~ 81 ~ International Journal of History 2024; 6(2): 81-84 E-ISSN: 2706-9117 P-ISSN: 2706-9109 www.historyjournal.net IJH 2024; 6(2): 81-84 Received: 21-06-2024 Accepted: 27-07-2024 Dr. Akanksha Kumar Assistant Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, India Corresponding Author: Dr. Akanksha Kumar Assistant Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, India The question of ‘tribes’ displaced by the partition of India 1947 Dr. Akanksha Kumar Abstract The mass displacement and human tragedies during the Partition of the sub-continent in 1947 are not unknown to the history of contemporary India. Recent writings have sought to move past the conventional discussions of partition politics, instead emphasizing the refugee experience and the human tragedies through the use of diverse sources like oral histories, literature and so on. The present paper intends to probe an area largely unexplored in the post partition studies of refugees. Amongst many refugees, a significant number of Tribes migrated to West Punjab and Delhi post partition. Keywords: Displaced, tribes, partition of India 1947 Introduction Various communities such as Bauria, Bazigar, Barad, Banagala, Gandhila Nat, Bhils and Sansi migrated with other communities to India. These communities were also categorized under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871. In 1947 some 128 Criminal Tribes totaling to a number of nearly 3.5 million were officially designated as ‘Criminal Tribes’. Although scattered throughout the country they were mostly present in the Northern belt. They were differentiated from other Criminal Tribes in a number of ways, firstly being mostly vagrant, low caste or out caste, they were held in particular abhorrence by the rest of the society and secondly, their criminal behaviour was passed on from one generation to next. Particular Criminal Tribes were mostly associated with particular types of crime. ‘The British accordingly saw tribal crime as a group phenomenon to be combated on a group basis.’ i These were mainly nomadic communities and most of them were forced to settle on government land. Many of these tribes settled in West Punjab, especially Sansis and Bazigars. Bazigars have the highest population followed by the Sansis (who are distributed all over the state) then the Baurias. Nat and Gandhila have the lowest population and they are not distributed all over Punjab, in fact they are completely missing from Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Nawanshahr, Fatehgarh Sahib and Muktsar. ii According to the study of Surveys on Refugees in East Punjab Bazigar and Sansi were the two major tribes who migrated to East Punjab as a result of Partition. Even in 1947 these communities were labeled as Criminal Tribes. It was on 31 st August, 1952 that the Criminal Tribes Act was repealed and these communities achieved their ‘independence’. ‘Many of them ironically celebrate this day as their independence day. These tribes since then had been struggling to get themselves included in the Schedule Tribes list.’ iii One community in one state has Scheduled Caste status and in another state has schedule tribe status this marks a confusion in the identities of these tribes/castes. Birinder Pal Singh in his study of Criminal Tribes says that the status of criminal remained with them even after partition. ‘They got ‘independence’ on August 31 st , 1952 when the tag of criminality was removed.’ iv They celebrate this day as their independence day instead of 15 th August after which they are called denotified tribes or vimukt jatis. ‘These tribes since then have been struggling to get themselves included in the list of schedule tribes (STS)’. v The status of the ex-Criminal Tribes of Punjab and even other states is a complicated one as some of these communities are listed under the scheduled castes and others as Scheduled tribe. For example Milind Bokil (2002) cites the case of phanse pardhis of Maharashtra who are STs there but their counterparts, the haran shikaris or gaon pardhis are listed as vimukt jatis.’ Similarly Banjaras of Maharashtra have the same problem, they are SCs in Karnataka but Vimukt jatis in Maharashtra.