Babu is a historical title of royalty and nobility used by many rulers and chieftains in theIndian subcontinent.[1][2][3]
Rani is the title for the wife of a Babu or a female monarch. It also applies to the wife of aRaja. Compound titles includeBabu Saheb andBabuji.
InBritish 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 ofIndian Administrative Service (IAS) and other government officials,[5] especially by the Indian media,[6] while theIndian bureaucracy is called "babudom", as in the "rule of babus", especially in India's media.[7][8][9]
InNepali,Hindi/Bihari,Bhojpuri,Maithili,Bengali,Telugu, andOdia 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.
On the island ofMauritius the wordBabu-ji refers to the warrior community within theIndo-Mauritian community. This community consists mainly ofBihari Mauritians, whose ancestors landed on the island asCoolies or indentured sugar cane field labourers during the 1810–1968 British colonial rule.[10][11]
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