Towards Advocacy Networking and Developmetal Action (TANDA) started as a field action project (FAP) in year 2011. This FAP is based on nearly two years of student fieldwork with the Pardhi community in Mumbai through the Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work under guidance of Prof. VIjay Raghavan. In 2010 May, Tata Institute of Social Sciences gave Fellowships to Mr. Mayank Sinha and Ms. Paankhi Agrawal (alumni of TISS) to work with the Pardhi community in Mumbai. Mr. Sinha had done one year of fieldwork with the Ghar Bacho Ghar Bano Andolan and worked with the Pardhi community in Mumbai as part of his field work during his MA in Social Work from TISS (2008-10). Ms. Agrawal had done her M.A. dissertation on the Pardhi community living in Mumbai, as part of her MA in Development Studies (2008-10). For the Fellows working on the issue, it took time to build the rapport with the Pardhicommunity. However, in the given duration, the major activities done included: community profiling, community mapping, enumeration of the Pardhi families in Mumbai, housing rights status, survey on the education status of the children between 7–14 years, caste certificate status and SHG (Self Help Group) formations. All these activities posed serious challenges which included rapport building, lack of available literature, local power dynamics, lack of programmes and schemes for these communities, etc. At the end of the fellowship, TANDA emerged as a Field Action Project of TISS. The operation of TANDA manily based Mumbai and Navi-Mumbai Municipal Corporations.

Vision: Vision: Towards creating self-reliant NT-DNT and marginalized communities and the fulfillment of their fundamental rights, to create an equitable, inclusive, productive, healthy, educated, informed and dignified society by addressing inequalities in education, health and livelihood by enhancing knowledge, information, skills of the community and effective advocacy.

Objectives:

TANDA works towards “creating self-reliant NT-DNTs and and other marginalised communities ensuring the realisation of their constitutional and entitlement rights, as citizens of India”. TANDA strongly believes that NT-DNTs should organise themselves to advocate for their rights and dignity. The project aims to play the role of a change agent through generation of knowledge, capacity building and networking with different stakeholders on relevant issues towards policy advocacy.

Target group

DNTs: DNTs (Denotified tribes) are those communities who were declared as the criminal under the Criminal Tribes Act. In Maharashtra, there are fourteen such communities which were declared as criminal. They are Berad, Bestar, Bhatma, Kaikadi, Kankarbhat, Katabu, Lamani, Phase-Pardhi, Raj-Pardhi, Rajput-Bhatma, Ramoshi, Vadar, Waghari and Chhapparbandh (appendix - 1). Later in 1952, the Government of India had repealed the Act the criminal communities are denotifed. In Maharashtra they are categorized as DNT or Vimukta Jati.

NTs: NTs (Nomadic Tribes) are those communities who, under the Government Resolution No. CBC-10/2006/P.No.94/MVC-5 of Dept of Social Justice, Cultural Affairs & Special Assistance, have been recognised by the Government of Maharashtra as NT-B, NT-C and NT-D. Under these categories, there are 34, 1 and 1 communities respectively. These communities in Maharashtra known as NTs or Bhatkya Jati.

At present, TANDA is engaged with Pardhis, Wadaris, Masanjogis and Banjaras, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe (Sabar tribes- Purulia West Bengal) and is working with around 2000 families across Navi Mumbai and Purulia district of West Bengal. Its major thrust is to build a women’s organization that would facilitate women from the NT, DNT and other marginalised communities to come together and collectively resolve the various issues and problems that they face in their day to day life. Tanda is also dedicatedly working towards producing literature about the NT and DNTs, considering the scarce literature available about these communities through surveys and research. Tanda is alos adopting various techniques like holding meetings or screening socially awakening movies in the communities to strengthen the solidarity among the people of the NT, DNTS and other Marginalised communities.

Locale of Action

1) Maharashtra- Navi Mumbai (Digha, Ganapatipda, Mahaveer quarry, Indira Nagar, Patani, Turbhe Naka)

2) West Bengal- 8 blocks of Tribal dominent district Purulia 

Focus of Action

1) Education

2) Health

3) Livelihood 

4) Citizenship Entitlement

5) Women Empowerment

Current Projects: Education

Improving Educational Status of Students from Marginalised communities by improving access to education by providing special coaching

Recognizing the importance of education for these communities, TANDA has been working with children from NT-DNT and other marginalized group children between the age group of 6 and 16 at three different locations in Navi-Mumbai. TANDA has setup Community learning centers with a library and two teachers at Digha, Airoli; Ganapathi Pada, Thurbe and Mahavir Quary, Thurbe Navi Mumbai. TANDA started its work with NT DNT communities at the beginning, however, now TANDA has been working with all marginalized community people residing at the urban slums of the Navi Mumbai and trying to expand our community learning centers to adjoining regions.

Ever since its inception, TANDA’s CLCs have been working on bridging the gap between children, their families and the school:

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