth, residence
or any of them either generally i.e. every kind of State action in relation to citizens (Article 15)
or in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State (Article 16).
However, the provisions of these two Articles do take adequate cognizance of the fact that there
had been a wide disparity in the social and educational status of different sections of a largely
caste-based, tradition bound society with large scale poverty and illiteracy. Obviously, an
absolute equality among all sections of the people regardless of specific handicaps would have
resulted in perpetuation of those handicaps. There can be equality only among equals. Equality
means relative equality and not absolute equality.

Therefore, the Constitution permits positive discrimination in favour of the weak, the
disadvantaged and the backward. It admits discrimination with reasons but prohibits
discrimination without reason. Discrimination with reasons entails rational classification having
nexus with constitutionally permissible objects. Article 15 permits the State to make “any special
 ANTHROGURU

provisions” for women, children, “any socially and educationally backward class of citizens”
and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Article 15 has recently been amended by the
Constitution (Ninety-third Amendment) Act, 2005 to empower the State to make special
provisions, by law, for admission of socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or
Scheduled Castes/Tribes to educational institutions including private educational institutions,
whether aided or unaided by the State, other than minority educational institutions.

Article 16, too, has an enabling provision that permits the State for making provisions for the
reservation in appointments of posts in favour of “any backward class of citizens which, in the
opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State”. Notably,
while Article 15 speaks of “any socially and educationally backward class of citizens” and the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes without qualifying backwardness with social and
educational attributes and without a special reference to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes,
Article16 speaks of “any backward class of citizens”.

9. The words ‘class’ and ‘caste’ are not synonymous expressions and do not carry the same
meaning. While Articles 15 and 16 empower the State to make special provisions for backward
“classes”, they prohibit discrimination only on the ground of ‘caste’ or ‘religion’. In other words,
positive discrimination on the ground of caste or religion coupled with other grounds such as
social and educational backwardness is constitutionally permissible and, therefore, under a given
circumstance it may be possible to treat a caste or religious group as a “class”.

Therefore even though Article 15 does not mention minorities in specific terms, minorities who
are socially and educationally backward are clearly within the ambit of the term “ any socially
and educationally backward classes” in Article 15 and ‘any backward class’ in Article 16.
Indeed, the Central Government and State Governments have included sections of religious
minorities in the list of backward classes and have provided for reservation for them. The
Supreme Court in Indira Sawhney & Ors. Vs. Union of India, has held that an entire community
can be treated as a ‘class’ based on its social and educational backwardness. The Court noted that
the Government of Karnataka based on an extensive survey conducted by them, had identified
the entire Muslim community inhabiting that State as a backward class and have provided for
reservations for them. The expression ‘backward classes’ is religion-neutral and not linked with
caste and may well include any caste or religious community which as a class suffered from
social and educational backwardness.

10. Though economic backwardness is one of the most important – or, perhaps, the
single most important – reasons responsible for social and educational backwardness alone of a
class, the Constitution does not specifically refer to it in Articles 15 and 16. In Indira Sawheny
case, the Supreme Court had observed “It is, therefore, clear that economic criterion by itself will
not identify the backward classes under Article 16(4). The economic backwardness of the
backward classes under Article 16(4) has to be on account of their social and educational
backwardness. Hence, no reservation of posts in services under the State, based exclusively on
economic criterion, would be valid under clause(1) of Article 16 of the Constitution.”
11. It is, however, notable that in the chapter of the Constitution relating to Directive Principles
of State Policy, Article 46 mandates the State to “promote with special care the educational and
economic interests of the weaker sections of the people…… and shall protect them from social
 ANTHROGURU

injustice and all forms of exploitation. This Article refers to Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes
“in particular” but does not restrict to them the scope of “weaker sections of the society”.
12. Article 340 of the Constitution empowered the President to appoint a Commission “to
investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes” but did not make it
mandatory.

Other Constitutional Safeguards

13. The other measures of protection and safeguard provided by the Constitution in
Part III or elsewhere having a bearing on the status and rights of minorities are:
(i) Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion (article 25)
(ii) Freedom to manage religious affairs (article 26)
(iii) Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion (article 27)
(iv) Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational
institutions (article 28)
(v) Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of the population of a State (article
347)
(vi) Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances (article 350)
(vii) Facilities for instruction in mother tongue at primary stage (article 350A)
(viii) Special Officer for linguistic minorities (article 350 B)

Article 29
14. Article 29 and 30 deal with cultural and educational rights of minorities. Article 29 provides
that:
(1) any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a
distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same, and
(2) no citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State
or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of
them.
15. Unlike article 30, the text of article 29 does not specifically refer to minorities, though it is
quite obvious that the article is intended to protect and preserve the cultural and linguistic
identity of the minorities. However, its scope is not necessarily confined to minorities. The
protection of article 29 is available to “any section of the citizens residing in the territory of
India” and this may as well include the majority. However, India is a colourful conglomeration
of numerous races, religions, sects, languages, scripts, culture and traditions. The minorities,
whether based on religion or language, are quite understandably keen on preserving and
propagating their religious, cultural and linguistic identity and heritage. Article 29 guarantees
exactly that. There may appear to be some overlapping in language and expressions employed in
article 15(1) and 29(2). However, article 15(1) contains a general prohibition on discrimination
by the State against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any
of them; whereas article 29(2) affords protection against a particular species of State action, viz,
admission into educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds.

Article 30
 ANTHROGURU

16. Article 30 is a minority-specific provision that protects the right of minorities to establish and
administer educational institutions. It provides that “all minorities,
whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer
educational institutions of their choice”. Clause (1-A) of the article 30, which was inserted by the
Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978 provides that “in making any law providing
for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution established and
administered by a minority, referred to in clause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixed
by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict
or abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause”. Article 30 further provides that “the State
shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational
institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on
religion and language”.

17. It would be worthwhile to note that minority educational institutions referred to in clause(1)
of article 30 have been kept out of the purview of article 15(4) of the Constitution which
empowers the State to make provisions by law for the advancement of any socially and
educationally backward classes of citizens or SCs/STs in regard to their admission to educational
institutions (including private
educational institutions), whether aided or unaided.
18. Articles 29 and 30 have been grouped together under a common head namely, “Cultural and
Educational Rights”. Together, they confer four distinct rights on minorities.

