Criminalizing Indigenous Communities🔗

Criminal Tribes Act of 1871

The British government passed the Criminal Tribes Act where various ethnic communities were deemed subversive to colonial authority simply because they did not conform to their idea of 'civilized living'. Targeted populations, such as sadhus, sanyasis, tribals, nomads, gypsies and sudras, were presumed guilty by birth, murdered, raped, arrested, had children separated from parents, and held in penal colonies or quarantined without conviction or due process. Upon release from British custody, targeted communities were subject to surveillance and given tattoos to stigmatize them and make them easier to track.