In British India, Babu came to mean a native Indian clerk. The word was used as a term of respect attached to a proper name, like "Master" or "Mr." and Babuji was used in many parts of India meaning "Sir." But later Babu, without the suffix, was generally used contemptuously as signifying a semi-literate native, with a mere veneer of modern education. In the early 20th century the term Babu was frequently used to refer to bureaucrats and other government officials, especially by the Indian media.