Govt launches a Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar launches the Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs (SEED)  in Delhi on Wednesday, February 16,2022,New Delhi for the welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Communitie. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Virendra Kumar said that the DNTs, NTs, SNTs are the one of the most deprived and economically weaker communities in India. There are historical reasons for this. The misery of these communities began with the enactment of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 during the British rule. These communities were subjugated, persecuted and neglected. The policies of the colonial government affected lives and livelihood adversely. Little did the colonial state realize the plight of these communities after they were branded as criminals under various colonial acts. This led to the forcible alienation from their traditional occupations and habitations. They remained hunter gatherers and pastoral/peripatetic.