Explained: The Hatti community in Himachal and the politics behind granting them Scheduled Tribe status

The Centre will soon accord the Hatti community of Himachal Pradesh in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST), said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.On Tuesday, the Himachal chief minister had met Home Minister Amit Shah in the Capital, following which he made the announcement that the Centre has promised to undertake “positive” efforts in this direction.On the heels of this announcement, we take a look at who are the Hattis and why has their demand to be included in the ST list taken so long.The Hatti community?The Hatti community is largely concentrated in the Trans-Giri area of the Sirmaur district. Members of the community have settled in and around Shimla as well as the Solan district over time.The community, which has over three lakh people, is named after their age-old professional practice of selling their home grown crops at small markets called ‘Haat’ in nearby cities.Till date, the members of this community haven’t been mainstreamed and most are dependent on animal rearing and agriculture. They even still follow the Khumbli — the traditional council despite the establishment of the panchayat system.It is reported that the Hatti community of the Trans-Giri region of Himachal Pradesh share social as well as cultural similarities with the Jaunsar community of the Jaunsar-Bawar area of Uttarakhand. This is because the Trans-Giri area and Jaunsar Bawar area, were part of the erstwhile Sirmaur princely state.Incidentally, those who crossed over to the Jaunsar Bawar area, which is now in Uttarakhand enjoy tribal status since 1967. However, the Hatti community of the Himachal weren’t accorded this status and that’s when the struggle began.Demand for ST status For the past 55 years, the Hatti community has been demanding for inclusion in the ST list.Kundan Shashtri, a leader representing the community, had told The Wire that the demand for ST inclusion is correcting an old wrong."People on our side are bereft of it for so many years," he was quoted as saying to The Wire.He further stated that the matter wasn't only linked to their community’s economic survival but was also vital for the protection of their culture and social identity.“Granting the ST status would ensure that our people come into the mainstream and ensure a special budget for the area’s overall development,” he told The Wire.In 2009, for the first time, the BJP had made a promise in its manifesto to grant ST status to the Hatti community, a demand that is yet to be fulfilled.Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur explaining the reason for the delay said to News18, “There were many glitches in sending the details to the Registrar General of India. However, these have been removed now.”Politics of itThe decks being cleared for the Hatti community’s inclusion in the ST list is significant as the state of Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls later in the year.Experts believe it’s the BJP’s way of wooing various key communities in the state ahead of the polls.While small in number, the Hatti community is politically important. The community has the potential to influence the outcome of as many as nine out of the 68 Assembly constituencies in the state, mostly around the Shimla region.News18 reported that fulfilling the demand will have a direct impact on the Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Renuka, and Pachhad Assembly constituencies.However, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur refuted claims of this being a political move, saying, “We have been working for this demand for a long time.”In 2017, the BJP had won 44 of the 68 Assembly seats.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.