India Supreme Court Evicts Millions Of Marginalized Peoples From Indigenous Lands

By Steve Bynum
Nichlagarh, an adivasi village in the forest region of Southern Rajasthan, is caught between the bureaucratic regime of the Forestry Department (FD) of India and progressive legislation that claims to restore the traditional rights of commoners. While the state has its own ideas about how villagers should manage their forest commons and their lives, the women of this adivasi community have stepped forward as the knowledge keepers, managers of the forests and champions of democratic representation to protect the right to the commons.
Nichlagarh, an adivasi village in the forest region of Southern Rajasthan, is caught between the bureaucratic regime of the Forestry Department (FD) of India and progressive legislation that claims to restore the traditional rights of commoners. While the state has its own ideas about how villagers should manage their forest commons and their lives, the women of this adivasi community have stepped forward as the knowledge keepers, managers of the forests and champions of democratic representation to protect the right to the commons. CounterCurrents.org
Nichlagarh, an adivasi village in the forest region of Southern Rajasthan, is caught between the bureaucratic regime of the Forestry Department (FD) of India and progressive legislation that claims to restore the traditional rights of commoners. While the state has its own ideas about how villagers should manage their forest commons and their lives, the women of this adivasi community have stepped forward as the knowledge keepers, managers of the forests and champions of democratic representation to protect the right to the commons.
Nichlagarh, an adivasi village in the forest region of Southern Rajasthan, is caught between the bureaucratic regime of the Forestry Department (FD) of India and progressive legislation that claims to restore the traditional rights of commoners. While the state has its own ideas about how villagers should manage their forest commons and their lives, the women of this adivasi community have stepped forward as the knowledge keepers, managers of the forests and champions of democratic representation to protect the right to the commons. CounterCurrents.org

India Supreme Court Evicts Millions Of Marginalized Peoples From Indigenous Lands

By Steve Bynum
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Last month, India’s Supreme Court ordered state governments to evict over a million indigenous people from forested lands in the country. The case centered on the Forest Rights Act, passed in 2006, that attempted to legitimize indigenous claims to their traditional lands. Wildlife conservation groups challenged the act in court, arguing that it would green-light further encroachment on already-damaged forestlands. When the case was heard in the Supreme Court, the central government failed to present lawyers to defend its own law. Indigenous rights groups have come out against the decision. An opposition leader argued that, by acting as a “silent spectator” rather than defending the Forest Rights Act in court, the ruling “is indicating its intentions to drive out lakhs of tribals and poor farmers from the forests.” Global indigenous rights organization Survival International has opposed the decision, calling it “the biggest eviction in the name of conservation, ever.” Joining us to discuss the decision is senior researcher and campaigner Sophie Grig.