1. British officials were suspicious of nomadic people. They distrusted mobile craftsmen and traders who hawked their goods in villages, pastoralists who changed their residence every season.
2. The colonial government wanted to rule over a settled population. Under the Criminal Tribes Act, the nomadic people were considered criminals by nature and birth and many communities of craftsmen, traders and pastoralists were classified as Criminal Tribes.
3. These communities were restricted to living in notified village settlements and were not allowed to move without a permit.