Fear gripped Kani Dajjan village in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on 4 December 2020 as it swarmed with Indian government officials armed with axes. By the time they left, 10,000 trees were slashed. For Muhammad Ahsan, however, “officials did not cut trees, but uprooted families.” For people like Ahsan, the 75 years old village head of Kani Dajjan, the world has ended and “homelessness is the new reality.” The Indian government’s decision to evict forest dwellers has jeopardized the life and livelihoods of the communities who have been living on the mountains of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for centuries. Authorities claim that those living in the forests are illegal occupants while the forest dwellers, who are currently facing the State’s wrath, told me that they have been there even when “India was yet to come into existence.” The government’s decision is not to be seen in isolation, but as…

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