The characteristics, behavior, or cultural practices of babus; the mentality and attitudes of the clerical class in South Asia.
From babua plus the suffix -ism. Developed in 19th-century colonial India to describe the distinctive culture of English-educated clerks.
Indian writers and satirists created 'babuism' as a term to mock a specific type of person—the clerk trying too hard to be English while still being Indian—and these satirical works became incredibly popular because everyone recognized someone in the description!
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