Members of De-notified Tribes Welfare Association urged the State government to bring their community members under a single classification – De-notified Tribes (DNT) - instead of De-notified Communities.
As several communities which were classified as criminal tribes under the British rule in India were brought under DNT classification after 1952 (1947 in Tamil Nadu) they enjoyed certain educational and employment benefits, but, in 1979, amidst stiff opposition from the community, the word tribes was changed to communities, thereby the new classification – DNC, said, P. Thavamani Devi, State Coordinator, De-notified Tribes Welfare Association.
Again, in 1980, a Government Order was passed to change the name to DNT. But, as it was not fully implemented, the DNC people in Tamil Nadu could not be benefitted by the educational programme offered by the Union government for DNT communities in the country in 2014, she added.
“Though the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) recommended for granting 9% reservation to the DNT communities from the 27% reservation meant for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the DNC members in Tamil Nadu were not benefitted owning to the confusion in the classification,” she added.
