By Dhiraj Kulkarni
A Nomad is a community member who regularly moves from one place to another without any fixed habitat. Known as the wandering community, the members of nomadic tribes were generally entertainers and transporters historically. The Denotified tribes (DNTs), a part of a wandering community, are the tribes that were originally listed under the ‘Criminal Tribes act’ of 1871. Currently, there are 315 nomadic tribes and 198 denotified tribes in India, and they constitute 60 Million of India’s population.
History before the Criminal Tribes Act:
Historically, ‘Ramoshis’ belong to the nomadic tribe community. Before the rule of East India Company, Ramoshis used to work for surveillance of the Maratha region and security of Maratha forts in Maharashtra. As compensation for this duty, Ramoshis had the right to collect the taxes from the specific villages. But after the defeat of the Maratha kingdom, this right to collect the taxes was snatched away, which led to