These include the right of:

(a) any section of citizens to conserve its own language, script or culture;
(b) all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of
their choice;
(c) an educational institution against discrimination by State in the matter of State aid (on the
ground that it is under the management of religious or linguistic minority); and
(d) the citizen against denial of admission to any State-maintained or State-aided educational
institution.

19. Article 29, especially clause (1) thereof, is more generally worded, whereas article 30 is
focused on the right of minorities to (i) establish and (ii) administer educational institutions.
Notwithstanding the fact that the right of the minority to establish and administer educational
institutions would be protected by article 19(1)(g), the framers of the Constitution incorporated
article 30 in the Constitution with the obvious intention of instilling confidence among minorities
against any legislative or executive encroachment on their right to establish and administer
educational institutions.
In the absence of such an explicit provision, it might have been possible for the State to control
or regulate educational institutions, established by religious or linguistic minorities, by law
enacted under clause(6) of article 19.

Legal Framework for Protection of Religious Minorities

20. Legislations such as the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 [formerly known as
Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955] and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
 ANTHROGURU

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 have been enacted by the Central Government to protect
persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from untouchability,
discrimination, humiliation, etc. No legislation of similar nature exists for minorities though it
may be argued that, unlike the latter Act. viz, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989, the former Act, viz, the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
is applicable across the board to all cases of untouchability related offences regardless of
religion. Therefore, if a Scheduled Caste convert to Islam or Christianity (or any other person) is
subjected to untouchability, the perpetrators of the offences may be proceeded against under the
provisions of the Act.

However, no precise information is available in regard to the Act being invoked to protect a
person of minority community. The law enforcing agencies appear to be harbouring a
misconception that the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 has been enacted to protect only
Scheduled Castes against enforcement of untouchability related offences. There is, thus, a case
for sensitizing the law enforcement authorities/agencies in this regard. Having said that, one
cannot resist the impression that the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 has failed to make
much of an impact due to its tardy implementation notwithstanding the fact that the offences
under this Act are cognizable and triable summarily.

The annual report on the Protection of Civil Rights Act for the year 2003 (latest available) laid
on the Table of each House of Parliament u/s 15A(4) of the Act reveals that only 12 States and
UTs had registered cases under the Act during that year. Out of 651 cases so registered, 76.04
percent (495) cases were registered in Andhra Pradesh alone. The number of cases registered in
nine States/UTs varied from 1 to 17. Only in three States, the number of cases registered
exceeded 20. The report also reveals that out of 2348 cases (out of 8137 cases including
brought/forward cases) disposed off by Courts during the year, a measly 13 cases constituting
0.55 percent ended in conviction. This appears to be a sad commentary on the state of affairs in
regard to investigation and prosecution. To say that the practice of untouchability does not exist
in 23 remaining States/UTs would be belying the truth that is known to the world. It only denotes
pathetic inaction on the part of law enforcing agencies. The provisions of the Protection of Civil
Rights Act need to be enforced vigorously with a view to ensuring that the law serves the
purpose it has been enacted for.

21. With a view to evaluating progress and development of minorities, monitoring the working
of safeguards provided to them under the Constitution and laws, etc. the Central Government had
constituted a non-statutory Minorities Commission in 1978. In 1992, the National Commission
for Minorities was enacted to provide for
constitution of a statutory Commission. The National Commission for Minorities was set up
under the Act in 1993. The functions of the Commission include:

(a) evaluating the progress of the development of minorities under the Union and States;
(b) monitoring the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by
Parliament and the State Legislatures;
(c) making recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of
the interests of minorities by the Central Government or the State Governments;
 ANTHROGURU

(d) looking into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the
minorities and take up such matters with the appropriate authorities;
(e) causing studies to be undertaken into problems arising out of any discrimination against
minorities and recommend measures for their removal;
(f ) conducting studies, research and analysis on the issues relating to socio-economic and
educational development of minorities;
(g) suggesting appropriate measures in respect of any minority to be undertaken
by the Central Government or the State Government; and
(h) making periodical or special reports to the Central Government on any matter pertaining to
minorities and in particular difficulties confronted by them.

22. A Constitution Amendment Bill, viz. the Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment)
Bill, 2004 has been introduced so as to add a new article, viz. Article
340A to constitute a National Commission for Minorities with a constitutional status. A Bill to
repeal the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 has simultaneously been introduced.
23. In terms of Section 13 of the Act, the Central Government shall cause the annual report
together with a memorandum of action taken on the recommendations contained therein, in so
far as they relate to Central Government,
and the reasons for non-acceptance, if any, of any recommendation……as soon as may be after
the reports are received to be laid before each House of Parliament.
24. In the absence of a definite time frame for laying the annual report of the Commission, there
has been considerable delay in tabling the annual reports of the Commission in the Parliament.
The National Commission on Minorities has submitted twelve (12) annual reports for the years
1992-93 to 2004-05. The annual reports for the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-2000, and 2003-04
have been tabled in the Parliament only recently, some as recently as in the winter session 2006
of the Parliament.

Therefore, there appear to be a case for amendment of the Act so as to provide for a reasonable
time frame for the recommendations to be laid, along with memorandum of action taken before
the Parliament/State Legislature. It may be advisable to incorporate a suitable provision in the
Constitution Amendment Bill laying down definite time frame for laying the annual reports of
the Commission on the tables of both Houses of Parliament along with action taken notes.

25. According to the provisions of Clause(9) of article 338 and 338A, the Union and every State
Government shall consult the National Commission for Scheduled castes and the National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes on all major policy matters affecting the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled Tribes, respectively. Such a consultation is mandatory and can be construed to be
an important constitutional safeguard for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. A
corresponding provision does not exist in the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. In
the absence of such a provision the Government of the day may or may not consult the National
Commission for Minorities on major policy matters impacting minorities, depending on
exigencies. Therefore, the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 needs to be suitably
amended with a view to incorporating in it a provision analogous to the provision in article
338(9) and 338A(9). This may instill a sense of confidence amongst minorities about protection
of their interests.
 ANTHROGURU

26. While we are on safeguards, it should be noted that a very important mechanism of ensuring
the welfare of Scheduled Castes is constitution of a Parliamentary Committee on Scheduled
Castes. The successive Committees have been doing yeoman’s work towards safeguarding the
interests of Scheduled Castes.
Such a mechanism (of monitoring effective implementation of the constitutional and legal
provisions safeguarding the interest of minorities and, also, implementation of general or specific
schemes for the benefit of minorities by Government and its agencies/ instrumentalities) is
expected to be an effective step for ensuring the welfare of religious minorities.

