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Criminal tribes
Gujarat's nomad voters
The village of Eyava Vasana near the Indian state of Gujarat's largest city, Ahmedabad, is home for now to some 85 Dafer nomad tribes people.
They are voting for the first time in state assembly elections taking place this month.
There are 40 nomadic tribes scattered over Gujarat, numbering more than four million people.
About a million belong to 12 former "criminal tribes" - so-called because they were accused of robbing people.
Dafers were "notified" as a criminal tribe by India's former British rulers in 1871. They lived in areas earmarked for them and whenever they stepped out, they had to inform the police. Once out, they had to return within 24 hours.
In 1951, India's prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru "de-notified" the Dafers. It meant that officially they were no longer criminals. But the stigma remains – to this day members of the community are still treated as social pariahs.
Although the community is hired to work, they are still viewed with suspicion by the villagers.
"We live honestly, but no one wants us. Since we are nomads, we have no roots, no homes. We are poor people and the police, too, harass us constantly,".
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