Members of De-notified Tribes Welfare Association urged the State government to bring their community members under a single classification – De-notified Tribes (DNT) – instead of De-notified Communities.
As several communities which were classified as criminal tribes under the British rule in India were brought under DNT classification after 1952 (1947 in Tamil Nadu) they enjoyed certain educational and employment benefits, but, in 1979, amidst stiff opposition from the community, the word tribes was changed to communities, thereby the new classification – DNC, said, P. Thavamani Devi, State Coordinator, De-notified Tribes Welfare Association.
Again, in 1980, a Government Order was passed to change the name to DNT. But, as it was not fully implemented, the DNC people in Tamil Nadu could not be benefitted by the educational programme offered by the Union government for DNT communities in the country in 2014, she added.
“Though the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) recommended for granting 9% reservation to the DNT communities from the 27% reservation meant for the Other Backward Classes (OBC), the DNC members in Tamil Nadu were not benefitted owning to the confusion in the classification,” she added.
Tamil Nadu government in 2019 constituted a committee under IAS officer Atulya Misra for studying the economic and social condition of the DNC community members in the State, she recalled.
The committee even recommended for nullifying the G.O. which mandated the conversion from DNT to DNC in 1979.
“But, adding to the existing confusion, the community members in Tamil Nadu were given DNC status in the State and DNT in the national level,” Ms. Thavamani Devi noted.
The two different classifications in the State and Union list had only ended up in the community members being snatched off their opportunities in receiving education and employment benefits, she added.
Claiming this as a huge disadvantage to the community members, she said that due to the issue, none of the community members could get enrolled or employed in educational institutions or organisations.
“When Chief Minister M.K. Stalin made a promise during his election campaign that he will put an end to this situation we believed that we will finally be empowered with all the benefits, but till now no steps had been taken,” she alleged.
Their votes in 2021 were premised only in the belief that they would be given a new life following the change to their community certificates, but the disappointment had made them rethink their decision, she stated.
Published – November 03, 2025 09:24 pm IST
