A little late to the discussion but cannot thank @HinchyJessica more for highlighting this! Personally, I am intrigued by the fact that the same colonial state is busy rehabilitating children found in a state of "slavery" in early 19th century Bombay Presidency. https://twitter.com/detsolnet/status/1197417057488269313

Although not sure about the caste profile of all the children rescued, children were continuously getting "rescued" from "Kusbees", "Kulawantins", "Kunjurs" and "Brinjarries"--some of whom do feature as "criminal tribes" later.

Now, this makes me think if the children were indeed "rescued" from these communities or were actually part of their kinship networks. On another note, this also raises the question of who gets "rescued" and who is "removed" from their parents and why?

I wonder if caste plays a factor here. And yes, of course, the "inherent evilness" of certain communities! *sigh*

Such instances of colonial child removal policies, indeed, open up newer avenues of revisiting these questions. Thank you so much @HinchyJessica