Denotified tribes, nomadic tribes, and semi-nomadic tribes across the country are coming together to push for a “separate column” for themselves in the 2027 Census. Their demand is for constitutional recognition of the Denotified Tribes in a Schedule, on par with the existing classifications of Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SCs/STs) and other backward classes (OBCs).
In February 2027, India will conduct a caste enumeration for the first time since 1931. Five years after that 1931 Census, the origins of the Scheduled Castes list came into being in the form of the Government of India (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1936. Half a century earlier, in 1871, a colonial law had classified entire communities, particularly nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes, as “criminals”. After the law was repealed in 1952, these groups became known as “denotified” tribes.
The Social Justice Ministry has now recommended to the Office of the Registrar General of India that these denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes be included in the upcoming Census. The Office of the RGI has agreed to include them in next year’s caste enumeration exercise, Ministry officials assured community leaders in north India in a virtual meeting on January 30.
