Status of Adivasis/Indigenous People Land Series – 1: Gujarat

Description

The inequality between the condition of Adivasis and the upper-castes is highly pronounced in Gujarat. Whereas Gujarat boasts of being a highly industrialised state and a beacon of development in contemporary India, Adivasis are not part of this economic ‘growth’. Land alienation has been a powerful factor in the economic, social, and political exclusion of Adivasis in Gujarat.

Shivani A Patel is an activist with the Mozda Collective and Paryavara Suraksha Samiti who was based in Narmada District, Gujarat at the time of writing of this report. She has worked on community mobilization around the issue of Adivasi land rights and grassroots development in the eastern tribal belt of Gujarat. Shivani is trained in biological anthropology and epidemology. Shivani’s research interests include exploring how structural and social phenomena relate to community health in India, and using participatory approaches to answer epidemological questions relevant to social movements.