Locating the Breach: Mapping the Nature of Land Conflicts in India

This report highlights the causes and consequences of land conflicts in India. It was published in February 2020 by the New Delhi-based data research agency Land Conflict Watch (LCW), with the organisation’s Thomas Worsdell and Kumar Sambhav as its authors. The report was released with the support of Oxfam India and the Rights and Research Initiative (a global coalition of organisations working on forests and related rights).The report examines the sectors, social factors, laws and types of land involved in land conflicts in India. It aims to aid academics, citizen groups and policy-makers understand the nature of these disputes.The publication contains information on 703 ongoing conflicts since 2016, from 332 of India’s 733 districts. LCW’s team of 42 field researchers from across India collected data on 84 parameters under three main categories: number of people affected, land area under contestation and the existing or potential capital investment involved in the dispute.The 56-page report has seven chapters: Background (chapter 1); A Quick Glance at the Principal Findings (chapter 2); Methodology (chapter 3); Data Analysis (chapter 4); Thematic Analysis and Emerging Policy Issues (chapter 5); Research Agenda for the Future (chapter 6) and Appendices (chapter 7).