---
title: "Denotified, Nomadic & Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)"
description: "Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) are marginalized Indian communities, formerly labeled \"criminal\" under colonial law, now seeking inclusion."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/denotified-nomadic-and-semi-nomadic-tribes"
---

[New](https://modeldiplomat.com/)

#

Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are Indian communities that were branded "criminal" under colonial law, freed from that label in 1952, and remain socially and economically marginalised.
- What is the difference between DNTs and Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes?
- When were the criminal tribes denotified, and under what law?
- Which commissions have examined DNT welfare, and what did they recommend?
- Why do many DNTs still lack access to reservation benefits?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes are Indian communities that were branded "criminal" under colonial law, freed from that label in 1952, and remain socially and economically marginalised.

Go beyond the definition

## Research Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) like a delegate

Model Diplomat's AI drafts position papers, speeches, and country research with real sources — built for MUN and politics students.

## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

Contemporary policy has been driven from New Delhi through the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. In 2021 the Ministry launched the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (SEED), with an outlay of approximately ₹200 crore over five years from 2021–22, covering coaching, health insurance, housing and livelihood support. The DWBDNC and the National Backward Classes Finance and Development Corporation implement these components. Ethnographic mapping by the Anthropological Survey of India has been commissioned to fix the classification of communities still uncategorised. State-level instances include Maharashtra, which maintains a distinct Vimukta Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT) reservation category, and Karnataka and Gujarat, which run separate nomadic-tribe welfare directorates.

### Opponents

Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) are an aggregation of Indian communities whose legal and social condition originates in colonial penal policy. The decisive instrument was the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, enacted by the British Government of India, which empowered authorities to declare entire communities "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Once notified, members were placed on registers, restricted in movement, subjected to compulsory roll-calls, and confined to designated settlements policed under the Act. The legislation was progressively expanded—amended in 1897, consolidated in 1911, and re-enacted in 1924—until it covered roughly 13 million people across some 200 communities. After independence the Ananthasayanam Ayyangar Committee (1949–50) recommended repeal, and the Criminal Tribes Act was abolished on 31 August 1952; the communities released from its registers became known as denotified tribes, a date now observed by activists as Vimukti Diwas (Liberation Day). The 1952 repeal coincided with the enactment of the Habitual Offenders Act in several states, which critics argue reproduced the same stigma in individualised form.

## Research it like a delegate

Research on modeldiplomat.com

## Ask a follow-up about Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)

Open a cited briefing in Model Diplomat search — timelines, positions, and sources you can use in committee or exam answers.

[Start research on Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)](https://modeldiplomat.com/search?q=Explain%20Denotified%2C%20Nomadic%20and%20Semi-Nomadic%20Tribes%20\(DNTs\)%20%E2%80%94%20key%20dates%2C%20actors%2C%20positions%2C%20and%20sources)

Example

In February 2021, India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the SEED scheme through the Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities, allocating roughly ₹200 crore for education, housing and livelihood support.

Keep learning

## Go deeper than the definition

[Explore all Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams lessons](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services)[Test yourself with a quiz](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/quiz/civil-services)

## Take Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs) beyond the glossary

Ask the AI research engine built for diplomacy — get briefings, position papers, and speeches with sources you can cite in committee.