TAG: GS 1: ART AND CULTURE
THE CONTEXT: Today, almost every Hakki Pikki family in Pakshirajapura village near Mysuru is manufacturing and marketing traditional Adivasi hair oil. About a hundred brands are manufacturing this oil, as claimed by director of Mysuru’s DEED (Development through Education) NGO after spending over three decades advocating for tribal rights.
EXPLANATION:
- Hakki Pikki entrepreneurs have been actively reaching out to celebrities and influencers and hashing out deals with them.
Hakki Pikki Tribe
- Unlike most scheduled tribes, the semi-nomadic Hakki Pikkis (bird catchers) have travelled outside the country in search of fortune.
- Many have settled in African countries like Sudan and become herbal healers.
- This exposure has helped them thrive and tap into their innate entrepreneurial spirit.
- The Hakki Pikki is distinct from other tribal communities. Unlike others who may be more reserved, the Hakki Pikkis are not shy and quickly adapt to modernity, largely due to their nomadic nature.
- They are not confined to one place and have a natural inclination to explore.
- The Hakki Pikki migrated to Karnataka from parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan at least a hundred years ago.
- After bird catching and hunting were outlawed under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, they turned to marketing traditional medicine.
- They travel to African countries, trade in herbal medicine and oil, offer massages and charge high fees where people also tend to believe in herbal products for hair care rather than chemicals.
- Today, there are as many as 11,892 Hakki Pikkis in Karnataka and the Western states of India.
- Community members claim that at least 70 per cent of them are cashing in on the Adivasi hair oil trend. Several tribe members also said that the Karnataka government pointed them in this direction.
- “State government officials encouraged us to take our oil to the people. After that, we started promoting it face-to-face in nearby villages and districts,” said an oil businessman from the community.
- But it is the celebrity endorsements that have brought them the kind of fame big FMCG companies can only dream of.
- The Hakki Pikki tribe gained national attention in 2023, when over 181 members, who were travelling to Sudan to sell herbal products in May that year, were caught in a 16-month war.
- Intense clashes had broken out in Khartoum in April 2023—between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
- The Indian government evacuated the Hakki Pikkis under Operation Kaveri, and Prime Minister met the rescued individuals in Shivamogga.
- The Hakki Pikkis are frequently detained abroad for not having the required documents, or travelling on expired visas.
