Cabinet approves addition of four tribes to ST list

Cabinet approves addition of four tribes to ST list

#GS-02 Social Justice

For Prelims

About Hatti tribe:

  • The Hatti’s are natives to the Tans-Giri region of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district.
  • They derive their names from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat, and wool, etc. at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns.
  • Hatti men wear a distinctive white headgear on ceremonial occasions as a part of their tradition.
  • Their settlements are in the basin of the Giri and Tons rivers, both of which are tributaries of the Yamuna.
  • There are two Hatti clans, in Trans-Giri and Jaunsar Bawar, who have similar traditions, and inter-marriages between the clans are common.
  • However, Hattis are known to follow rigid caste system with Bhat and Khash as the upper castes, and the Badhois as lower caste, and inter-caste marriages are traditionally considered undesirable.
  • The Hattis are governed by a traditional council called ‘khumbli’.

About Narikuravar tribe:

  • Narikuravar or Kuruvikaran are a semi-nomadic tribe, tribe from Tamil Nadu.
  • Narikuravas speak a variation of the Indo-Aryan language group called Vaagri Booli.
  • Narikuravars are broadly sub-divided into two sub-divisions: the buffalo-sacrificers and goat-sacrificers.
  • Narikuravars are said to be the descendants of Romani (Gypsies) people of Europe.
  • They are said to have originated in northern India before migrating to south India.

About Binjhia tribe:

  • The Binjhia also known as Binjhoa,Binjhawar is an ethnic group which have been given ST status in Odisha and Jharkhand but not in Chhattisgarh.
  • The name Binjhia is derived from the word Vindhyas meaning Vindhya Hills and were called Vindhyaniwasi previously.
  • The Binjhia tribe are large and homogeneous and do not allow clan exogamy.
  • They speak Birjia language which is part of the Munda language family and is closely related to the Asuri language.
  • Most of the Binjhia work as farmers however, the Binjhia have no land of their own, and work on other’s land as hired laborers.

SOURCE: THE HINDU