Negotiating Contested Space: Subaltern Governance and Forest Rights Act in India

This review paper critically analyses the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. It revisits empirical observations through the lens of Foucauldian (post)governmentality (Foucault 1991; McKee 2009), Bina Agarwal’s concept of “bargaining” (1997), and Nancy Fraser’s reflections on the politics of redistribution (Fraser and Honneth 2003). The paper seeks to highlight the structural and cultural logic of creativity and skill that the subjects employ in negotiating policies and spaces for social inclusion