Indigenous people’s response to the ban on use of forest resources in South India: a gender analysis of governmobility

Abstract

The traditional livelihood of the Soliga, indigenous people living in Biligiri Rangana Hills, was disrupted by the Government of India through a ban on the collection and sale of non-timber forest products in 2004 and the creation of a tiger reserve in 2011. With this, State control over the Soligas’ forest-based mobility increased and their traditional mobility for subsistence, livelihood, and culture was severely restricted. Arrests and violence were used to intimidate them into moving away from the forest. Using the concept of governmobility, this paper analyzes how indigenous women and men struggle against and cope with the State’s efforts to control their mobility. We found that women and men used different strategies to cope with the situation and support themselves and their families. While men internalized the State’s regulations and changed their mobility patterns completely, women continued to resist the State’s control over their mobility within the forest because of their position as secondary citizens in a patriarchal state. Women’s resistance to or compliance with the State-imposed ban was mediated by their relationship with the State, the relationship being evidenced by the services and facilities offered and opportunities available.