Paradox of Hatti Community: Quest for Tribal Status and Identity

The present study investigates the socio-political complexities and protracted struggle of the Hatti community in the Trans-Giri region of district Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh for seeking recognition a Scheduled Tribe status. The study provides an exhaustive and historical analysis of the Hattis by tracing their inception from the medieval Sirmaur princely state to the contemporary legal struggle. The core of the “Hatti Paradox” lies in the stark administrative disparities between the Trans-Giri’s Hattis and their counterparts in the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Uttarakhand state. Despite sharing an identical cultural, linguistic and geographical heritage by the two regions, the Jaunsar-Bawar region got tribal status in 1967, while the Hatti remained deprived from the same over the five decades. This narrative examines the Hatti quest not merely as a demand for reservation benefits, but as a deeper pursuit of cultural validation and territorial identity. The study explores the traditional practices of the Hatti community to mobilize the local people through Khumli, Maill, (traditional council), Thek, Banja and Daand system. It critically addresses the internal paradoxes and conflicts of the OBC and Dalit communities within the Hatti fold, who have the fear of dilution of the benefits of the existing status. By synthesizing ethnographic history of the both regions with recent legislative provision contained in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes), Order (Second Amendment) Bill and the law passed by parliament, the study explore the intricate relationship between state-making, administrative categorization and the preservation of indigenous identity in the Himalayan borderlands of the both regions with special focus on Hatti community of Trans-Giri region.