ITA MEHROTRA BEARS WITNESS TO THE CHANGING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FOREST DWELLERS AND THEIR FORESTS IN THE UTTARAKHAND TERAI, AND THEIR UNRELENTING STRUGGLE IN THE FACE OF ENCROACHMENT, DISENFRANCHISEMENT AND ‘DEVELOPMENT’.

The Van Gujjars and the Taungyas have lived in the forests of the Uttarakhand Terai for countless generations. They have been caretakers of the trees, the land and their animals. Through intimate conversations in image and word, Uprooted invites us to bear witness to the changing relationship that the Van Gujjars and the Taungyas have with the forests around them—as they live, laugh and struggle in the face of exclusionary conservation, state antagonism and encroachment under the guise of ‘development’.

Bringing together notes and drawings from 2021 to 2025, Uprooted takes in a wide sweep of history—from the British forest laws that sought to loot the forest and disenfranchise forest-dwelling communities to the Forest Rights Act, 2006, which brought hope. The book lends an ear to the younger generation, both within the forests and in the unsettled terrain of resettlement colonies, as they find innovative methods of continuing their struggles and carving out an identity of their own. Uprooted raises questions about the politics of resettlement, and the future of these struggles by the Van Gujjars and the Taungyas.

Mehrotra’s elegant, expressive drawings and discerning eye create a compelling visual archive that is, equally, a handy introduction to the forest rights’ movement in India.