The Hatti community lives along the Giri and Tons rivers in southeastern Himachal; they feel their development has been stalled due to absence of tribal status
Leaders of the Hatti community inhabiting the Trans-Giri region of Himachal Pradesh are hopeful that reports of the area being declared Fifth Schedule are true. If yes, it would be the fulfilment of a long-standing demand.
The Kendriya Hatti Samiti or Central Hatti Committee said a team led by the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah this April.
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Shah had reportedly said then that the Hatti community had been registered as a Scheduled Tribe by the Registrar General of India and that the Centre would soon declare the Hattis’ area as being under the Fifth Schedule.
“If we get the status of a tribe, it will give impetus to the development works in the area, as well as open employment opportunities for the people of our community,” Ami Chand Kamal, president of the Central Hatti Committee, told this reporter.
“We have been peacefully raising this demand for a long time. But now, the Hatti community has decided that if there is no right, then no vote,” Ramesh Singta, chief spokesperson of the Shimla unit of the Central Hatti Committee, said.
Tribal status
The Hatti community lives between the Giri and Tons rivers, both of which flow in the south-eastern part of Himachal Pradesh and finally into the Yamuna.
The Tons forms the border between Himachal and Uttarakhand. The Hattis in the Trans-Giri region share many linguistic and cultural similarities with the people living in the Jaunsar Bawar region across the Tons in Uttarakhand.
The Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar regions were once part of the princely state of Sirmaur. But in 1814, Jaunsar Bawar was conquered by the British.
A map showing the Giri river in Himachal Pradesh
The modern-day borders of Himachal were drawn only in 1972. The people of Jaunsar Bawar had already been given Scheduled Tribe status 55 years ago. Since then, development indices on both sides of the Tons show a clear divide.
The Hatti community consists of 14 clans and is spread across 164 Panchayats in the Trans-Giri region. The 0.35 million-strong community has been demanding tribal status since 1967. That is when the Central Hatti Committee was formed.
In 2009, the issue of declaring the Hattis as tribal was included by the Bharatiya Janata Party in its manifesto.
In 2014, current Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had announced grant of tribal status to the Hattis during his visit to Sirmaur district.
Several delegations led by the Central Hatti Committee, the local member of Parliament and chief minister have met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah in the last four years, urging them to expedite the matter.
Ten communities — Bhot, Gaddi, Gujjar, Lahaula, Swangla, Beda, Kinnaura and Lamba — have been given tribal status in Himachal Pradesh.
The state’s Lahaul-Spiti district that borders Tibet and the Union Territory of Ladakh is a Fifth Schedule Area.
The Kinnaur district adjoining Tibet and the Bharmour Pangi area of Chamba district adjoining Jammu and Kashmir are also Fifth Schedule Areas.
According to the 2011 Census of India, the total tribal population of Himachal Pradesh is 392,126, which is 5.7 per cent of the total population of the state.
Some 23,655 square kilometres of the state’s 55,673 square kilometre area (42.49 per cent) comes under the Fifth Schedule.
The Schedule assures the establishment of Tribes Advisory Councils, with three-fourths representation from the tribes in the area, in states with Scheduled Tribes but without Scheduled Areas.
“If we get this status, then development will be accelerated in our area. We will get good schools, health facilities, good roads, due to which the economy and standard of living of the people of the area will increase,” Singta said.
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A Hatti community meeting. Photo: Rohit Prashar.png)
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