ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the conflicts over land between the tribals and non-tribals, particularly the conflicts of the local tribals with the brought-in Bengali refugees in Dandakaranya reserve forest area in Nabarangpur district. A part of Dandakaranya reserve forest, as stated in the introduction, stretches over Umarkote, Raighar and Jharigaon blocks of Nabarangpur district. The chapter analyses multiplicity of ways in which the Bengalis and non-tribals usurped tribal lands, and the resistance of tribals to it. The discriminatory mode of land distribution and allocation of developmental facilities between the privileged refugees and the local poor tribals resulted in socio-economic and psychological conflicts within the some groups creating many uneasy situations. The conflicts over land move beyond the triangulation of the state, company and tribals. Gopal Pujari explains that though the tribal carves land out of forest, the land quickly passes to the Bengali who in turn becomes the real owner of the land by getting a patta in his/her name.