27. The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act, 2004 was enacted to
constitute a Commission charged with the responsibilities of advising the Central Government or
any State Government on any matter relating to education of minorities that may be referred to it,
looking into specific complaints regarding deprivation or violation of rights of minorities to
establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, deciding on any dispute relating
to affiliation to a scheduled University and reporting its findings to the Central Government for
implementation. The Act was extensively amended in 2006 (Act 18 of 2006), interalia,
empowering the Commission to enquire suomoto or on a petition presented to it by any minority
educational institution (or any persons on its behalf ) into complaints regarding deprivation or
violation of rights of minorities to establish and administer an educational institution of its choice
and any dispute relating to affiliation to a University and report its finding to the appropriate
Government for its implementation.

The Act also provides that if any dispute arises between a minority educational institution and a
University relating to its affiliation to such University, the decision of the Commission thereon
shall be final. The Commission discussed the provisions of the Act as amended and felt the need
to make clear-cut, concrete and positive recommendations for improving and streamlining the
provision of the Act.

Linguistic Minorities
28. As already mentioned, the term linguistic minority or minorities has not been defined. If the
country is taken as a unit, all who speak a language other than Hindi can be treated as linguistic
minorities but not so if the State is taken as the unit. Within a State, there may be minorities who
speak a language or languages other than the language spoken by the majority in that State.
Dialects of a language spoken in a State may proliferate the number of minorities. However, as
mentioned earlier, it has been settled in TMA Pai Vs. Union of India (2002) that a linguistic
minority is determinable with reference to the State as a unit.

29. Part XVII of the Constitution is devoted to ‘official language’. Chapter I of Part XVII,
comprising articles 343 and 344 deal with the official language of the Union. Chapter II thereof
deals with regional languages. Article 345 of the Constitution provides that subject to the
provisions of articles 346 and 347 the Legislature of a State may by law adopt any one or more
of the languages in the State or Hindi as language or languages to be used for all or any of
official purposes. Article 347 provides that on a demand being made in that behalf, the President
may, if he is satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population of a State desire the use of
any language spoken by them to be recognised by that State, direct that such language shall also
 ANTHROGURU

be officially recognised throughout that State or any part thereof for such purpose as he may
specify.

Article 347 can, thus, be treated as a specific measure directed towards linguistic minorities
inhabiting a State facilitating preservation, and even propagation, of such a language. Read in
conjunction with article 347, article 350 also affords protection to the language spoken by
linguistic minorities. It provides that every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for
the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or a State in any of the
languages used in the Union or in the State, as the case may be.

30. Article 350-A of the Constitution contains a specific measure of protection of linguistic
minorities. It provides that “it shall be the endeavour of every State and every local authority
within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary
stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups; and the President may
issue such direction to any State as he considers necessary or proper for securing the provision of
such facility”.

Article 350-A, thus, is an amplification of the cultural and educational rights guaranteed under
article 29(1) and article 30(1). Under article 29(1), a linguistic minority has the fundamental right
to conserve its own language. Article 350-A directs every state to provide facilities for education
at the primary stage in the language of a linguistic minority for the children belonging to such a
community. Read with article 45, article 350-A provides an important policy direction to the
State for preservation of the language of linguistic minorities. In General Secretary, Linguistic
Minorities Protection Committee vrs. State of Karnataka, a Government Order making Kannada
a compulsory subject of study for children belonging to linguistic minority groups from the first
year of primary education and compelling the primary schools established by linguistic
minorities to compulsorily introduce it from the first year of primary education was held to be
violative of article 29(1) and article 30(1) of the Constitution.

31. Article 350-B provides for appointment of a Special Officer for linguistic minorities by the
President. It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the
safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution and report to the President
upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct. All such reports are required to
be laid before each house of Parliament, and also sent to the Governments of States concerned.
The provisions of article 350-B have to be read in conjunction with the rights conferred on
religious minorities under Chapter III of the Constitution, more specifically articles 29 and 30.

32. The Commission discussed the applicability of Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 to non-
Hindus and agreed that all cases of untouchability related offences regardless of religion fall
within the purview of the Act. It was felt that the provisions of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST)
Act, 1989 need to be extended so as to cover OBCs, Minorities or the socially and economically
backwards to protect them from discrimination and atrocities by non-backward sections of
society.

33. The Commission discussed the provisions of Article 29 and 30 and felt that a comprehensive
law is required to protect and safeguard the rights of minorities mentioned in these two Articles
 ANTHROGURU

of the Constitution. The existing guidelines of Ministry of Human Resouce Development and
National Commission for Minorities need to be updated and incorporated in an elaborate law
which will be overriding in so far as setting up and administration of minority educational
institutions is concerned. The proposed law should ensure due and proper implementation of
articles 29-30 including all their clauses in letter and spirit.

1. In the preceding chapters, we have discussed at length the socio-economic status of the
religious and linguistic minorities, the legal and constitutional provisions for safeguarding their
interests, and welfare and developmental measures adopted for giving a greater thrust to their
growth and development with a view to mainstream them.. We have also reviewed the criterion
which already exists for identifying the socially and economically backward amongst different
categories of people in the country including the religious and linguistic minorities.

While reviewing the status of socially & economically backward amongst different classes
including the minorities, the Commission has been guided by the Constitutional provisions and
the goals that the Constitution has set for the country. The ultimate objective as laid down by the
Constitution is of a country secular in nature, based on the principles of equality, social justice
and equity for all its citizens without discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, sex or religion.
Taking note of the existing inequalities, it makes both mandatory and enabling provisions for
facilitating the creation of a society where caste, class, religion will have none or minimal
influence.

In conformity with Constitutional directives two pronged strategy has been evolved for
enhancing the status of its people. The socially and economically backward are eligible for
benefits from all policies and programmes of Government without any discrimination as they are
meant for all. Additionally, special provisions have been made for the categories of SCs, STs,
OBCs, weaker sections and minorities to ensure greater thrust and focus for their accelerated
development to bring them at par with the general category of people through line
Ministries/Departments/ Institutions. The Commission is aware that many of these programmes
and interventions have enabled positive discrimination in favour of the backwards for their
educational, social and economic development which have had favourable impact on their status.
These programmes are being implemented for the last several decades.

