Tribes and Tribal Areas

Scheduled Tribes are about 5.7% of the state's population, concentrated in Kinnaur, Lahaul & Spiti, Pangi and Bharmour — the areas covered by the Fifth Schedule and by special tribal sub-plan funding.

• Gaddi — transhumant shepherds of Bharmour (Chamba) and Kangra. Devotees of Shiva; migrate with flocks over the Kugti and Jalsu passes to Lahaul in summer. Dress: the chola and dora (a long woollen rope belt).
• Gujjar — buffalo herders, Muslim by faith, moving between the Shivaliks and the higher pastures; Chamba, Kangra, Sirmaur.
• Kinnaura — of Kinnaur; the classical Kinnara of the epics; both Hindu and Buddhist practice, historically polyandrous.
• Lahaula — of Lahaul; Swangla of the Pattan valley; predominantly Buddhist with Hindu elements.
• Pangwala — of the Pangi valley, Chamba, the most isolated tract in the state.
• Bhot / Bodh, Khampa, Jad, Beda, Lamba — smaller trans-Himalayan groups.
• Hatti — of the Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur; granted Scheduled Tribe status in 2023, a recent and frequently asked development.

Themes

• Polyandry — historically practised in Kinnaur, Jaunsar-Bawar and parts of Sirmaur; now largely gone. Y. S. Parmar's doctoral work was on it.
• Transhumance and grazing rights; conflict with forest and wildlife regulation.
• Cold-desert development — the tribal sub-plan, the Border Area Development Programme, and connectivity after the Atal Tunnel.