Jaunsar -Bawar is a region in the Garhwal Division of Uttarakhand and a part of Himachal Pradesh. There are two assembly constituencies which come under this region, Chakrata (ST) assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and Kinnaur (ST) assembly constituency in Himachal Pradesh.

In 1967, the Jaunsari community of Uttarakhand was included in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list of Uttar Pradesh by the GoI after a prolonged and sincere effort on the part of the influential local leaders (especially Rajput and Brahmin MLAs of the area) of the community for inclusion of the ‘Jaunsari’ into STs list of the state on the basis of their unique culture and backwardness.

Jaunsar-Bawar is a multi-ethnic area and the broad ethnic categories of the 'Khasa' and 'Kolta' while 'Khasa' includes higher caste communities such as Brahmin and Rajput, 'Kolta' consists of Kolta, Dom, Chamar, Koli and Shilpkar. With the granting of tribal status to the area, a curious situation was developed in which Brahmins and Rajputs, considered "upper castes" in other parts of the country, had been brought under the umbrella of reservations. The extent of Khasas dominance in the Jaunsar-Bawar region due to the reservation policy in the region deprives the Kotlas so much that only Rajputs and Brahmins occupy important positions in the region.

Considering this scenario, the demand for the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Trans Giri area of Sirmaur, also known as “Giripar area” adjacent to Jaunsar-Bawar in Uttarakhand, had gained momentum as the people were no longer prepared to be treated as “poor cousins” of their Jaunsar counterparts which was earlier a part of Sirmaur district.

The Hatti community of Himachal Pradesh was demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status because Hattis in the Sirmaur, share similar culture and socio-economic condition with the Hattis in the Jaunsar-Bawar. The BJP in its 2009 Lok Sabha manifesto promised to give ST status to the Hattis. This led to the consolidation of the community behind the party, which had repeated the promise in its subsequent manifestos.

The BJP has gained support from the Hatti community in the parliamentary elections in Shimla, which was once a Congress fortress. In 2016, then Congress Chief Minister Late. Virbhadra Singh moved a file to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs asking for tribal status to the trans-Giri region, and Dodra Kwar in Rohru on the basis of a study conducted by the Tribal Affairs Institute, Shimla. The Modi govt, however, said that the ethnography report about the Hatti community was inadequate.

Later in March 2022, the Jai Ram Thakur government sent a detailed ethnographic proposal to the Centre, seeking the inclusion of the Hattis of the Trans-Giri area in the ST list of Himachal Pradesh. Their demand of over five decades was met earlier this year by the ruling BJP government at the Centre and the state. On 13 April, the Registrar General of India (RGI) registered Hattis as a Scheduled Tribe. Recently, on 14 September, the Union Cabinet passed it.

The community is concentrated in the four Assembly constituencies in Sirmaur district — Shillai, Paonta Sahib, Sri Renukaji, and Pachhad (all part of the Shimla Lok Sabha seat). With Himachal Pradesh heading to assembly elections on 12th November, BJP is expecting more support from the Hatti community than they were getting since 2009 as the saffron party has been fighting for the rights of the Hatti community and their demand of over five decades was met just 2 months before the Assembly election.