India’s ecological diversity has produced different forms of pastoralism:Settled pastoralists: They live mainly in one place and use nearby grazing areas. Shrinking routes and grazing areas: Pastoral routes pass through landscapes used for agriculture, forests, wildlife conservation, tourism, roads, settlements and other infrastructure. Every seasonal grazing right under the Act becomes an individual, transferable ownership right. Seasonal routes may cross several villages, forest divisions or districts, while the institutional process is often organised around fixed local jurisdictions. Public policy should neither romanticise mobility nor assume that permanent settlement is the only route to development.