Centre adds new tribes to the list of Scheduled Tribes

Key updates-

• The Hatti tribe in the Trans-Giri area of Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh, the Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran hill tribes of Tamil Nadu, Gond community from Uttar Pradesh and the Binjhia in Chhattisgarh, who were listed as ST in Jharkhand and Odisha but not in Chhattisgarh, were the communities newly added to the list.
• In Karnataka inclusion of communities, namely, ‘Betta-Kuruba’ community as a synonym of ‘Kadu Kuruba’ at serial number16 in the state’s ST list, has been suggested.
• After the Bill becomes an Act, members of the communities newly listed in the revised list of Scheduled Tribes of the states will also be able to derive benefits meant for STs under the existing schemes of the Government.

Hatti tribes of Himachal Pradesh-

• 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. 

Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran hill tribes of Tamil Nadu-

• The Narikuravar is an indigenous community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 
• During British rule in India they were placed under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, and hence stigmatized for a long time, including after Independence. 
• However, they were denotified in 1952, though the stigma continues.
• The names Narikoravan, Narikuravan and Narikoravar represent one and the same community. 
• Kurivikkaran is an additional colloquial name of this community in Tamil Nadu due to one of their traditional occupations of ‘trapping birds, especially sparrows’ (Kurivi in Tamil denotes sparrow).

Binjhia in Chhattisgarh-

• Binjhia in Chhattisgarh, who were listed as ST in Jharkhand and Odisha but not in Chhattisgarh.
• They are non-vegetarians and agriculture is the mainstay of their economy. They do not eat beef and pork but consume alcoholic drinks including the handia (rice beer).

Gond tribes-

• Gond Tribes can be found in Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal.
• The Cabinet approved a proposal to bring the Gond community residing in 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh, under the ST list from the Scheduled Caste list. This includes the five subcategories of the Gond community (Dhuria, Nayak, Ojha, Pathari, and Rajgond).

Kadu Kuruba-

• The Kadu Kuruba are a tribal people who live in south India. 
• Their name means “tribal people of the forest” in the language of Kannada. 
• Since mediaeval times they have served as soldiers in the armies of south India. 
• Up until recent times they collected and sold honey as their main source of income.