No colonial label, no matter how old, can define a community that bled for India's freedom. On Thursday, August 6, 2026, the Chief Minister's Office of Uttar Pradesh quoted Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath declaring that Vimukt Jatis — communities once branded under the British-era 'Criminal Tribes' tag — deserve recognition as freedom fighters, and that the 'double-engine government' is committed to delivering exactly that.

Translating the post, CM Yogi said: 'No one can call Vimukt Jatis a Criminal Tribe. These are communities that made significant contributions to India's freedom struggle. The double-engine government is working with the resolve to give them the same honour that should have been given to them as freedom fighters.'

A Colonial Scar That Outlasted the Empire

The wound CM Yogi is addressing is more than a century old. The Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, enacted by British colonial authorities, stamped entire communities as 'born criminals' — a collective punishment that criminalised their very existence, not their actions. The Act was repealed after independence in 1952, and these communities were formally 'denotified', giving rise to the term Vimukt Jati (liberated community).

But legal repeal did not erase social stigma. Decades after denotification, many of these communities continued to face discrimination in employment, housing, and civic life — carrying a colonial verdict that independent India had officially discarded but not fully dismantled.

Rewriting the Narrative: From 'Criminal' to 'Freedom Fighter'

CM Yogi's statement makes a pointed historical inversion: the same communities the British labelled criminal were, in fact, active participants in the resistance against colonial rule. By framing them as swadheenata sangram senani (freedom struggle fighters), the statement repositions Vimukt Jatis from the margins of national memory to its centre.

This is not merely symbolic. Post-independence governments at both the central and state level have periodically attempted to address the legacy of the Criminal Tribes Act through welfare programmes and official recognitions. Uttar Pradesh, as India's most populous state with a significant Vimukt Jati population, holds particular weight in how this recognition translates into policy.

What the 'Double-Engine' Pledge Signals

The phrase 'double-engine government' — a BJP formulation referring to aligned state and central governments — carries a specific political meaning here. It signals that welfare and recognition measures for Vimukt Jatis are to be pursued in coordination between Lucknow and New Delhi, amplifying both reach and resources.

The statement stops short of announcing a specific new scheme, but the directional intent is clear: formal honour, not just formal repeal. Whether that intent crystallises into concrete programmes — dedicated welfare funds, official freedom-fighter status, or educational provisions — is the question Vimukt Jati communities across Uttar Pradesh will now be watching closely.

Seven decades after independence, India is still in the business of correcting its colonial ledger. CM Yogi's declaration is a reminder that the most durable injustices are the ones that survive the laws meant to end them — and that fixing them requires more than a repeal date.