Reena Ramteke belongs to a remote village of 60 families in the district of Ghariaband in the state of Chhattisgarh in eastern India. The region that she lives in is heavily forested. Basic amenities like water, electricity and roads are lacking or altogether absent. Life is difficult, poverty is rife. The state is hell-bent on exploiting the forests and the mineral-rich land. There is state violence and caste violence. “People in my district face a lot of problems. The denial of forest rights is a major issue. Though the Kamar people are the indigenous inhabitants of the land, they are…