2. The Commission has also taken note of the changing nature of the socio-economic structure of
the society since independence. It was noted that due to the impact of various departmental and
other policies and programmes, industrialisation and migration from rural to urban areas, the
rigidities of the age-old social structures have undergone a change which have substantially
blurred the
 ANTHROGURU

existing divisions in the society. The dwindling role of Government has reduced the potential for
employment within the Government. The economy is growing at a fast pace due to technological
advancements, industrialization and expansion of communication network. These have opened
newer vistas for employment with the result that the potential for employment by and large exists
outside the Government.

3. Despite the initiative taken by the Government through policies of positive discrimination and
affirmative action through reservation, special schemes and programmes for social, educational
and economic development, it was noted that there is a wide spread perception by both policy
formulators and implementers of programmes as also the target groups that the flow of benefits
to them has not been uniform and the poorest amongst them have by and large been left out.
While reviewing the policies and programmes, the Commission has consciously tried to identify
the causes for such wide spread belief regarding unequal treatments.

The Commission is of the view that a uniform approach towards socially and economically
backward needs to be evolved which should not be based on caste, class or religion so that social
justice and equity can be guaranteed to all. The criterion, therefore, should be uniform based on
social, educational and economic indices equally applicable to all. Those educationally and
economically backward are, by and large, also socially backward.

4. Ideally there should be no distinction on the basis of caste, religion or class. There should be
single List of socially and economically backward including religious and linguistic minorities
based on common criteria. The existing Lists prepared on the basis of backwardness of caste or
class should cease to exist after the List of socially and economically backward is ready. The
new list of socially and economically backward has necessarily to be family/household based. It
should be all inclusive and based on socio-economic backwardness.

5. On the basis of the above, the Commission strongly feels that as education is crucial for
development and enhancement of social and economic status, the focus has to be not only on
extending the facilities for education to all equally, but also ensuring the quality of education.
Education through acquisition of knowledge improves ability and capacity and instills
confidence and competitive spirit. It nurtures and strengthens self reliance and enables individual
to seek better employment opportunities. Educational programmes, therefore, have to equip the
individuals for their social and economic development. Facilities through various measures must,
therefore, be provided by both the public and private sectors which should reflect the needs of
the various sections of the society and its economy.

6. As we have discussed in the Chapter on Welfare Measures, education is the key to

development. It is the most important requirement for improving the socioeconomic status of the
backward sections among religious minorities. The literacy and educational levels among
religious minorities vary considerably from one community to the other and from one area to the
other. While educational level of Jains, Christians and Parsis is higher, that of Muslims and
Buddhists is low and is next to SC/ST. Census statistics on the status of religious minorities
reveals that the educational status of Muslims is relatively low.
 ANTHROGURU

However, disaggregated data presents a picture of unevenness in the educational status of

Muslims and Buddhists cutting across the States. The States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and UP which account for almost 65 percent of the total population of Muslims in the
country, present a dismal picture in terms of social indicators of development for the general
population also.

In terms of educational, social and economic status, in the under-developed or backward States,
the poor and socially and economically backward of each community, including the Muslims,
are equal victims and suffer equally from disabilities or deprivation. There is, therefore, an
urgent need for taking a comprehensive view of socially and economically backward of all
communities in an integrated manner and not deal with the issue of educational backward in a
segregated manner. The need for expanding coverage and providing quality education, focusing
on girl’s education and strengthening vocational education is vital for educational development
of weaker sections among all backward classes, SCs and STs and minorities.

7. Now that national programmes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan are available to all sections of
society throughout the country, there is a need to ensure participation in the programme by all
children belonging to religious minorities, SCs/STs and other backward classes so that the
facilities are equally shared and dropout rates can be contained. Area based approach needs to be
adopted and socially and economically
backwards targeted locally.
8. The educational status of minorities has been discussed in the preceding chapters. We find that
the enrolment of children of religious minorities at the primary level is better than that of SC/ST.
However, the dropout rate of Muslims is higher at the middle and secondary level. Social and
economic prosperity is closely linked to the level of education and training of an individual.
Acquisition of knowledge and competitive spirit is essential for accessing facilities and
opportunities that the society and its economy offer. The socially and economically backward
minorities need to be enlightened about the importance of acquiring knowledge and creating
competitive spirit with a view to ensuring that merit is properly rewarded and reservation is not
used to kill initiative and competitive spirit. The intelligentsia among the religious minorities
should convince the community for active participation in educational programmes/ schemes and
nurture initiative and spirit of competition amongst them.

9. As in the case of education, the economic status of religious minorities varies from group to
group and area to area. While level of education and status has direct linkage with the
employability and economic wellbeing of an individual, economic empowerment is also
dependent on several other factors. The work participation both in the case of females and males,
traditional and cultural influences especially with regard to female participation, the type and
nature of work etc. also influence the economic status of individuals, households and often of
communities.

In the case of religious minorities, the work participation rate of Buddhists, Hindus and
Christians is approximately the same as for all religious populations which is 39.1 percent. The
WPR of Sikhs is slightly less than the national average. However, in the case of both Jains and
Muslims it is low though, perhaps, for different reasons.
 ANTHROGURU

Muslims are the lowest at 31.3 percent. In terms of categories of workers more Hindus, Sikhs
and Christians are cultivators than Muslims. Christians and Sikhs are lowest in terms of
agriculture workers while Muslims have the highest percentage of workers in the household
industry sector. In terms of ‘other occupations’ the number of Christians is proportionately the
largest in this category at 52.8 percent. The number of Muslims in this category stands at 49.1
percent, Hindus at the lowest at 35.5 percent. The level of poverty determines the economic
status of individuals. In terms of poverty figures while percentage of people living below the
poverty line, Muslims approximate to that of Hindus in the rural areas, the percentage of
Muslims living below poverty line in the urban areas is high. The
largest number of people in the rural areas who live below poverty line belong to the category of
other religions.

