Visibly left out in the journey of Himachal Pradesh’s progress, poor people in the trans Giri belt in Sirmaur district of the state are forced to swing back to come forth.

Seven decades after independence, they are demanding tribal status for the area.

The plea taken is that over 2.5 lakh people in 127 Panchayats in this tough terrain across the Giri River in Sirmaur have a tribal like lifestyle and their customs and culture is different from the mainstream.

As also, the similar adjacent pocket of Jaunsar Bawar in Uttrakhand got the tribal status from Centre in the late 60s, but trans Giri Sirmaur did not get it for indifferent state leaders then, and even after that, failing to take up the case effectively.

The trans Giri area in Sirmaur includes Shillai, Sangrah, Rajgarh, Kamrau and parts of Paonta Sahib, with dominance of Hatti community (referred to as a tribe). 

 It presents a perfect picture of political neglect in terms of development, despite the fact that founder, Chief Minister of HP, Dr YS Parmar came from Sirmaur.  “What else can we do? The local politicians have always taken advantage of our unawareness. The Scheduled Tribe (ST) status would atleast get us earmarked funds from Central government for development,” said locals in Shillai, one of the most backward sub-divisions in India.

“It’s true. The area has been ignored all these years. The onus is on the political party, which ruled the state and even Sirmaur for long. The tribal status will help these people join the mainstream, whether development or jobs,” BJP MP from Shimla, Virender Kashyap told The Statesman, who has taken up the issue with Centre recently.

The state government has also been lobbying for it with Centre for long, but in vain.

The ground scenario is pathetic. Bad roads, poor facilities in health institutions and ill-equipped schools continue to ail trans Giri belt of Sirmaur.

The villages did get link roads in the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) over time, but the condition of main roads, which are not metalled in large stretches, speaks much about official apathy. The people, who could afford to go out of the interior area, have never looked back. Those, who could not, are extremely poor. Low on awareness, literacy and employment, they are mostly dependent on subsistence agriculture, grow garlic and ginger or do petty jobs. “A typical problem is that people here traditionally believe in show off in marriages and festivals. They borrow money from local businessmen on high monthly interest rate, mortgage their land, and are ultimately caught in the debt trap,” said some high ups, stressing the need for social reforms in the area.

The state’s tribal area so far includes Kinnaur, Lahaul Spiti and parts of Chamba.