Rajya Sabha on July 26 passed a bill to accord the Scheduled Tribe status to the Hattee community in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh, a demand which was long pending for last 50 years. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill 2022 was passed in the Upper House of Parliament by voice vote. Once the bill gets the President's nod, members of the Hattee community will be entitled to all benefits which are provided to the Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.
Who are Hattees?
People of the Hattee community are mainly three lakh people in about 150 panchayats in the Sirmaur district who reside in the trans-Giri area of Himachal Pradesh. The Hattis got their name from the tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat, wool, etc. at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns. There are two Hatti clans, in Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar. The Hattis are governed by a traditional council called ‘khumbli’, on similar lines of ‘khaps’ in Haryana, which decides community matters. According to the 2011 Census, the total tribal population of Himachal Pradesh is 3,92,126, which is 5.7% of the total population of the state.
What are their Demands?
The closely knitted community has been demanding Schedule Tribe status since 1967 when tribal status was accorded to people living in Jaunsar Bawar in Uttarakhand. Because due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas of Himachal Pradesh have been lagging behind in both education and employment sectors.
So, if the bill gets President Draupadi Murmu's nod, members of the Hattee community will be entitled to all benefits which are provided to the Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.