10. From the above figures, it can safely be said that by and large the religious minorities are
more urban based than rural based. While more Christians are engaged in wage employment,
more Muslims are employed in household industries and are by and large self-employed. Despite
these variations, it is apparent that the population of religious minorities is as dispersed as that of
majority community. It is, therefore, necessary that to economically empower the poor in a
holistic manner adequate infrastructure has to be created and access through State and
community interventions ensured keeping in mind their varied needs and requirements both in
the rural and urban areas. Jain and Parsi communities are economically better of and very few of
them would, if at all, come into the category of people below poverty line or backward classes.

11. The status of women in the society largely determines the social and economic well-being of
a society and country. Their participation in economic activities at home and outside on equal
footing and the response of the community in providing support system to facilitate their
continuous involvement at all levels indicates socio-economic health of the society. It is,
therefore, important that equal rights are not only guaranteed to them but are ensured in all
spheres and a protective, secure environment conducive to women’s involvement is provided.

12. In every organisation – governmental or nongovernmental, planning and implementation are

both equally important aspects of administration. Planning, formulating policies and programmes
for the development of the country and its peoples for fulfilling the objectives that are laid down,
is vital for sustainable development. Good governance not only depends on appropriate policies
which are need based, identify target areas and groups or households but is equally dependent on
a suitable administrative framework and mechanism that ensures delivery of services and
facilities in an equitable and just manner. For effective implementation of programmes, it is
important that infrastructure – institutional and administrative - is in place.

Systems need to be in place to regularly review policies, programmes and mechanisms to assess
their appropriateness and feasibility as also to constantly monitor to ensure that the target groups
and beneficiaries are availing the services and facilities being provided for them. Concurrent
evaluation is necessary to identify the gaps and or causes for tardy implementation and corrective
measures
taken midstream for realisation of aims and objectives.
 ANTHROGURU

13. In the preceding Chapters we have pointed out shortfalls and lacunae in the existing policies
and programmes, and the anomalies that exist and have come to light in implementation. It has
also been highlighted that these have resulted in marginalising the socially and economically
backward of all categories since the benefits have gone to the upper crust within the groups of
backwards. Changes in the existing criterion for identifying the eligible out of the backwards is
necessary. In a democracy, decentralization of administrative and financial powers and authority
is important. This is specially vital in a vast country like ours which has variations in terrain,
population distribution, culture, tradition, state of development and needs area and people-wise.
In order to ensure that the socially and economically backward amongst all categories including
the minorities are able to take benefits from the schemes and programmes, powers must be
vested at a level from where the access to and for each individual/household of socially and
economically backward is possible. In order to establish the efficacy of administration, it has to
be ensured that the constitutional provision of equal treatment to socially and economically
backwards irrespective of caste, creed is followed in word and spirit for ensuring the flow of
benefits to the SEB families.

14. Reservation as a measure of affirmative action has been discussed in detail in Chapter No. 8.
The Commission considered various view-points brought before it during the visits to States as
also during interaction with governmental authorities, NGOs, social scientists etc. The
Commission was of the view that ideally the criteria for reservation should be socio-economic
backwardness and not religion or caste. Further, Article 16(4) should be the basis for providing
reservation benefits to minority groups who are socially and economically backward.
Reservation should be provided only as a short term, time-bound measure for enabling greater
participation, both in education and employment.

As we have mentioned earlier, the lists of SC/ST and OBC have not been scientifically prepared
either on the basis of a proper survey or reliable data on socioeconomic status of a particular
caste or class. Therefore, the entire system of reservation, including that for SCs/STs and OBCs
needs to be overhauled. Reservation as available to SCs and STs is open-ended as it is available
to all belonging to the category irrespective of income, educational and economic status. OBCs
enjoy 27 percent reservation in employment, though creamy layer is excluded. The norms and
methodology adopted, as pointed out in Chapter-VIII is full of anomalies and hence amenable to
large-scale abuse. For this reason, the better off among the groups take advantage of reservation
at the cost of the socially and economically backward and deprived. It is, therefore, necessary to
limit benefits of reservation to the socially and economically backward only. Since BPL lists are
prepared on the basis of social/educational and economic criteria, they are more scientific. They
are also revised periodically. BPL lists should, therefore, be made eligible for grant of
reservation without distinction on caste, class, group or religion basis.

15. The Commission is of the view that provision of educational facilities to all sections of
population at all levels is most important. The quality of education at primary and secondary
level is paramount to equip the weaker sections for competing on merit for admission in
higher/professional educational institutions. As discussed in the Workshop organised by the
Delhi School of Economics, referred to in the Chapter on Reservation, the four main dimensions
of group disadvantages are caste/community, gender, region and sector of resident (rural or
urban). It is also essential to ensure that creamy layer among the backward classes is kept out
 ANTHROGURU

failing which concessions granted by the Reservation Policy will be grabbed by the creamy layer
and not reach the poorest of the poor.

16. We now proceed to list the concrete recommendations we would like to make to answer each
of the Commission’s Terms of Reference three original and a fourth one added later.

Term of Reference No.1

Criteria for Identifying Socially and Economically Backward Classes among the Religious and
Linguistic Minorities.

16.1.1. In our considered opinion the ultimate goal should be the evolution of a uniform pattern
of criteria for identifying the backward, which should be based only on the educational and
economic status of people and not on their caste or religion, and its application equally to all
sections of the citizens irrespective of their caste or religion. And, we do suggest that overall
efforts should be directed towards gradually leading the Nation to that goal.
16.1.2. We, however, do understand that achievement of that ultimate goal will take a long time
as it would obviously require building public opinion and procuring national consensus in its
favour, as also a strong political will for translating it into concrete action. We are, therefore,
recommending some other measures to be adopted now, pending the possible achievement of
what we have called the ultimate goal.
16.1.3. The measures recommended by us will in our opinion pave the way for achieving the
aforestated ultimate goal in future on one hand, while ensuring on the other hand a faithful
compliance at present with the constitutional directives of social, economic and political justice
and equality of status and opportunity as proclaimed by the Preamble to the Constitution and
detailed in its provisions on Fundamental Rights.

