• Dr. vikas kumar

The forest occupants, or forest residents, are people who generally reside in the forests and are, in a true sense, the true custodians of the forest lands. They are fully reliant on forest produce for their livelihoods and have been conferred certain rights to forest resources by almost all governments around the world. But despite these rights, these people are marginalized more or less everywhere. As far as India is concerned, the forest inhabitants continue to be considered marginalized even after India gained independence from British colonial rule, despite the fact that many laws and policies were evolved to safeguard their rights by the state of India from time to time. The Parliament of India passed legislation in 2006 named ‘The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The objective of passing this law was to recognize and grant certain rights to forest dwellers, the Schedule Tribes (as they are commonly known), and others. It is claimed that this law provides them with all those basic rights granted to other citizens of the country, like the right to vote, the right to contest elections, and other rights along with entitlements to education and health. The Constitution of India also recognizes their rights in the form of fundamental rights and puts governments under a legal obligation to make special provisions for their upliftment. On an international level, various international conventions and treaties have provisions in favor of ‘indigenous people’ who are considered protectors and preservators of forests and the environment the world over. Many principles, like the ‘Public Trust Doctrine’ and international environmental law, also seek to protect these people against arbitrariness and mismanagement of essential forest lands. The goal of this research is basically to critically analyze the international and national laws, policies, and case studies related to forest lands and their impact on the very basic human rights of the people who are the true guardians of these lands.

Indigenous People, tribals communities, Human Rights, Forest Laws, Land Acquisitions Laws, Forest Dependents

"AN ASSESSMENT OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK PROTECTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WITH A FOCUS ON INDIAN FOREST POLICY", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 10, page no.f628-f638, October-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2310476.pdf

"AN ASSESSMENT OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK PROTECTING INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WITH A FOCUS ON INDIAN FOREST POLICY", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 10, page no. ppf628-f638, October-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2310476.pdf