- The upcoming Census presents a critical opportunity to enumerate Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs/NTs/SNTs) who have historically remained invisible in official demographic exercises due to their mobility and lack of fixed habitation. - DNTs suffer from historical injustices, tracing back to the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 enacted by the British, which criminalized entire communities and left a legacy of social stigma and exclusion. - Despite recommendations by various commissions (like the Renke Commission and Idukki Commission), targeted welfare and reservation benefits have been inadequate due to the lack of empirical baseline data. - Enumerating these communities requires specialized census methodologies that account for nomadic lifestyles, seasonal migration, and lack of land titles or permanent addresses. **Introduction** In this article, Yogendra Yadav argues that the upcoming Census of India provides a crucial window to rectify historical injustices inflicted upon Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs, NTs, and SNTs). Plagued by colonial-era stigmas from the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 and lacking permanent habitation, these marginalized groups have remained invisible in official data, depriving them of effective welfare policies and reservations. The piece calls for customized data-collection strategies in the Census to ensure their proper enumeration and inclusion. **Core Issue and Detailed Points** - The upcoming Census presents a critical opportunity to enumerate Denotified, Nomadic, and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs/NTs/SNTs) who have historically remained invisible in official demographic exercises due to their mobility and lack of fixed habitation. - DNTs suffer from historical injustices, tracing back to the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 enacted by the British, which criminalized entire communities and left a legacy of social stigma and exclusion. - Despite recommendations by various commissions (like the Renke Commission and Idukki Commission), targeted welfare and reservation benefits have been inadequate due to the lack of empirical baseline data. - Enumerating these communities requires specialized census methodologies that account for nomadic lifestyles, seasonal migration, and lack of land titles or permanent addresses.