Religious Minorities
16.1.4. We wish to clarify, at the outset, that whatever recommendations of a general nature (for
all minorities) we are making here are not only for the communities notified as “minorities” by
executive action under the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992 but for all religious
minorities large or small including the Hindus in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep and the
States of Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Punjab.
16.1.5. We recommend that in the matter of criteria for identifying backward classes there should
be absolutely no discrimination whatsoever between the majority community and the minorities;
and, therefore, the criteria now applied for this purpose to the majority community whatever that
criteria may be must be unreservedly applied also to all the minorities.
16.1.6. As a natural corollary to the aforesaid recommendation we recommend that
all those classes, sections and groups among the minorities should be treated as backward whose
counterparts in the majority community are regarded as backward under the present scheme of
things.

16.1.7. We further recommend that all those classes, sections and groups among the various
minorities as are generally regarded as ‘inferior’ within the social strata and societal system of
those communities whether called ‘zat’ or known by any other synonymous expression should
be treated as backward.
 ANTHROGURU

16.1.8. To be more specific, we recommend that all those social and vocational groups among
the minorities who but for their religious identity would have been covered by the present net of
Scheduled Castes should be unquestionably treated as
socially backward, irrespective of whether the religion of those other communities recognises the
caste system or not.

16.1.9. We also recommend that those groups among the minorities whose counterparts in the
majority community are at present covered by the net of Scheduled Tribes should also be
included in that net; and also, more specifically, members of the minority communities living in
any Tribal Area from pre-independence days should be so included irrespective of their ethnic
characteristics.

Linguistic Minorities

16.1.10. In our opinion the concept of ‘backwardness’ is to be confined in its application to

religious minorities as it has no relevance for the linguistic minorities. The latter may be facing
some other problems like discrimination and denial of constitutional rights in practice, but no
linguistic group may be regarded as backward by itself. We are not, therefore, recommending
any criterion for identifying ‘socially and economically backward classes’ among the linguistic
minorities.
16.1.11. We are, of course, conscious of the fact that those linguistic minority groups who keep
their education restricted to their own language are often handicapped in the matter of competing
with others in respect of educational development and economic advancement. To address this
problem we are recommending some specific welfare measures, but would not like to identify
language as one of the criteria for identifying backward classes among the people.
Term of Reference No. II

Measures of Welfare for Minorities including Reservation

16.2.1. As democracy is a game of numbers, the numerically weaker sections of the citizenry in
any society may and often do get marginalised by the majority. This is eminently true of the
religious minorities in India where the society remains intensively religious and
religionconscious and the religious minorities live with a predominant religious community
accounting for over 80 percent of the national population. In such a situation legal protection
from the hegemony and preponderance of the majority community becomes a pressing need of
the religious
minorities as a whole, and not just that of the ‘backward’ sections among them. To provide such
necessary protection by law we do have in the Constitution a Directive Principle of State Policy,
Article 46, which speaks of “weaker sections of the people” notably without subjecting them to
the condition of backwardness and mandates the State to “promote with special care” the
educational and economic interests of such sections. It is keeping this in mind that we are
making certain recommendations for the religious communities as such though we are, of course,
also recommending some special measures for the socially and educationally backward sections
among the minorities.
 ANTHROGURU

16.2.2. We have a convinced opinion that backwardness both social and economic actually
emanates from educational backwardness. We are, therefore, making certain measures for the
educational advancement of the religious minorities especially the Muslims and the Neo
Buddhists who were identified under the National Education Policy of 1986 as educationally
most backward among all the religious communities of the country. At the same time we are also
recommending
some measures for the economic betterment of the backward sections among the religious
minorities.
16.2.3. As regards linguistic minorities, they are entitled to certain reliefs under some specific
provisions of the Constitution, and it is in accordance with those provisions that we are
recommending some welfare measures also for them.

General Welfare Measures Educational Measures

16.2.4. We further clarify that by the word ‘education’ and its derivatives as used below we
mean not only general education at the primary, secondary, graduate and postgraduate levels, but
also instruction and training in engineering, technology, managerial and vocational courses and
professional studies like medicine, law and accountancy. All these subjects and disciplines as
also the paraphernalia required for these like libraries, reading rooms, laboratories, hostels,
dormitories etc, are included in our recommendations for the advancement of education among
the minorities.
16.2.5. As the meaning and scope of Article 30 of the Constitution has become quite uncertain,
complicated and diluted due to their varied and sometimes conflicting judicial interpretations, we
recommend that a comprehensive law should be enacted without delay to detail all aspects of
minorities’ educational rights under that provision with a view to reinforcing its original dictates
in letter and spirit.
16.2.6. The statute of the National Minority Educational Institutions Commission should be
amended to make it wide-based in its composition, powers, functions and responsibilities and to
enable it to work as the watchdog for a meticulous enforcement of all aspects of minorities’
educational rights under the Constitution.
16.2.7. As by the force of judicial decisions the minority intake in minority educational
institutions has, in the interest of national integration, been restricted to about 50 percent, thus
virtually earmarking the remaining 50 percent or so for the majority community we strongly
recommend that, by the same analogy and for the same purpose, at least 15 percent seats in all
nonminority educational institutions should be earmarked by law for the minorities as follows:
(a) The break up within the recommended 15 percent earmarked seats in institutions shall be 10
percent for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 percent share of the former in the total
minority population at the national level) and the remaining 5 percent for the other minorities.
(b) Minor adjustments inter se can be made in the 15 percent earmarked seats. In the case of non-
availability of Muslim candidates to fill 10 percent earmarked seats, the remaining vacancies
may be given to the other minorities if their members are available over and above their share of
5 percent; but in no case shall any seat within the recommended 15 percent go to the majority
community.
 ANTHROGURU

(c) As is the case with the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at present, those minority
community candidates who can compete with others and secure admission on their own merit
shall not be included in these 15 percent earmarked seats.
16.2.8. As regards the backward sections among all the minorities, we recommend
that the concessions now available in terms of lower eligibility criteria for admission and lower
rate of fee, now available to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, should be extended also
to such sections among the minorities.

Since women among some minorities especially the Muslims and Buddhists are generally
educationally backward, we recommend the same measure for them as well and suggest that
other possible measures be also initiated for their educational
advancement.

