Colonial history British records of the forest department confirm a Van Gujjars presence in the
Doon Valley, after the British regained control of it in the aftermath of the
Anglo-Gurkha War (1814–15). In some measure, this was recognition of the law of their rights as inhabitants of the forests, an official incorporation of their custodianship as part of forest management, a continuation of the Van Gujjars occupation of the Doon valley of
Uttarakhand. The state focuses on fixed boundaries and territories, whether legally or just culturally, is at odds with the Van Gujjars existence as
nomads. A clear example of that is the continued consequences of the
British Forest Act of 1865, which barred indigenous communities from access to their ancestral territories. The
Uttarakhand Forest Department, with its biased view of the Van Gujjars, authenticated a history of abuse and violations of rights representing their native pastoral culture as a threat to conservation. The
British colonial regime in India classified Van Gujjars as "
criminal tribes" in accordance with the
1871 Criminal Tribes Act. The Act also marked those who did not conform to gender norms as "
eunuchs." The law was amended, India abolished this law in 1949 and replaced it with its own law, while the section related to gender non-conformity was repealed in 1911. In 1902, a new provision was proposed to regulate Van Gujjar migration. When the herders returned to
British provinces each fall, the herders were to pay a small security deposit of 8
Annas (half rupee) that would be returned in April, assuming they did not engage in excessive cutting of trees in protected forests. In Dickinson's view, this could be a good source of revenue – 50 rupees for every 100 cattle by charging 8 Annas per herder.
Land ownership and permit system Annual grazing permits have been issued to family or
clan leaders of the Van Gujjar community since the
British Raj that identify precise compartments of use by each group. Most of the significant decisions about these compartments and migration patterns is performed by the family head to better manage resources. The plight of Van Gujjars is further evidenced by a report issued by
India's National Human Rights Commission regarding Van Gujjars living in
Rajaji National Park who face harassment and other abuses from staff in the Uttarakhand Forest Department. The association between the
Shivalik range and the
Indian army began in the 1980s, yet the state still attempts to expel all the Van Gujjars from the
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Forests. The Van Gujjars distrust the forest department, who they believe is the ultimate authority responsible for eviction under the guise of conservation or development. Their distrust is compounded by the assertion of the Indian Forest Department that 25,000 hectares are unoccupied, when there are actually 1,800 Van Gujjar families occupying that same land. While the Indian Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognizes their rights for forest land as "traditional forest dwellers," they experience conflict with the local state forest authorities denying human and livestock presence inside "reserved parks." As Muslims, they have frequently been the target of actions from the
Uttarakhand Forest Department, wrongful eviction notices, forced evictions, and other illegal conduct from the forest department. In 2011 and 2017, the state
Government of Uttarakhand issued additional displacement orders affecting certain Van Gujjar families in those areas. The 2018 decision by the High Court that Van Gujjars were illegally occupying forest land caused a renewed uproar as they had yet to provide any framework for rehabilitation. The
Supreme Court of India intervened later that year, stopping the High Court from enforcing the eviction order. In 2020, Van Gujjar families were engaged in a confrontation with forest officials, and the officials physically assaulted men and women from the community during the confrontation and arrested some members. The
Uttarakhand High Court ordered the government to form a committee to address the issues faced by Van Gujjars. At the same time, the
Van Gujjar Tribal Yuva Sangathan sought recognition under the 2006 Forest Right Act and presented claims at the SDM office, in 2022, for the community's
ST status. In 2023, the Van Gujjar organization
Van Panchayat Sangharsh Morcha disputes eviction notices, in 2023 the
forest department of Uttarkhand acknowledged their errors in the eviction notices they provided to the Van Gujjars. ==Etymology and origin==