Social network, trust, and rural informalities: transfer of tribal land ownership in protected areas of Assam, Northeast India

Abstract

Land alienation among its tribal communities has been one of the most disquieting issues in contemporary India despite existing laws for the protection of tribal land and habitat. This situation is attributed mainly to requisition of tribal land for various developmental activities undertaken by the state as well as its indifference in enforcing the existing laws. The situation in Assam clearly illustrates this. Despite the existing laws, the tribal communities have been unable to retain their ownership of the land. This paper shows that while the state-led development activities are significantly responsible for this, the various informal ways in which the transfer of tribal land takes place at a private level are also no less alarming. Explicating the dynamics behind this process, the paper divulges the multiple informal mechanisms, embedded in community network and trust at the local level to negotiate the protective land laws to facilitate the transfer of tribal land to non-tribal communities.