16.2.9. In respect of the Muslims who are the largest minority at the national level
with a country-wide presence and yet educationally the most backward of the religious
communities – we recommend certain exclusive measures as follows:

(i) Select institutions in the country like the Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia Millia
Islamia should be legally given a special responsibility to promote education at all levels to
Muslim students by taking all possible steps for this purpose. At least one such institution should
be selected for this purpose in each of those States and Union Territories which has a substantial
Muslim population.
(ii) All schools and colleges run by the Muslims should be provided enhanced aid and other
logistic facilities adequate enough to raise their standards by all possible means and maintain the
same.
(iii) The Madarsa Modernisation Scheme of the government should be suitably revised,
strengthened and provided with more funds so that it can provide finances and necessary
paraphernalia either (a) for the provision of modern education up to Standard X within those
madarsas themselves which are at present imparting only
religious education or, alternatively, (b) to enable the students of such madarsas to receive such
education simultaneously in the general schools in their neigbourhood. The Madarsa
Modernisation Scheme may, for all these purposes, be operated through a central agency like the
Central Wakf Council or the proposed Central Madarsa Education Board.
(iv) The rules and processes of the Central Wakf Council should be revised in such a way that its
main responsibility should be educational development of the Muslims. For this purpose the
Council may be legally authorized to collect a special 5 percent educational levy from all wakfs,
and
(ii) to sanction utilisation of wakf lands for establishing educational institutions, polytechnics,
libraries and hostels.
(v) In the funds to be distributed by the Maulana Azad Educational Foundation a suitable portion
should be earmarked for the Muslims proportionate to their share in the total minority
population. Out of this portion funds should be provided not only to the existing Muslim
institutions but also for setting up new institutions from nursery to the highest level and for
technical and vocational education anywhere in India but especially in the Muslimconcentration
areas.
 ANTHROGURU

(vi) Anganwaris, Navodaya Vidyalayas and other similar institutions should be opened under
their respective schemes especially in each of the Muslim-concentration areas and Muslim
families be given suitable incentives to send their children to such institutions.

16.2.10. As regards the linguistic minorities, we recommend the following measures :

(a) The law relating to the Linguistic Minorities Commissioner should be amended so as to make
this office responsible for ensuring full implementation of all the relevant Constitutional
provisions for the benefit of each such minority in all the States and Union Territories.
(b) The three-language formula should be implemented everywhere in the country making it
compulsory for the authorities to include in it the mothertongue of every child including,
especially, Urdu and Punjabi and all necessary facilities, financial and logistic, should be
provided by the State for education in accordance with this dispensation.
(c) Members of those linguistic minority groups whose education is limited to their mother
tongue and who do not have adequate knowledge of the majority language of the region should
be provided special facilities in the form of scholarships, fee concession and lower eligibility
criteria for admission to enable them to acquire proficiency in the regionally dominant language.
(d) Urdu-medium schools should be provided special aid and assistance financial and otherwise
to enhance and improve their efficiency, standards and results.

Economic Measures

16.2.11. As many minority groups specialize in certain household and small scale industries, we
recommend that an effective mechanism should be adopted to work for the development and
modernization of all such industries and for a proper training of artisans and workmen among the
minorities especially among the Muslims among whom such industries, artisans and workmen
are in urgent need of
developmental assistance.
16.2.12. As the largest minority of the country, the Muslims, as also some other minorities have
a scant or weak presence in the agrarian sector, we recommend that special schemes should be
formulated for the promotion and development of agriculture, agronomy and agricultural trade
among them.
16.2.13. We further recommend that effective ways should be adopted to popularize and promote
all the self-employment and income-generating schemes among the minorities and to encourage
them to benefit from such schemes.
16.2.14. We recommend that the rules, regulations and processes of the National Minorities
Development and Finance Corporation be overhauled on a priority basis in the light of the recent
report recently submitted by the NMDFC Review Committee and in consultation with the
National Commission for Minorities with a view to making it more efficient, effective and far-
reaching among the minorities.

16.2.15 . We further recommend that a 15 percent share be earmarked for the minorities – with a
break-up of 10 percent for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 percent share of the former
in the total minority population at the national level) and 5 percent for the other minorities in all
government schemes like Rural Employment Generation Programme, Prime Minister’s Rozgar
Yojna, Grameen Rozgar Yojna, etc.
 ANTHROGURU

Reservation

16.2.16. Since the minorities – especially the Muslims – are very much under-represented, and
sometimes wholly unrepresented, in government employment, we recommend that they should
be regarded as backward in this respect within the meaning of that term as used in Article 16 (4)
of the Constitution – notably without qualifying the word ‘backward’ with the words “socially
and educationally” – and that 15 percent of posts in all cadres and grades under the Central and
State Governments should be earmarked for them as follows:

(a) The break up within the recommended 15 percent shall be 10 percent for the Muslims
(commensurate with their 73 percent share of the former in the total minority population at the
national level) and the remaining 5 percent for the other minorities.
(b) Minor adjustment inter se can be made within the 15 percent earmarked seats. In the case of
non-availability of Muslims to fill 10 percent earmarked seats, the remaining vacancies may be
given to other minorities if their members are available over and above their share of 5 percent;
but in no case shall any seat within the recommended 15 percent go to the majority community.
16.2.17. We are convinced that the action recommended by us above will have full sanction of
Article 16 (4) of the Constitution. Yet, should there be some insurmountable difficulty in
implementing this recommendation, as an alternative we recommend that since according to the
Mandal Commission Report the minorities constitute 8.4 percent of the total OBC population, in
the 27 percent OBC quota an 8.4 percent sub-quota should be earmarked for the minorities with
an internal break-up of 6 percent for the Muslims (commensurate with their 73 percent share in
the total minority population at the national level) and 2.4 percent for the other minorities – with
minor adjustments inter se in accordance with population of various minorities in various States
and UTs.
16.2.18. We further recommend that the reservation now extended to the Scheduled Tribes,
which is a religion-neutral class, should be carefully examined to assess the extent of minority
presence in it and remedial measures should be initiated to correct the imbalance, if any. The
situation in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Lakshadweep which are minoritydominated and
predominantly tribal, as also such tribal areas/districts in Assam and all other States, is to be
especially taken into account in this respect.
16.2.19. We recommend that the judicial reservation recently expressed in several cases about
the continued inclusion of the creamy layer in various classes enjoying
reservation, inclusive of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, should be seriously
considered for acceptance as a State policy. Additional Term of Reference Para 3 of the
Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950
16.3.1. On a careful examination of prevalence of the caste system among various sections of the
Indian citizenry we have concluded that caste is in fact a social phenomenon shared by almost all
Indian communities irrespective of their religious persuasions. Many of the particular castes are
found simultaneously in various religious communities, equally facing problems of social
degradation and mistreatment both by their co-religionists and the others.
16.3.2. We are also conscious of the fact that the Constitution of India prohibits any
discrimination between the citizens on the basis of caste, and yet it sanctions special affirmative
measures for Scheduled Castes. At the same time it prohibits any discrimination on the ground of
religion. Reading all these constitutional provisions together, we are convinced that any religion-
based discrimination in selecting particular castes for affirmative action will conflict with the
 ANTHROGURU

