Conflicts in Forest Commoning: A Case Study of Indigenous Communities’ Struggle in India’s Gadchiroli District

Despite the vast literature on managing the commons, research on the politics around property rights regimes intended to reshape management practices and bottom-up responses, particularly from Indigenous communities (ICs), remains scanty. We examine conflicts around a top-down introduction of policy rooted in colonial law aimed at regaining post-colonial management control devolved over forest resources in India and the actions taken by field-level actors and ICs, practicing democratic forest management. Drawing on first-hand experiences and observations, interviews, and policy documents, we analyze significant and connected events unfolding at multiple administrative levels. We find community actions to assert institutional preference drew on authority embedded in the institutions of marginalized communities and were influenced by policy catalysts sharing value homophily, knowledge about relevant policies, and internal functioning of the government. In addition to demonstrating the potential role of bottom-up framing power and institutional authority to resist top-down authoritative power, we contribute to the emerging literature on commoning by showing how historical practices and their outcomes shape communities’ institutional preferences.