Land Right of the Tribes in Urban India: A Study of Institutional Priorities and Constitutional Protections

• In Event: Impacts of Taxes, Privatization, and Land Right

Abstract

In Owning the Earth (2013), it not only talks about the historical evolution of land ownership but also acknowledges that when land was bequeathed with capital value, it became a commodity that could be owned, sold, and traded. Land is well known to be the core of tribal identity, and because of their unique connection with nature, there is a perception that indigenous people live in rural and remote areas. This study is from India, where the growth of urbanization has led to a corresponding expansion of tribal land within the urban region, primarily due to the extension of municipal boundaries. This also denotes that tribal land is now within the urban area and still contains land rights that it has retained for ages. For some, the failure to incorporate these tribal lands leads to policies and plans that aggravate the neglect of tribal communities in the development process. Despite explicit provisions outlined in the Constitution and the decentralized governance system, formed for strengthening governance at local level, tribals continue to be excluded from the land development process. This study investigates how comprehensive plans systematically disregard the requirements and rights of tribal communities within city environments. It identifies a persistent contradiction that while the constitution aims to protect tribal land, planning practices and development policies often overlook the lived realities and customary land relationships of indigenous communities.  Specifically, it investigates whether city-level legal instruments, such as comprehensive plans and municipal acts, recognize and uphold the constitutional protections of tribal land.

This project leans on an interpretive/constructive approach, employing case studies to explore the complexities surrounding the legal documents, followed by the urban institutions that are expected to integrate tribal land into the development process. Considering my positionality as a researcher and tribal woman, I possess a profound cultural, historical, and social understanding of the community. The study will incorporate archival research to thoroughly understand the relationship between tribal land rights, governance institutions, and urban development, emphasizing the constitutional protections and the comprehensive plan documents' ignorance of their rights. The necessary reference documents for this are the Comprehensive Plans, Municipal Act, and the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act 1908, sets the foundation for shaping constitutional protection.

A codebook will be developed to guide the analysis and outline the potential codes. After initial coding, axial coding will be employed to explore relationships among codes and to group them into broader themes. In vivo coding will be used to remain grounded in the meaning of the source material. Using qualitative data analysis software such as NVivo will help systematically determine the frequency and existence of specific themes and concepts across documents. This method allows for a structured yet interpretive investigation of institutional narratives around land and development that either advocate or marginalize tribal rights. The findings will help to uncover the extent to which the urban institutions align with or overlook the constitutional commitment to tribal land protection, situating this study within broader academic debates on social equity, development, and indigenous land justice.

Author

• Anila Smriti Surin, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author