ABSTRACT
Although this work concerns the formation of community, the Rabhas indeed already exist 'out there' as a separate people. They regard themselves as a jati (community) of their own and are also seen as such by others. With the right information or guidance you would probably be able to find your way to one of the Rabha forest villages. The people there would also confirm that you have come to a Rabha village and not a village of any other jati. Further by their physical appearance, you will probably recognize them as different from the Bengalis in general, they look like the hill people of Northeast India. The government officials in charge of tribal welfare talk about the Rabhas and the other aboriginal tribal communities in Duars as the 'white tribes' or 'white-skinned tribes'. The other category of tribals in the district are accordingly called the 'black tribes' (English in original); this refers to the communities once brought from Chotanagpur as tea garden coolies. The Forest Department is of little help here since they pay little attention to the ethnic differences of their work force, i.e. the forest villagers. To them the relevant distinction is instead between those forest villagers with legal status as 'agreement holders' and those who lack such status and are called faltu(s) (a derogatory term meaning unnecessary, unwanted, worthless). The latter are regarded as being without any rights to stay in the reserved forest. Despite this the Rabhas, both agreement holders and faltus, continue to populate Duars' forest. But, as I will discuss in this chapter, even if Rabhas exist it is not simple to identify the Rabha.
