The issue of people’s movements demanding their fair share, rights, and entitlements over natural resources necessitates a strategic strategy to managing these resources and addressing the socio-political conflicts surrounding them. It is essential to move beyond the dominant discourse that views such conflicts solely through the lens of political and security threats and instead examine their socio-political and economic dimensions. Furthermore, a critical engagement is required to understand how successive governments and non-state actors manipulate and misappropriate these movements. Based on extensive field research in the Kalahandi and undivided Koraput districts of Odisha, this policy document identifies the key issues driving these movements as they assert their claims over natural resources. In doing so, it presents its findings and offers policy recommendations to manage natural resources and address the associated conflicts effectively.