Failure to count DNTs in 2027 Census could alienate over 10 crore people: G.N. Devy Premium

G.N. Devy warns that excluding DNTs from the 2027 Census could alienate over 10 crore people in India.

As denotified, nomadic, and semi-nomadic tribes (DNTs) across the country come together to demand a “separate column” for themselves in the 2027 Census forms, linguist and cultural scholar professor G.N. Devy has warned that India risks further alienating these communities—classified as “criminal” under the colonial-era 1871 Criminal Tribes Act and left uncounted since the formation of the Republic—if they are not explicitly counted.

In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, professor Devy—who headed the Ministry of Social Justice’s Technical Advisory Group on DNTs in 2006, and co-founded the DNT-Rights Action Group (DNT-RAG) with author Mahasweta Devi—said that inclusion of the DNTs must begin with a declaration by the Census Commissioner that these communities will be counted explicitly. He added that the problem of alienating over 10 crore people could become much bigger than that of counting them.

Edited Excerpts:

What opportunity does the upcoming Census present for the welfare of DNTs, given that caste will be enumerated in 2027?

The census and the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) were both instituted in 1871. While the census has continued unbroken, except for this time, the plight of DNTs has also continued, with no proper count, except in 1931. The Iyengar Committee in 1950, the NHRC in the early 2000s, the Renke Commission in 2008, and the Idate Commission (2017) have all called for a census of DNTs. Yet questions such as ‘Have you been a DNT?, Have you been nomadic or semi-nomadic? Or denotified former criminal tribe?’ have never been included in Census schedules.

If that is not done this time, and if the DNTs are taken for a ride again with no specific data emerging at the end of the exercise, India will alienate close to 10 crore or more people from the mainstream. The problem can be much bigger than the problem of calculating, tabulating, and making a proper list.