The Centre’s decision to give the Scheduled Tribes (ST) status to the electorally-influential Hatti community in Himachal Pradesh and its proposal to grant tribal status to Sirmaur district, where they are based, are expected to boost the BJP’s chances in the coming Assembly elections. The BJP had swept the 2017 Assembly elections, winning 44 of the 68 seats. The 2022 election, on the other hand, scheduled for November, is turning out to be a three-cornered fight between the BJP, Congress and new-entrant Aam Aadmi Party, which is fresh off the win in Punjab in March. In this backdrop, support of the three lakh members of the Hatti community can prove decisive. While they are concentrated in the four constituencies of Sirmaur district (Shillai, Paonta, Renuka, and Pachhad), they play a significant role in at least nine seats in Shimla and Sirmaur. The ST status, in its final stages of clearance, will also impact 144 gram panchayats. Additionally, if the proposal for tribal status for Simaur is cleared, it will ensure reservation benefits for communities living in the area. The state had earlier submitted a proposal for notifying Trans-Giri in Sirmour district, the Dodra Kwar sub-division of Shimla, areas of Shimla and Kullu as Scheduled Areas. The ministry examined the proposal but did not consider it due to “want of crietria”. Suresh Kashyap, the state’s BJP president, who hails from Simaur, said: "If the proceedings are not cleared in the current parliamentary session, it is likely that an ordinance would be introduced, following which a notification will be issued. The government is looking at the development of all sections of society.” A close-knit community, the Hattis are spread across the Trans-Giri (nestled between the Giri and Tons rivers) and Jaunsar Bawar regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, respectively. The larger area was once part of the Sirmaur royal estate until the British conquered it in 1815. The Trans-Giri Hattis have been seeking reservation since 1967, when tribal status was accorded to members living in the Jaunsar Bawar area. Over the years, the demand kept gaining strength with resolutions passed at Khumblis, which are traditional, powerful councils similar to the Khap panchayats in Haryana. They remain unchallenged by the panchayati raj system. The BJP first recognised the demand during the 2009 Assembly elections by incorporating it in its manifesto, the first party to do so. The community then put its weight behind the party, and the promise kept reappearing in subsequent BJP manifestos. In 2014, then BJP national president Rajnath Singh announced the grant of ST status to Hattis during a rally at Nahan in Sirmaur. The BJP, in the recent past, benefited from the community’s support in the form of gains in parliamentary elections especially in Shimla, which was once a Congress stronghold. The Hattis traditionally sell homegrown vegetables, crops, meat and wool in small markets called ‘haats’, deriving their name from the same. Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar, also the names of clans within the community, have similar traditions. There is a rigid caste system within the Hattis: the Bhat and Khash constitute the upper castes, while the Badhois are below them. Inter-caste marriages among these castes are traditionally frowned upon.
