Context:
The Centre is set to consider the Himachal Pradesh government’s request for inclusion of the Hatti community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the state.
Relevance:
GS II- Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Who are the Hattis?
- Hattis societal norms
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.
- Due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas lag behind in education and employment.
Hattis societal norms
- Hattis are administered by a traditional council known as a Khumbli, which, like Haryana’s khaps, decides on community issues.
- Despite the establishment of the panchayati raj system, the Khumbli’s dominance has remained unquestioned.
- Inter-marriages are widespread between the two clans, which have comparable customs.
- The Hattis have a rather tight caste system, with the Bhat and Khash being the higher castes and the Badhois being the lower castes.
- Inter-caste marriage has long been frowned upon.
-Source: Indian Express
