Tribal Land Alienation in India

The large-scale influx of infiltrators from the south and the
north-west has compounded fears of insecurity and large-scale
land alienation. Infiltration has been a fall-out of not merely recent
government policies, but once formed a part of the colonial
government’s moves to resettle and develop the region.

The tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislations, serious material and social deprivation, and aggressive resource alienation. Hence, the solution to these issues should enable the tribals to protect their own interests.
Protecting the land and forest rights of tribal communities is equivalent to protecting their livelihoods, life and liberty. This remains one of the critical necessities of a welfare State. Therefore, laws protecting tribal land from alienation must be upheld at all costs;
The right to natural resources in tribal lands has to be protected. They should only be accessed with the consent of the Gram Sabhas of the villages (both directly affected and in the zone of influence);
While tribal lands hold much of the natural and mineral wealth of the nation, these resources cannot be alienated against their will. Moreover, communities who part with their lands have the right to share in the wealth and income so generated from its resources. 
Hence, a reasonable share of the wealth generated by the resources in their homelands must accrue to them by law, and  the right to preservation of their language, culture and traditions, and to
protect themselves against the loss of identity, must be recognized, protected, documented and allowed to thrive as a dynamic living culture.

This is a comment on Biplab Dasgupta's article published in the Journal of the Indian Anthropological Society. In ths comment, I pointed out some of the important omissions of the author in his overview of the problems of the tribals in West Bengal.One can also read the comments made by other anthropologists and the reply of the author.After the electoral debacle of the CPI(M) led government  which got entangled in land acquisition issues climaxed after the Singur and Nandigram episodes in 2006-7, this comment of mine seem to have a premonitory effect.

MUST READ
https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/landlessness-takes-away-dalits-legal-and-official-validity-as-indian-citizens/story-1QeT0Tjwp3dbdJjI93OXQJ.html
Landlessness takes away Dalits’ legal and official validity as Indian citizens
Citizenship requires entitlement to resources. The community must stake claim to State-owned land.
Analysis Updated: Jul 01, 2019 09:00 IST

Suraj Yengde

According to the recent data published by the Census of India, 71% Dalits are landless labourers who work on land they do not own. (Ravindra Joshi/HT PHOTO)
We must face the fact. And the fact is: our krishi pradhan desh (farming-prime country) is also a jaati pradhan desh (caste-prime country). If we merge these two phenomena, a toxic cocktail emerges, which is the reality of the country right now: a jaatiya-krishi pradhan desh (caste-prime farming country) responsible for creating more poverty, increased atrocity, and low productivity.
Dalits are not independent in India. They are a displaced people, exiled in their ancestral land, wandering about as stateless subjects. This landlessness takes away their legal, official and constitutional validity as the Indian. The community is desperately in need of a second freedom — which must be material freedom, and not merely on paper. The first step towards becoming an empowered Indian citizen is the ownership of land.
REPRODUCED WITH THANKS TO HINDUSTAN TIMES, DELHI