Criminal Tribes in India e-bog

Acts gave sweeping powers to the local governments to recommend that certain ';tribes, gangs, or classes' be declared as being ';addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offences'. Once a tribe became notified as belonging to a criminal class, all members of the group were required to register at a specific time and place with the local magistrate. Anyone failing to register would be charged with a crime under the Indian Penal Code. Further, the Act gave broad powers to the local government to forcibly move these ';notified' tribes to ';permanent reformatory settlements'. Labelling such areas as settlements glosses over their true nature as virtual prisons, as anyone belonging to one of the ';notified' tribes could be imprisoned for ';escaping' from their reformatory settlement, or for being anywhere ';beyond the limits so prescribed for his residence.' The settlements that were created served as de facto labour camps, with contractors requiring cheap manual labour farming out members of the settlement camps. Thus the members of these tribes were caught in the colonial nexus of land reform, the need for cheap labour, and the rhetoric of social reform. It is an approachable and readable text for students at all levels, from undergraduates to professionals retraining.