News highlights:
Lok Sabha clears Bill to give ST status to Himachal’s Hattie community.
Key Takeaway:
The Hattee community is spread across 154 panchayats and four Assembly constituencies — Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Pachhad, and Shri Renukaji.
Hattis of Himachal Pradesh:
- About:
- The Hattis are a close-knit community that 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.
- Location:
- 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.
- Caste system:
- 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.
- Literacy:
- Due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas lag in education and employment.
- The community lived in a remote, inaccessible, and hilly terrain near the Uttarakhand border.
- Governance:
- The Hattis is governed by a traditional council called Khumbli, which like the khaps of Haryana, decides community matters.
- The Khumbli’s power has remained unchallenged despite the establishment of the Panchayati Raj System.
- Population:
- The community is spread across 154 panchayats and four Assembly constituencies -Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Pachhad, Shri Renukaji
- And had a population of 2.5 lakh as per the 2011 Census, which has now increased to about 3 lakh.
Scheduled Tribe definition:
- Article 366 of the Constitution:
- According to Article 366(25) of the Constitution, Scheduled Tribes are those communities scheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution.
- Article 342 of the Constitution:
- The Scheduled Tribes are the tribes or tribal communities or part of or groups within these tribes and tribal communities which have been declared as such by the President through a public notification.
- Criteria Scheduled Tribes:
- The Constitution is silent about the criteria for the 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.
- Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs):
- There are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number, known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), characterised by:
- Pre-agriculture level of technology.
- Stagnant or declining population.
- Extremely low literacy.
- Subsistence level of the economy.
- There are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number, known as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), characterised by:
Government legislative safeguards for STs:
- The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the Rules 1995 framed there under.
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 (in respect of Scheduled Tribes);
- The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act1986;
- States Acts & Regulations concerning alienation & restoration of land belonging to STs;
- Forest Conservation Act 1980;
- Panchayati Raj (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996;
- Minimum Wages Act 1948.
Government Initiatives:
- Eklavya Model Schools
- TRIFED
- Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana
- Development of PVTGs
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Hindu