letter and spirit of the constitutional provisions. We are accordingly making the following
recommendations on this additional Term of Reference added by the government to our original
Terms of Reference several months after we began our work.
16.3.3. We recommend that the caste system should be recognised as a general social
characteristic of the Indian society as a whole, without questioning whether the philosophy and
teachings of any particular religion recognise it or not since the Indian brands of certain faith
traditions like Christianity and Islam have never assimilated many puritan principles of those
religions, posing this question in respect of the caste system only and singling out for a
differential treatment is unreasonable and unrealistic.
16.3.4. We would like this fact to be duly recognised that among the Muslims of India the
concepts of zat (caste) and arzal (lower castes) are very much in practice;
and even the Muslim law of marriage recognises the doctrine of kufw –parity in marriage
between the parties in all vital respects including social status and descent which in this country
means nothing but caste.
16.3.5. In view of what has been said above, we recommend that Para 3 of the Constitution
(Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 – which originally restricted the Scheduled Caste net to the
Hindus and later opened it to Sikhs and Buddhists, thus still excluding from its purview the
Muslims, Christians, Jains and Parsis, etc. should be wholly deleted by appropriate action so as
to completely de-link the Scheduled Caste status from religion and make the Scheduled Castes
net fully religion-neutral like that of the Scheduled Tribes.

16.3.6. We further recommend that all those groups and classes among the Muslims and
Christians, etc. whose counterparts among the Hindus, Sikhs or Buddhists, are included in the
Central or State Scheduled Castes lists should also be covered by the Scheduled Caste net. If any
such group or class among the Muslims and Christians, etc. is now included in an OBC list, it
should be deleted from there while transferring it to the Scheduled Castes – placing the same
persons in the Scheduled Caste list if they are Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist but in the OBC list if they
follow any other religion which is the case in many States - in our opinion clearly amounts to
religion-based discrimination.
16.3.7. We further recommend that as the Constitution of India guarantees freedom
of conscience and religious freedom as a Fundamental Right, once a person has been included in
a Scheduled Caste list a willful change of religion on his part should not affect adversely his or
her Scheduled Caste status – as that would in our opinion conflict with the basic constitutional
provisions relating to equality, justice and non-discrimination on religious grounds; as also with
the spirit of the old and timetested Caste Disabilities Removal Act of 1850.

Term of Reference No. III

Modalities for Implementing Our Recommendations

16.4.1. We have been asked also “to suggest the necessary constitutional, legal and
administrative modalities” required for the implementation of our recommendations. In this
regard we have to say as follows.
16.4.2. We are not suggesting any amendment in the Constitution as we are fully convinced that
none of our recommendations requires for its implementation any amendment of the Constitution
and that each of these can be fully implemented by legislative or/ and administrative action.
 ANTHROGURU

16.4.3. We recommend that all Central and State Acts, Statutory Rules and Regulations be
suitably amended to implement those of our recommendations which in the opinion of the
Ministry of Law and Justice or any another concerned authority may require such amendments.

16.4.4. More specifically, we recommend the following legislative actions which in our opinion
are required either for the implementation of some of our recommendations stated above or
otherwise in the interest of the welfare of minorities :

a) Enactment of a detailed law to enforce the dictates of Article 30 of the Constitution;

(b) Amendment of the National Commission for Backward Classes Act 1993;
(c) Amendment of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order 1950 and the Constitution
(Scheduled Tribes) Order 1951 as also of the Central and State lists of the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes;
(d) Review of the laws and rules, processes and procedures, relating to selection and notification
of OBCs at the Central and State levels;
(e) Enactment of a law to clothe with statutory status and judicial enforceability the Prime
Minister’s 15-Point Programme for Minorities 1983 as modified in 2006;
(f ) Amendment of the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992 and the National
Commission for Educational Institutions Act 2004 so as to make it necessary for the government
to appoint as the chairpersons and members of these bodies through a Search Committee as in
the case of the National Human Rights Commission only reputed experts in the constitutional,
legal, educational and economic matters relating to the minorities;
(g) Necessary amendments in the Wakf Act 1993 and all the Rules framed under its provisions;
(h) Review and necessary overhaul of the laws, rules, regulations, procedures and processes
relating to the National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation and the Maulana Azad
Education Foundation.

16.4.5. We recommend the following administrative measures which in our opinion are required
either for the implementation of some of our recommendations or otherwise in the interest of the
welfare of minorities:

(a) Establishment of a Parliamentary Committee to consider and decide in the light of the
Constitution policy matters relating to the minorities;
(b) Establishment of a National Committee consisting of Chairpersons of NHRC, NCW, NCBC,
NCST, NCSC, NCM, NCMEI, NMDFC, CLM, Central Wakf Council and Maulana Azad
Foundation along with nominated experts for monitoring the educational and economic
development of the minorities;
(c) Creation of similar bodies in all the States/UTs for the same purpose and consisting of local
top-level officials dealing with minority-related matters and independent experts;
(d) Establishment of a National-level Coordination Committee consisting of representatives of
all the nationalized banks and other financial institutions to work under the RBI for monitoring
credit flow to the minorities;
(e) Establishment of State Minorities Commissions and Minority Welfare Departments in all
those States and UTs where these do not exist as of now;
(f ) Decentralisation of all minority related schemes, programs and plans so as to create suitable
district-level mechanisms for their day-to-day implementation;
 ANTHROGURU

(g) Revision of the list of Minority Concentration Districts as suggested by the NCM in 1990s
and initiating special educational, economic and general welfare measures there through the local
administration;
(h) Appointment of Minority Welfare Committee consisting of officials and local experts in all
districts of the country to act the nodal agencies of NCM, State Minorities Commissions and all
other Central and State-level bodies working for the minorities.

THE END

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