The story
- Punjabi · borrowed fromਭਾਪਾ“father, elder brother”
- English todaybhapa
From Punjabi ਭਾਪਾ (bhāpā, “father, elder brother”). The term originated in the Potohari dialect of Punjabi spoken around Rawalpindi, and was brought to India by Sikhs, particularly of Khatri background, who fled the 1947 Rawalpindi massacres which occurred prior to Partition. This history continues to form the background of this word as used today.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.