Gnomes On Dope

Partridge’s Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English:wallah, in Anglo-Indian (hence in Army) compounds –e.g., competition wallah– is simply a chap, a fellow: late C. 18-20. Only in certain (mostly, joc.) compounds (e.g., amen-wallah, base-wallah) is it eligible…

And British English A to Zed has it as
A servant or employee charged with the performance of a particular service. thus, the member of the household who worked the punka(h) was known as the punka(h)-walla(h), and so on… Applying the term to American situations, walla(h) would appear to come out simply as -man: the individual who repairs your typewriter is the typewriter-man; cf. iceman, barman, etc. A bag-wallah, in the old days, was a traveling salesman. Nowadays the term is either old fashioned or jocular, depending on its use.

And Sahibs, Nabobs and Boxwallahs: a Dictionary of the Words of Anglo-India has (as it probably should) the last word:

A suffixed morpheme expressing relation, denoting a person who does any act, performs any function, or is charged with any duty or belongs to any trade or profession, place, etc. Europeans commonly use it as a noun equivalent to ‘man’, ‘agent’, ‘chap’, ‘fellow’, etc. Used by Anglo-Indians in such hybrids of English-Hindustani or Hindustani-Hindustani as Competition wallah [1856], an East India Company official selected by examination; box wallah [1834], an itinerant pedlar [and, by extension, a European commercial traveller or businessman]; punkah-wallah [1864], a menial who kept the old cloth punkah going; lootie wallah [1782], a member of a gang of thieves; howdahwallah [1863], an elephant used for passengers; amen-wallah [19th-20th C.], an army chaplain, and by extension any reverend gentleman; base-wallah [1915], a soldier employed behind the lines, not in the front line; jungle-wallah [1826], a man of the jungle, uncivilized; Empire-Day wallahs, flag-wagging jingoists [Edmund Candler, Siri Ram Revolutionist, 1912]; oont-wallah-sahib, ‘a camel-keeping gentleman’ (Deccan Herald, 6 March 1984). poultice wallah [1870], a doctor’s assistant, a para-medical; loose-wallah [1850], a rascal, thief; lemonade-wallah [1890], a teetotaler; janker-wallaah [1920], a soldier under punishment; jake-wallah [1900], a ‘meths’ addict; bilti-wallah sahib [1907], one who acts quickly; ground-wallah [1915], an R.A.F. non-flying man; goo-wallah [1900], a man of the sanitaary squad; gen wallah [1936], an information officer; jerrypurana-wallah [19th-20th C.] a dealer in old newspapers and bottles; Kabaddi-Wallah, Daddi-Wallah; barrow wallah, burra wallah [1914] the Big Man, the chief, No. 1; char-wallah [1933] one who supplies tea or a teetotaler; crab-wallah [1900], an evil person (fr. Hindi karab, ‘bad’); admi-khane-wallah [1875], a man-eating tiger;. Agra-wallah [1776], a resident of Agra; banghy-wallah [1810], a Sweeper, Pariah, Untouchable; Sani-wallah [1875], a riding-camel-keeper. Pani-wallah = Beastie; Topi-wallah, Readymade Clothes Wallah [1894], an itinerant pedlar or ready-made clothes; Daddi-wallaah [Hindi. dari, cotton stuff, carpet], old clothes and junk man. Gao-wallah [1855], a cowherd; Ghar-wallah [1855], a maaster of the house; Putty-wallah [1850], an office messenger who wears a belt [Hindi patti]; And three related to special compounds, each one representing a particular form of Dharna (extortionate beggar): (1) Tasmiwallah, one who twists a strap around his neck and throws himself on the ground, a ’strap-rigger’. (2) Doriwallah, who thretens to hang himself, unless he gets satisfaction; (3) Dandi-wallah, who rattles sticks and stands cursing until he gets what he wants…

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