Branded by Law: Dilip DSouza

Essentially an in-depth analysis of Indias De-Notified Tribes, this book is a more

human approach to the subject. It raises various issues pertaining to the people of
the De-Notified Communities; the so called Criminal Community. It explores their
history from the time of their origin to the present date situation. It presents the
stories that lead you to the inner perspective of being an individual identified as
Born Criminal, of knowing what it feels like.
The book well-narrated and presents first person experiences of DNT communities
facing prejudice from both society and government. Where the book stands out is
when it looks beyond just the present issues and tries to unfold all the deep rooted
factors that contribute the situation of these communities,; meaning their alleged
Criminality and inquires about the roots of the same. It also examines various
laws and acts related to these communities both before and after the national
independence in 1947. Doing all of this, the author principally wants to drive the
idea of undue prejudice against these people home in us.
He, the author, argues about the degradation of these communities as a function of
the held prejudices against these people, which have not only forced them to leave
their traditional methods of survival and made victims out of ordinary people, but
have also gone a step further and branded them as professional and born criminals.
The book however is well-rounded in its presentation. Time and again he, the
author, examines various policies and schemes employed by the government for
these communities, inquiring about their effectiveness on ground. He shows that
since independence, government has tried to provide help in many forms, really to
bring reforms in the living conditions of these communities, and how all has proven
futile and a waste. The analysis is comprehensive in that, it ranges from the first
ever law in 1871 to today.
At a national level, the DNTs, De-Notified Tribes, are a substantial populous of the
national community; not only economically deprived but also stigmatized in their
ways of living, worsening the situation further. There has been left no stone
unturned by the author in the process of exploring the prejudices against these
communities. At one end, the colonial governments efforts of systematically
controlling these communities in the name of reforms including capturing and
forceful admittance to the governments many reformation centers. All this was
made possible not directly but indirectly by the colonial government when they
provided for the local governments to be able to directly handle or mishandle
settlements within this community. The government thought it right primarily,
because on closer examination, they had seen a threat in these communities, a
threat because these communities were not very much dependent on them and
were nomadic in nature. While on the other end, the government of the
independent India did not appear to be caring much about the horrific situations of
these people. Committees were formed, reports submitted, reforms talked about, all
resulting to nothing on the ground no implementational success. One faint win
was the repealing of the Criminal Tribe Act in 1952, but not much has changed by it.

These people still remain the forgotten people of India as a result of the persistence
of discrimination against them primarily on the basis of their alleged criminal
identity, as demonstrated in the book. It also documents the state institutions and
polices indifference and negligence towards these people which all result in illegal
detaining and torture of these people, and more oppression, all legitimized by the
current laws against them such as the Habitual Offenders Act and others.
In Conclusion, the book while presenting the ground realities of the people in these
communities, is asking for a more holistic approach to attending to their discomforts
in surviving in the Indian society. Simply repealing laws, or reforms on paper
wouldnt help, because what is needed is a sincere reset of the mindset of the
people of India in their dealing with these communities.