Criminal Tribes Act
The Criminal Tribes Act was one of the many laws passed by the British colonial government that applied to Indians based on their religion and caste identification. The Criminal Tribes Act and its provisions used the term Tribes, which included castes within their scope. This terminology was preferred for various reasons, including Muslim sensitivities that considered castes by definition Hindu, and preferred Tribes as a more generic term that included Muslims. The origins behind the creation of the act concerned Revolt of 1857 where many tribal chiefs as Dhan Singh Gurjar were labelled traitors and considered rebellious.
The Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, expanded in scope through the 1920s, targeted numerous castes in colonial India. According to Simon Cole, a professor of Criminology, Law & Society, the law declared everyone belonging to certain castes to be born with criminal tendencies. They criminalized entire communities by categorizing them as habitual criminals. Because of this label, restriction on their movements was also imposed.
Adult male members of such groups were forced to report weekly to the local police.
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