Hatti community of Himachal Pradesh

A brief note on the community-

• 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 ( the southernmost district of Himachal Pradesh) by two rivers called Giri and Tons. 
• Giri is a tributary of the Yamuna river that flows in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
• The Tons is also a tributary of the Yamuna and flows through Garhwal region in Uttarakhand, touching Himachal Pradesh. 
• Tons divides it from the Jaunsar Bawar area of Uttarakhand. 
• There is a fairly rigid caste system among the Hattis — the Bhat and Khash are the upper castes, while the Badhois are below them. Inter-caste marriages have traditionally remained a strict no-no.
• The Hattis are governed by a traditional council called Khumbli, which like the khaps of Haryana, decide community matters. 
• The Khumbli’s power has remained unchallenged despite the establishment of the panchayati raj system.
• The community has been making the demand for Tribal status since 1967, when this status was accorded to people living in the Jaunsar Bawar area of Uttarakhand, which shares a border with Sirmaur district.