Table Of ContentINDIGENOUS QUESTION,
LAND APPROPRIATION,
AND DEVELOPMENT
This book provides a first-hand account of land conflict and power relations in
one of the most resource-rich states in India – Jharkhand. Through the eyes of
the state, corporate, and indigenous actors, it reveals how conflict over land in
Jharkhand is firmly embedded in the ideological foundations of the key actors in
the region. Based on thorough research on the ground and interviews with state,
corporate, and indigenous actors, the book explores a host of themes such as the
need and efficacy of state-led modernisation programmes, the market as the best
regulator, and ‘ideas’ of development. The volume highlights how land conflicts
in Jharkhand will persist until the ideological differences are recognised and wel-
comed in the hopes of making way for collaborative governance.
This work will be a key intervention in the fields of area studies, especially
South Asian studies, public policy, politics, and development studies.
Gautam Pingali completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Tech-
nology Sydney, with a specific focus on the impact of mining on indigenous
communities. He grew up in Jharkhand, India and frequently witnessed first-
hand indigenous protests resulting in city-wide ‘bandhs’ or strikes. As a social
researcher, Gautam sought to develop a deeper understanding of the indigenous
resistance movement in Jharkhand. His research findings shed light on the nature
and dynamics of power relations at play between the state, corporations, and
indigenous communities in Jharkhand. He currently works at Supply Nation in
Sydney, Australia as a Program and Evaluation Manager focused on empowering
indigenous businesses.
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Indigenous Question, Land Appropriation, and Development
Understanding the conflict in Jharkhand, India
Gautam Pingali
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
South-Asia-in-Context/book-series/SAIC
INDIGENOUS
QUESTION, LAND
APPROPRIATION,
AND DEVELOPMENT
Understanding the Conflict
in Jharkhand, India
Gautam Pingali
Cover image: Photograph by Author; Courtesy of Bagaicha Institute in
Namkun, Ranchi, India
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Gautam Pingali
The right of Gautam Pingali to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-032-32641-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-35948-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-32946-6 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003329466
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To Nancy,
For always supporting and motivating me.
And Mira,
For bringing so much joy to our lives.
Mommy and Daddy love you.
CONTENTS
List of figures x
Foreword by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt xi
Preface xiv
1 Introducing the conflict 1
The story of Jharkhand 1
The stance of the Indian state 4
The pursuit of industrial development 7
Framework for analysis 9
Land 10
Law 11
Progress 12
Outline of the chapters 14
2 Adivasis in colonial and post-colonial India 20
The isolation policies of the British 20
Defining ‘Scheduled Tribes’ 22
Governing the ‘Scheduled Tribes’ 24
3 Development in post-colonial India 27
India after independence (1947–1990): State-led modernisation 27
A new chapter in Indian history (1991 onwards): Era of neoliberalism 29
Adivasis and the fight for alternative models of development 31
Summary 32
viii Contents
4 Removing Adivasis from the Adivasi state 35
The failed vision of Greater Jharkhand 35
Education, a means to an end 38
The education paradox 41
Adivasis getting politically displaced 43
Masking the true numbers of Adivasis on paper 44
Summary 46
5 Agriculture, a ‘backward’ economy in the eyes of the state 48
Bypassing the agrarian question 48
Amending the laws to make way for industrialisation 51
The commodification of land 53
The creation of the 2013 Land Acquisition Act 57
Diluting the 2013 Land Acquisition Act 60
Summary 63
6 Corporate pressures, threats, and ultimatums 65
Frustrations with the land acquisition process 66
The ‘Modi wave’ 68
Ordinances 70
The shift to the privatisation of governance 72
Growing leverage and increasing demands for land grabs 73
The concept of land banks 75
Make Jharkhand investor friendly 77
Summary 79
7 Adivasis’ resistance and persistence 81
Is this development? 82
An alternative model for development 85
The Pathalgadi movement 88
Strength in numbers 90
Summary 94
8 Violent and bloodied realities of ideologies in Jharkhand 96
Land, a resource to die for 96
Laws, are they a façade? 98
Progress, a reason for conflict 100
The collision of orthodoxies 102
The final word on the orthodoxies 104
9 The way forward for Jharkhand 106
Laws should be fairly implemented 107
Contents ix
Genuinely consult Adivasis 108
Land bank alternatives and improvements to the land acquisition
process 110
Clearer definitions and accurate representation in Census 112
Adivasis in position of power 114
Collaborative governance 115
10 Closing remarks 119
Endnotes 123
References 125
Index 141
