The present study on Siddhapuram and Stuartpuram settlements of ex-criminal tribes is welcome addition to the existing literature on Denotified tribes of Andhra Pradesh. Quite a few works have been published on Indian tribes in general and DNTs of Andhra Pradesh in particular. However, the work on the so called ex-criminal tribes is rather scarce. In all there are five settlements for these DNTs. Of these, two settlements have been placed under the care of the Salvation Army. Stuartpuram is one of the two. Being located in the present Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh, the settlement is named after the then acting secretary to the government of Madras, Mr. Stuart. Known for its notoriety of crime with leading dacoits hailing from this settlement, it has attracted the attention of several social activists like Lavanam, Hemlatha Lavanam of the Atheist Centre, Vijayawada who ungrudgingly devoted their time and energies in bringing about a change in the culture of crime set of the settlers. After a prolonged and sustained record of service and devotion, by these agencies and also the government , there is visible change today among the inmates here. The author of the present work has been able to procure rare records and documents from the national, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh archives. He also made an elaborate survey of secondary sources relating to the present work. What makes the book unique is the extensive oral testimony that the author has laboured hard to collect and on its basis the whole work is reconstructed.
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