Babu is a historical title of royalty and nobility in the Indian subcontinent used by rulers and chieftains of many princely states.[1][2][3] It is derived from Raja (king, prince or chief). Compound titles include babu saheb and babuji.
In British India, baboo often referred to a native Indian clerk. The word was originally used as a term of respect attached to a proper name, the equivalent of "mister", and "babuji" was used in many parts to mean "sir" as an address of a gentleman; their life-style was also called "baboo culture" often also humorously appealed as "babuism". The British officials treated baboos as workers who had both Indian and British connections.[4] Since the mid-20th century, the term babu is frequently used pejoratively to refer to bureaucrats of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and other government officials,[5] especially by the Indian media,[6] while the Indian bureaucracy is called "babudom", as in the "rule of babus", especially in India's media.[7][8][9]
"Babu" in Swahili is like "papu" in Greek.[10] It is cognate with "baba" in Slavic languages, and ultimately with "papa" in Germanic and Romance languages. In Nepali, Eastern Hindi/Bihari, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Bengali, Telugu, and Oriya languages, it is a means of calling with love and affection to spouses or younger brothers, sons, grandsons etc. It can be found in the urban trend to call "babu" to girlfriends or boyfriends, or common-friends to symbolize deep love or dearness. In many Bengali families fathers and sons are usually named babu, as a matter of intimacy, with daughters or mothers.
This is an archetypal satirical caricature of an native Indian clerk (babu), a Bengali dapper dandy whose fashion sense combines British and Indian mores with dissonant results. Imitating his British masters, he sits cross-legged on a Victorian chair, holding a hookah, sporting a Prince Albert hairstyle, and wearing European buckled shoes. His posture models popular photo studio portraits of the time. Kalighat painters ridiculed these vain babus as foppish nouveau riche.
If you takes a domestic survey, the Indian babu would run a close second to the neta as the most hated species. An international survey would, maybe, catapult him into the top spot, because most outsiders deal with our bureaucracy more than the neta, and they may not have had very pleasant experiences with babugiri.
So what happens to this babu when he is unleashed on to the multitude of hapless citizens, waiting and begging for governance? Armed with an alert mind, tough training, high intellect and drive and a penchant for hard work, he or she can potentially change the face of the nation. Alas, nothing of this sort happens. Most of them blame the political class. And in turn most of the political class would blame the babus . Which is the bigger evil, netagiri or babugiri ?
The fairly permanent babu does precious little. He bides his time buttressing the ego of his superior and, at the same time, gradually but surely, developing a formidable ego of his own. The director general looks down upon the director to such an extent that he has forgotten his own rise through the same channel.
The first step to solving a problem is to accept that there is a problem. This first step has never ever been taken in our independent history. Because the problem is the babu himself, and he himself has to suggest to the leader about the source of problem. Can there be a bigger example of conflict of interest?
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