Mahan is, the oldest Sal wood forest in Asia, Is last remaining patch of very dense, unfragmented forest in Singrauli coalfield region and an important source of livelihood for 80000 indigenous people.

In 2011, Mahan Coal Block is allocated for mining, Over the three years indigenous people of Mahan have been locked in a struggle with the state to regain their right over their land, as their social, cultures life cantered on the  forest will be adversely affected by this surge in consumption.

In last two years, I extensively interacted and interviewed these communities and their individual members and got to know about the deep seated corruption, exploitation and insidious administrative policies that threaten the livelihood of people in at least 54 villages surrounding the forest.

There were many accounts of fraudulent documentation, of villagers whose signatures were forged in Gram Sabha with active connivance of local officials and acquisition of land by local elite through questionable methods.

The collusion between wealthy local leaders, local administration and private companies left the poor villagers helpless.

 

All over  the India, indigenous communities are facing Social and Cultural Alienation, These so called development activities and strategies in India have increased the socio-economic gulf between tribal’s and rest of the citizens of India and left the former worse off on many counts.

 

Their struggle is not just for basic rights but also struggle to assert one’s identity and an attempt to gain respect and acknowledgement for it, to preserve a forest that defines who they are and where they belong.