Hattis of Himachal Pradesh

• 30 Apr 2022

Why in News?

Centre is considering the Himachal Pradesh’ government’s request for inclusion of the Hatti community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the state.

• The community has been making the demand since 1967, when tribal status was accorded to people living in the Jaunsar Bawar area of Uttarakhand, which shares a border with Sirmaur district.
• Their demand for tribal status gained strength because of resolutions passed at various maha Khumblis over the years.

Who are the Hattis?

• The Hattis are a close-knit community who got their name from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat and wool etc. at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns.
• The Hatti community, whose men generally don a distinctive white headgear during ceremonies, is cut off from Sirmaur by two rivers called Giri and Tons.
  • Tons divides it from the Jaunsar Bawar area of Uttarakhand.
• The Hattis who live in the trans-Giri area and Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand were once part of the royal estate of Sirmaur until Jaunsar Bawar’s separation in 1815.
  • The two clans have similar traditions, and inter-marriages are commonplace.
• There is a rigid caste system among the Hattis — the Bhat and Khash are the upper castes, while the Badhois are below them.
• Inter-caste marriages have traditionally remained a strict no-no.
• Due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas lag in education and employment.
• The Hattis are governed by a traditional council called Khumbli, which like the khaps of Haryana, decide community matters.
• The Khumbli’s power has remained unchallenged despite the establishment of the Panchayati Raj System.

What is a Scheduled Tribe?

• Article 366 (25) of the Constitution refers to Scheduled Tribes as those communities, who are scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution.
• Article 342 says that only those communities who have been declared as such by the President through an initial public notification or through a subsequent amending Act of Parliament will be Scheduled Tribes.
• The list of Scheduled Tribes is State/UT specific, and a community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in one State need not be so in another State.
• The Constitution is silent about the criteria for specification of a community as a Scheduled Tribe.
  • Primitiveness, geographical isolation, shyness and social, educational & economic backwardness are the traits that distinguish Scheduled Tribe communities from other communities.
• There are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), who are characterized by:
  • Pre-agriculture level of technology.
  • Stagnant or declining population.
  • Extremely low literacy.
  • Subsistence level of economy.
• Government Initiatives for STs:
  • The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA).
  • The Provision of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.
  • Minor Forest Produce Act 2005.
  • SC And ST (Prevention Of Atrocities) Act.
  • Tribal Sub-Plan Strategy are focused on the socio-economic empowerment of STs.

Source: IE