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Thinking of Crime: The State, Migrant Population and the Missing Justice

This lecture discusses the ‘idea of crime’ as it was understood by the colonial establishment and also as understood by the present government. In 1871, Lord Mayo introduced the bill leading to the infamous Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) which led to the segregation of a certain set of professions and lifestyles from the rest of society. The segregation was given a concrete form with the creation of penal settlements by the colonial government. The communities brought under the provisions of the CTA are now known as Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, not to be mistaken with adivasis. Mostly nomadic in habit, these tribes have suffered the worst humiliation in the history of modern India. In recent decades, the idea of crime has also been associated with non-state actors in order to deal with terrorism. However, the provisions of laws made towards this objective, such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, are being used speciously to restrain social activists and thinkers. This has raised many questions in recent years. The theme of this lecture outlines the gap between the idea of crime and the idea of justice that needs to be bridged in the interests of deepening democracy in India.