In Episode 9 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed “de-notified tribes” or “vimukta” communities and what they show us about policing culture in India. They are communities that were notified under a colonial legislation - the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 - as people who, by birth, are "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Though this Act was repealed after India gained independence, discretionary powers of the police coupled with social stigmas of the judiciary continue to haunt these communities, many of whom are subject to oppression, surveillance and imprisonment, sometimes without even being convicted by a court of law. We talked to Nikita Sonavane, co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project in Madhya Pradesh about her work with these communities, the origin of the idea that some people can be labelled criminals by birth and how this prejudice and injustice lives on in the India of today. More importantly, Nikita asks some crucial questions about our tendency to look to the police for solutions to problems that have little to do with law and order. In the wake of the pandemic we are experiencing, she dares us to reimagine legal and policy responses to public crises rather than let only some marginalised groups take the fall. 

Reading list:


Ameya Bokil & Nikita Sonavane, Why Charan Singh Bolts His House From Inside And Out https://www.article-14.com/post/why-charan-singh-bolts-his-house-from-inside-and-out-before-he-sleeps


Milind Bokil and Vijay Raghavan. "Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: The Case of De-Notified Tribes in India." Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration. Springer, Cham, 2016


Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, Condemned without Trial - India’s undertrials problem is spurring the COVID-19 outbreak in prisons https://caravanmagazine.in/law/india-undertrials-problem-spurring-covid-19-outbreak-prisons


Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, How Poverty-Struck Tribals Become ‘Habitual Offenders’ https://www.article-14.com/post/born-a-criminal-how-poverty-struck-tribals-become-habitual-offenders


Bangalore International Centre Masterclass by G N Devy on Denotified Tribes https://youtu.be/4rG6IzxGOHM

CREDITS:

Host: Anindita Pattanayak

This is a Maed in India production.

Production Head & Editor: Joshua Thomas

Sound Mixing: Kartik Kulkarni

Project Supervisor: Shaun Fanthome

In Episode 9 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed “de-notified tribes” or “vimukta” communities and what they show us about policing culture in India. They are communities that were notified under a colonial legislation - the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 - as people who, by birth, are "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences." Though this Act was repealed after India gained independence, discretionary powers of the police coupled with social stigmas of the judiciary continue to haunt these communities, many of whom are subject to oppression, surveillance and imprisonment, sometimes without even being convicted by a court of law. We talked to Nikita Sonavane, co-founder of the Criminal Justice and Police Accountability Project in Madhya Pradesh about her work with these communities, the origin of the idea that some people can be labelled criminals by birth and how this prejudice and injustice lives on in the India of today. More importantly, Nikita asks some crucial questions about our tendency to look to the police for solutions to problems that have little to do with law and order. In the wake of the pandemic we are experiencing, she dares us to reimagine legal and policy responses to public crises rather than let only some marginalised groups take the fall.  Reading list: <ol> <li data-list-indent="1" data-list-type="numbered"> Ameya Bokil & Nikita Sonavane, Why Charan Singh Bolts His House From Inside And Out <a href="https://www.article-14.com/post/why-charan-singh-bolts-his-house-from-inside-and-out-before-he-sleeps">https://www.article-14.com/post/why-charan-singh-bolts-his-house-from-inside-and-out-before-he-sleeps</a> </li> <li data-list-indent="1" data-list-type="numbered"> Milind Bokil and Vijay Raghavan. "Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: The Case of De-Notified Tribes in India." Women and Children as Victims and Offenders: Background, Prevention, Reintegration. Springer, Cham, 2016 </li> <li data-list-indent="1" data-list-type="numbered"> Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, Condemned without Trial - India’s undertrials problem is spurring the COVID-19 outbreak in prisons <a href="https://caravanmagazine.in/law/india-undertrials-problem-spurring-covid-19-outbreak-prisons">https://caravanmagazine.in/law/india-undertrials-problem-spurring-covid-19-outbreak-prisons</a> </li> <li data-list-indent="1" data-list-type="numbered"> Nikita Sonavane and Ameya Bokil, How Poverty-Struck Tribals Become ‘Habitual Offenders’ <a href="https://www.article-14.com/post/born-a-criminal-how-poverty-struck-tribals-become-habitual-offenders">https://www.article-14.com/post/born-a-criminal-how-poverty-struck-tribals-become-habitual-offenders</a> </li> <li data-list-indent="1" data-list-type="numbered"> Bangalore International Centre Masterclass by G N Devy on Denotified Tribes <a href="https://youtu.be/4rG6IzxGOHM">https://youtu.be/4rG6IzxGOHM</a> </li> </ol> CREDITS: Host: <a href="mailto:anindita@dakshindia.org">Anindita Pattanayak</a> This is a <a href="https://www.maedinindia.in/">Maed in India</a> production. Production Head & Editor: <a href="https://twitter.com/tig3rbabu">Joshua Thomas</a> Sound Mixing: <a href="https://twitter.com/KartikGKulkarni">Kartik Kulkarni</a> Project Supervisor: <a href="https://twitter.com/shaunfanthome">Shaun Fanthome</a>

Welcome to the DAKSH podcast. DAKSH is a Bangalore-based non-profit dedicated to judicial reforms and access to justice in India. Through this series, we will critically examine India’s laws, judicial administration, the prison system, family law and other topics that we hope will help you understand our public institutions and your rights. Join us every Tuesday, as we discuss and decode this system.

DAKSH Podcast

In Episode 9 of the DAKSH Podcast we discussed “de-notified tribes” or “vimukta” communities and what they show us about policing culture in India. They are communities that were notified under a colonial legislation - the Criminal Tribes Act...

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