Hattee community gets ST status

August 7, 2023

Hattee Community, with over 2.53 lakh population of Trans Giri tract (GIRIPAR) in Sirmaur district, has been finally granted Schedule Tribe status after a long drawn battle.
The battle took off slightly late as Girirpar areas ought to have got the ST status in 56 years back itself when Bawar-Jaunsar hills of the then Uttar Pradesh and now Uttarakhand were declared tribal by the Union Government.
Historical facts and current circumstances reveal that villagers of Girirpar were deprived of their right despite the fact that their traditions, primitive culture of polyandry and ancient type of festivals, economic backwardness, illiteracy, etc. were identical to their brethren who got a privileged ST status in 1967.
Hattees are a close-knit community and derive their name from the tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat, wool etc. at small markets.