Implementation of tribal status law: Hatti youngsters sit on hunger strike in Himachal

Nahan (Himachal), December 25

A group of youngsters demanding implementation of the Hatti tribal status law have been sitting on a hunger strike in the Sataun village of Himachal Pradesh’s Paonta subdivision, officials said on Monday.

Some members of the Sataun Nav Yuvak Mandal organised a protest march and began a 24-hour hunger strike on Sunday.

About three lakh people from the Hatti community in 154 panchayats of the Transgiri area in Sirmaur district have been protesting for the past four months to demand implementation of the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Act, 2023.

The law allows members of the Hatti community to be entitled to all benefits provided to Scheduled Tribes, especially reservation in educational institutions and government jobs.

Hundreds of volunteers of the Sataun Nav Yuvak Mandal assembled in the village and raised slogans against the state government for non-implementation of the tribal status law for Hattis.

The gazette notification for the law was issued by President Droupadi Murmu on August 4 after the constitutional amendment was passed by Parliament.

The youngsters warned the state government of a stiff agitation in the coming days if the law is not immediately implemented.

Tarun Sharma, president of the organisation, told PTI on Monday that the state and the Union governments have advertised more than 12,000 vacancies but Hatti youngsters are not able to apply for these posts under the tribal quota due to non-availability of tribal certificates.

The Hatti youngsters are enraged due to the state government’s attitude and for not issuing the tribal certificates, he added.

Twenty youngsters are sitting on the hunger strike, Sharma said.

On December 16, more than 5,000 residents had taken part in a “Hatti Maha Rally” held in the district.