Tribes and Tribal Areas in Himachal Pradesh :
According to Surveyor General of India, the total area of Himachal Pradesh is 55673 square Kilometer which is divided into twelve administrative districts. Out of this total area, 32,271 square Kilometer is measured area according to revenue records of the Pradesh. The total population of Himachal Pradesh according to 2011 census was 6864602 and a density of population is 123 persons per square kilometer. The total scheduled castes population in Himachal Pradesh is 1729252 which is 25.19% of the total population.
The Scheduled Tribe population of the Pradesh which has its concentration in districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi and Bharmour parts of Chamba and scattered in other district is 3,92,126 according to 2011 Census. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India has notified Gaddis and Gujjers residing in merged areas of the State as Scheduled Tribes. More than 31.52%, the State’s tribal population falls under the Scheduled Areas of the State. There are wide variations in Area and Population figures of the districts. The legally classified forest area is 37597 square kilometer viz. 67% of which 21324 square kilometer is culturable forest area. There are 12 districts, 62 Sub-Divisions and 137 Tehsil and Sub-Tehsils in Himachal Pradesh (31-03-2014).
The main stray of the people in Himachal Pradesh is Agriculture on which 65% population depend. The topography being mostly hilly, the type of cultivation is terraced. Percentage of main workers to total population is 30.05 and the percentage of cultivators to total main workers is 57.93. The percentage of Agricultural labourers to total workers is 4.92.
Out of the total geographical area of 55.67 lakh hectares only 5.83 lakh hectares is the cultivable area in the State. Out of total cultivable area an area of 3.35 lac hectare is under assured irrigation. In absence of railways and water transport, roads are the only means of communication in pre-dominantly hill State of Himachal Pradesh.
Tribes in Himachal Pradesh :
Bodh tribe :
The Bodh people, also known as Bhot, are an ethnic group of Himachal Pradesh, India. They are found in Lahaul tehsil, Lahaul and Spiti district, predominantly in the Bhaga and Chandra valleys, but also to a lesser extent in Pattani valley, Miyar Valley, in the upper reaches of Pangi, Himachal Pradesh and Paddar valley, Jammu and Kashmir. Their religion is predominantly Buddhism.
Panwal Tribe :
The Pangwala is a tribal community predominant in the Pangi valley of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
As of 2001, the Pangwalas were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of positive discrimination.
Swangla Tribe :
The Swangla is a tribal community found in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India. They are primarily settled in pattan region of Lahaul sub- division. As per Census of India, the population of Swangla Tribe stood at 9,630 (Males 4829 and females 4801).
As of 2001, the Swangla were classified as a Scheduled Tribe under the Indian government's reservation program of positive discrimination.
Lahaula Tribe :
The Lahaula are a tribal community found in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh.
Kinner tribe :
Kinners are a tribal community found in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. They are also known as Kinnara. The inhabitants of Kinnaur district are known as Kinnauras, Kinara, Kanawara, Kannaura or Kinnaurese. The Word Kinner originated from the two Sanskrit words; Kim + Nara, means, "what kind of strange persons are they?" There are references about Kinners in 'MAHABHARATA' and in the immortal epics of Kalidas. It is believed that the 131st descendant of this dynasty is Raja Veerbhadra Singh, former Chief Minster of Himachal Pradesh. Presently, the Kinner population is confined to Kinnaur district only.
The people of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh have traditionally been referred to as Kinners. The term Kinnauras is also widely used. They live under very harsh conditions, created by the inclement weather and climatic conditions.
Gaddis Tribe :
The Gaddis mainly reside in either sides of the Dhauladhar Range rightly based in the state of Himachal Pradesh. You even find a good number of them living in the Brahmaur Region based in the District of Chamba. The Ravi River has higher region and the Gaddis are even known to be living here. The population is even known to live on the Valley of the River Budhil. Other places where the Gaddis can be discerned include the District of Kangra, the villages of Khaniyara and Tota Rani and these are all places near Dharamsala.
The anthropologists are of the opinion that the Gaddis are known to have a rich and opulent cultural background and the sort of historical significance contribute in the fast and long standing development of the tribal community. There are several myths in relation to the origin of the Gaddi Tribe and these are myths popular in entire Himachal Pradesh. It is also being assumed that the Gaddis are referred to those emigrants who are known to have taken refuge on the lands of the Indian Territory.
Gujjars :
Gujjars live a purely nomadic life. They wander throughout the year in search of pastures for their buffaloes and cows. They live in joint families and are monogamous. They are mostly Muslims. The men keep typical beards and wear turbans. The women wear kurta and pyjama, similar to the Kashmiri Muslim women.
The Gujjars were originally Hindus but were converted to Islam during the reign of Aurangzeb.
Tribal Areas in Himachal Pradesh :
The Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, in their entirety, and Pangi and Bharmour (now tehsil Bharmour and sub-tehsil Holi) Sub-Divisions of Chamba district constitute the Scheduled areas in the State, fulfilling the minimum criterion of 50% S.T. population concentration in a C.D. Block. These are situated in the north and north-east of the Pradesh forming a contiguous belt in the far hinterland behind high mountain passes and are amongst the remotest and most inaccessible areas in the State with average altitude being 3281 metre above the mean sea-level. The most distinguishing mark of the tribal areas in the State is that they are very vast in area but extremely small in population with the result that per unit cost of infrastructure activity is very exorbitant. The district of Kinnaur is located between 310-05’-55” and 320-05’-20” north latitude and between 770-45’-00” and 790-00’-50” east longitude. The District Lahaul-Spiti is situated between north latitude 310-41’-39” and 320-59’-57” and east longitude 760-40’-29” and 780-41’-39”. The Pangi Sub-Division of Chamba district falls between north latitude 320-33’ and 330-19’ and between east longitude 760-15’ and 770-21’ and the Bharmour sub-division of this district is situated approximately between the north latitude 320-11’ and 320-41’ and between the east longitude 760-22’ and 760-53’. Snow glaciers, high altitudes and highly-rugged terrain, criss-crossed by fast flowing rivers and their tributaries are the peculiar features of the Tribal areas.
These areas have also been declared as Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution by the President of India as per the Scheduled Areas (Himachal Pradesh) Order,1975 dated the 21st November, 1975. The five ITDPs are Kinnaur; Lahaul; Spiti; Pangi and Bharmour. Except Kinnaur which is spread over 3C.D. Blocks, rest of the ITDPs ( Integrated Tribal Development Programme ) comprise 1C.D. ( Community Development ) Block each.