Delhi Crime And Depiction Of Tribulations of the Denotified Tribe

What is liberation for the denotified tribes in India? 31st August celebrated as liberation day or Vimukti Diwas by Denotified Nomadic Tribes is not a social liberation to them yet. Yes, you recently heard about them in Delhi Crime season 2.

The inspirational second season of the Emmy-winning Netflix show Delhi Crime depicts the caste dichotomy that exists in Indian society. The parallel world is characterized by one side not believing in casteism and thinking that it has been abolished, on the other side we see the darker side of so-called Elite literate Indians who in their practice are so casteist that they cannot go beyond their spectrum of understanding how caste dynamics functions even in the contemporary modernized world. This series conveys how the Elite literate Indians were no different from the colonial rulers. Throughout we are reminded of the horrors faced by the Pardhi and Bawariya communities, who were unfairly targeted across North India for being part of the Kachcha-Baniyan gang – a group of criminals who would undertake armed robberies, often resulting in brutal murders.

Tribal population and culture constitute an inseparable facet of Indian culture. The British saw tribes as obstructions to their control over land, forests and resources, and commerce. In the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, they notified such tribes as criminal tribes, hence they could be openly prosecuted and punished by the administration. The Criminals Tribal Act of 1871 was passed during British rule which declared Denotified Tribes as “Criminals”. The act implied that these communities were criminals both by birth and practice, which means they were given a prescribed occupation as that of criminals. The Act gave the colonial administration the power to brand, penalize, segregate and forcibly sedentary nomadic communities. Ever since then, even after 75 years of independence they face severe socio-economic problems. The stigma and discrimination attached to them go to an extent where they are branded as “mentally retarded” or “impure”. They live in extreme poverty throughout their lives and with each passing generation, their condition remains the same. Social stigma and discrimination continue to affect them. Out of the 801 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes in our country 227 are not part of any list and thus remain secluded from any affirmative actions taken.

Delhi Crime And Denotified Tribe

The community that has been subjected to historical injustices in the colonial era is still suffering the same injustice. This is highlighted in the show at various points. The very statement given by a community member who was labelled as the culprit/criminal said “Aaj pehli baar chodhne Aaye Hain, varna hamesha uthane hi aate hain'' to the police inspector highlights the hard truth of our society. The season highlighted how the police force charged the DNT communities falsely with murder because of their preconceived notions. DNTs being one of society’s most marginalised sections are naturally one of the worst sufferers. A mix of true and fictional events, one thing that it confronts is the real-world sectarianism that we live in. The DNT tribes though in the show were involved in petty crimes like robbery, the only problem was with the police force setting them up as murderers because they were an “easy” or “obvious” target.

The problematic culture of our society is how they judge people based on their caste, class, and status. Denotified 68 years ago and still living in the same state is a despondent state. Shows like Delhi Crime bringing such sensitive topics to the fore are appreciable. Popular culture and Visual media have the power to stir new conversations and it is great to see that popular content is trying to do that.

The views expressed are the author's own.