Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article documents the journey of tribals and traditional forest dwellers in India, who have been historically deprived of their rights to access and use forest produce since colonial times. The author analyses the legal context of the tribal’s relationship with forests, following its evolution from the development-oriented National Forest Policy of 1952 to the more recent Forest Rights Act and its culmination in the Niyamgiri case. The author also provides a basis for the recognition of forest rights that have been accorded to the tribals and forest-dwellers, as the international instruments too acknowledge their right to self-determination as well as the key role that they play in forest conservation through their traditional practices and way of life that are deeply intertwined with the forest ecology.
Author: Malvika Singh
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7163643286