Entire population in a region of Himachal may get ST tag

July 19, 2022

In News:

The Central government is planning to grant ‘tribal’ status to the Trans-Giri region in Sirmaur district.
The proposal, if it cleared, will bestow Scheduled Tribe status on all the communities living in this designated area.

What’s in today’s article:

Scheduled Tribes in India (Statistics, Criteria, Constitutional provisions, Programmes, etc.)
News Summary (Demands of Hatti community)

Scheduled Tribes in India:

According to the 2011 Census, the Scheduled Tribes account for 104 million representing 8.6% of the country’s population.
The essential characteristics of these communities are:

Primitive Traits; Geographical isolation; Distinct culture; Shy of contact with community at large; Economically backwards

Government of India set up Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 1999 after the bifurcation of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
As in the case of the Scheduled Castes, the Plan objective of empowering the tribals is being achieved through a three-pronged strategy of: Social empowerment, Economic empowerment & Social justice

What are the constitutional provisions for tribals in the country?

Art. 15(4): Special provisions for advancement of other backward classes (it includes STs);
Art. 29: Protection of Interests of Minorities (it includes STs);
Art. 46: The State shall promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes, and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation;
Art. 350A: Instruction in Mother Tongue
Art. 350B: Special officer for linguistic minorities;

Art. 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and beggar and other similar form of forced labour;
Art. 24: Forbidding Child Labour.

Art.244: Provisions of Fifth Schedule shall apply to the administration & control of the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in any State other than the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura which are covered under Sixth Schedule;
Art. 275: Grants in-Aid to specified States (STs&SAs) covered under Fifth and Sixth Schedules of the Constitution.

Art. 330: Reservation of seats for STs in Lok Sabha;
Art. 332: Reservation of seats for STs in State Legislatures;
Art. 334: 10 years period for reservation (Amended several times to extend the period.);
Art. 243D: Reservation of seats in Panchayats;
Art. 371: Special provisions in respect of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Article 342 of the Constitution:

Under Article 342(1), the President may with respect to any State/Union territory, and where it is a State, after consultation with the Governor thereof, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities.
- The list of Scheduled Tribes is State/UT specific and a community declared as a Scheduled Tribe in a State need not be so in another State.
Under Article 342(2), Parliament may by law include in or exclude from the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in a notification issued under clause (1) any tribe or tribal community or part of or group within any tribe or tribal community.

Special Programmes & Enactments:

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 was passed.

This act recognized the rights of the communities that dwell in the forests (including Scheduled Tribes), over land and other resources.

The provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, Minor Forest Produce Act, 2005 and the Tribal Sub-Plan strategy are focused on the socio-economic empowerment of Scheduled Tribes.

News Summary:

The Central government is planning to grant ‘tribal’ status to the Trans-Giri region in Sirmaur district.
While the demand was earlier about giving ST status to the Hatti community, the Centre now is seriously considering the option of extending it to the entire Trans-Giri region.

About Hatti Community:

The Hattis is 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 region of Uttarakhand.
Due to topographical disadvantages, the Hattis living in the Kamrau, Sangrah, and Shilliai areas lag behind in education and employment.

Demand for ‘tribal’ status:

The community has been making the demand since 1967, when tribal status was accorded to people living in the Jaunsar Bawar area.
In 1967, their family members who were in Jaunsar were declared tribals but those who remained in Himachal were not given the same status or benefits.
In March 2022, the state government sent a detailed ethnographic proposal to the Union Home Ministry, seeking the inclusion of the Hatti community of the trans-Giri area in the ST list of Himachal Pradesh.

See All