In India traditionally forests were managed as common property resources where local communities enjoyed their rights to manage the forest resources and lands. However, the British Colonial Rulers initiated the commercialization of forests and brought forests under state control, the legacy of which continued even after India gained independence. Further, to tackle the issue of massive deforestation many forest dweller communities were evacuated from the forest lands alleging their presence as the sole reason for such deforestation. However, subsequently to ensure the participation of local communities in sustainable forestry, the Joint Forest Management (JFM) system and for addressing the historical injustice done to the forest dwellers, the Forest Rights Act of 2006 were launched and enacted respectively. These initiatives were adopted in India to match the globally adopted standards for community-inclusive conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources