Legal Pluralism, Perceived Tenure Security, and Distress Diversification: Tribal Land and Livelihoods in Jharkhand, India

The study examines the relationship between legal pluralism, perceived tenure security, and distress-driven livelihood diversification among tribal households in Jharkhand, India. It develops tenure security indices to show the gap between de jure and de facto tenure and to assess how the coexistence of legal and customary tenure affects land tenure and perceptions of security. An ordinal logistic regression model is used to identify the determinants of perceived tenure security. A multinomial logistic regression model is used to examine how perceived tenure security and livelihood assets influence livelihood activity choices. Using primary data from 435 tribal households from nine districts, the study finds a clear gap between de jure and de facto tenure and, at the de facto level, between legal and customary tenure, with legal tenure showing greater variability than customary tenure. Perceived tenure security is strongly influenced by legal tenure conditions and land accessibility, while higher customary tenure variability is associated with lower perceived tenure security. The livelihood clustering reveals three main configurations: daily wage and forest-based income, livestock-based income, and agriculture-based income. The analysis shows that diversification into wage and forest-based activities is largely distress-driven rather than opportunity-led.