The Kal Oddars are a Denotified Criminal Tribe living in southern Tamil Nadu, India. With a history of nomadism, this community was categorised by the British as hereditary criminals. Though denotified today, the community still faces social exclusion, marginalisation and continued stereotyping by law enforcement agencies and society at large. This article describes the feminisation of stigma taking place within the community and its consequences. The continued stigma and the prejudices of society and the police have a profound impact on the position of the Kal Oddar women, who bear the brunt of all oppression.
AbrahamS. (1999). Steal or I’ll call you a thief: ‘Criminal’ tribes of India. Economic and Political Weekly, 3July, 34(37), 1751–1753.
2.
BatesC. (1995). Race, caste and tribe in central India: The early origins of Indian anthropometry. Centre for South Asian Studies, School of Social & Political Studies, University of Edinburgh.
3.
BokilM. (2002). De-notified and nomadic tribes: A perspective. Economic and Political Weekly, 12January, 37(2), 148–154.
4.
DeviM. (2002). Year of birth–1871. Retrieved 7September, 2010 from http://www.indiatogether.org/bhasha/budhan/birth1871.html
5.
D’SouzaD. (2001). Branded by law: Looking at India’s Denotiifed Tribes. New Delhi: Penguin Books.
6.
RadhakrishnaM. (2001). Dishonoured by history: Criminal tribes and British colonial policy. Hyderabad, India: Sangam Books Ltd.
7.
RaoN.V. (2010). Status and position of women in ancient India. Ambala: Associated Publishers.
8.
SinghK.S. (1994). People of India (vol. XXXVI, pp. 298–306). Madras: Affiliated East West Press, Anthropological Survey of India.
9.
ThurstonE., & RangachariK. (1909). Castes and tribes of southern India. Madras: Government Press.
10.
ViswanathanS. (2002, June8–21). Suspects forever: Members of the ‘denotified tribes’ continue to bear the brunt of police brutality. Frontline.
11.
WinslowM., & PillaiKathirver. (1999). Tamil dictionaries. Retrieved 7September, 2010 from http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=98&artid=24877#
