About the Book
Land has been and continues to be the most significant asset as well as identity for tribal communities. Tribal survival and sustenance is inseparable from land. This book is an outcome of author’s experience of working with adivasis and their groups involved in fighting for restoration of their land. His work on tribal land issue involved both legal and administrative interventions seeking restoration of alienated tribal lands from non-tribal intruders in the scheduled area of Andhra and Telangana.
Providing greater insights to analyse the complexities of tribal land issues, the book highlights the nexus between the non-tribal entrants to tribal areas, political parties and the state which has been party to land alienation among the tribals. Serious investigation and evidence reveals the role of political parties, generally interested in consolidating their vote banks in tribal areas, in pushing the progressive land legislations on one hand and pulling back the executive forces to ensure non-implementation on the other.
This book further examines the historical evolution of the protective land laws and the forest laws in the light of the outcome of legal proceedings initiated against non-tribal occupants for restoration of lands, and role of the judiciary in dispensation of justice. This volume is expected to generate a meaningful debate on the tribal land issue and improve access to land in the Scheduled Areas of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Contents
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Glossary of Local and Legal Terms
1. Tribal Identity and Land Alienation
2. Land Alienation under Different Tenurial Systems: Administrative
and Legal Dimensions
3. Land Control by Non-Tribals in the Scheduled Areas of
East Godavari District: Major Trends
4. Land Alienation in Villages: A Political Ethnography
5. Conclusion
About the Author / Editor
Palla Trinadha Rao is a tribal rights activist and lawyer supporting the cause of tribals. He has been involved in addressing issues of tribal land alienation, forest land, tribal livelihoods and governance issues in both the States of Andhra and Telangana. He is a legal retainer to Laya, a non-government organization based in Visakhapatnam. He is also associated with various state and national level institutions for their training, research and legal affairs concerning tribals. He is the author of number of articles and books in Telugu and English on adivasi issues. He has been associated with varied civil society initiatives and campaigns for tribal self rule, forest rights and struggles against displacement under Polavaram Dam.
