Speakers:
Aditi, Researcher and Activist
Simanchal Aachari, Samajik Karyakarta (Social Activist)

The Adivasis have consistently resisted the structural violence by Indian forest authorities against their relationship with landscape and forests they depend upon and live in. More recently, in Adivasi regions across India, conservation areas such as tiger reserves are being created alongside extensive militarisation and military operations in the name of wiping out the Maoist/Naxalite movement. In this session, our speakers shared their extensive knowledge about the deep links between Indian state’s forest conservation policies with its wider goals of expropriating Adivasi land, forests, and natural resources on behalf of capital.

Sources mentioned in the introduction:

Santoshi Markam, 8 January 2026. Maoism Weakens, Mining Strengthens: Bastar's Forests at Stake in the Race for Development, The Wire.

Malini Subramaniam, 26 February 2026. House numbers, drones, family registers: Bastar villages under web of surveillance, Scroll.in.