XI1 PROBLEMS OF DENOTIFIED AND NOMADIC TRIBES ADVISORY GROUP ON DENOTIFIED NOMADIC 1RlBES 12.1 The Commission constituted an Advisory Group on Denotifed and Nomadic Tribes in the month of May, 1998 to advise the Commission as to the nature of the enquiries that the Commission may undertake as well as the recommendations that it could make to dea with the issues raised in a petition made by the Denotified and Nomadic Tribal Rights Action Group highlightingthe problems being faced by the denotified tribes. The Advisory Group comprised of Shri B.D. Sharma, former Commissioner of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as Chairman and Srnt. Mahasveta Devi, Prof. G.N.Devy, Shri Laxrnan Gaikwad and Srnt. Ananya Chatterjee as Members. Dr. Rajeev Dhavan, Sr. Advocate, Supreme Court of India was requested to be the legal adviser of the Group. (Annexure VI). 12.2 The Commission had earlier received a petition from the Denotified and Nomadic Tribal Rights Action Group highlightingthe problems faced by the DenotifiedTribes. The petition stated that the Denotified Tribes constituted almost 2.5 percent of the population of the country and many of these Tribes were still being treated, for all practical purposes, as habitual offenders. The group expressed its anguish at the many instances of mob-lynching, arson and police brutality against members of the erstwhile Denotified Tribes. The Commission, after consideration of the petition, felt that it was necessary to set up an Advisory Group to examine all aspects of the problems of the Denotified Tribes in order to enable the Commission to make a purposeful intervention with appropriate recommendations to the Governments, both State and Central. 12.3 The Advisory Group has since submitted its report to the Commission. The Commission will be now be seeking the views of the concerned Government authorities and a cross section of society on the various important issues contained in the report.