Thank you @GandeeSarah for excellent curation & engagements this week on the "criminal tribes" project in the final years of colonial rule in the subcontinent & post-Independence. They have been very insightful!
Here's a master thread⚡️1/15
Here's a master thread⚡️1/15
#1: on the Colonial Tribes Act (CTA) in the 1900s and the entanglements of "criminal tribes" with 'imperial, religious and national networks': 2/15
#2: the effect of the nationalist and anti-colonial project on "criminal tribes" at the end of the British Empire in the subcontinent: 3/15
#3: on the post-Independence (1952) repeal of the Criminal Tribes Act and its replacement in India with the Habitual Offenders Act: 4/15
#4: on the new legal and penal practices that communities who were "criminalised" experienced after denotification: 5/15
#5: on other state actions (eg. welfare) that affected denotified tribes (DNTs): 6/15
@GandeeSarah explained and discussed several other themes that came up through questions in detail. Here are some of those threads: 7/15
On historical, personal narratives from vimukta jati members: 8/15
On how the Criminal Tribes Act played out in the princely states:
9/15
9/15
Noting that criminalisation of vimukta jati/denotified tribes occured even where the Habitual Offenders Act was not in place: 10/15
Similarities and differences between the Criminal Tribes Act and the Habitual Offenders Act which 'replaced' it: 11/15
On programs and schemes developed by the state post-1947, in Independent India, for vimukta jati/denotified tribes : 12/15
On why the government felt that they had to enact the Habitual Offenders Act after repealing the Criminal Tribes Act in 1952: 13/15
That's everything! A "behind the scenes" note: Sarah was incredibly thoughtful, tweeting at 7am from London so that the tweets timed well for those tuning in from India. Really means much to us! Thank you again for your curation this week & your scholarship @GandeeSarah! 14/15
Next to next week (Dec 9th onwards), this series continues w/ the legal team from Muskaan, an NGO based in Bhopal. Nikita Sonavane (@glorious_gluten), Ameya Bokil (@ameyaetc) and Tasveer Parmar will share the experiences of DNTs/vimukta jati in Madhya Pradesh today. 15/15
