Wallah, or -wala or -vala (-wali fem.), is a suffix used in a number of Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali or Marathi. It forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an agent noun from a verb. For example, it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from or what they wear (Topiwala), for instance:

• Dabbawala, lunch box deliverer
• Chaiwala, a boy or young man who serves tea
• Dishwalla, satellite TV installer, from "dish" for parabolic antenna
• Rickshawala, a rickshaw driver
• Punkawallah, the servant who keeps the punkah or fan going on hot nights
• Lep wallah, a cotton carder
• Kabadiwalla, a waste picker or scrap dealer
• Puncture wala or puncher wala, a tyre repairer

Wala or Vala was also used in Parsi and Dawodi Bohra surnames, suggesting the profession or a place name. For example:

• Amroliwala
• Daruwalla, seller of daru or Persian for 'wine'
• Mithaiwala, sweetseller

Wala is also used to indicate a specific object or thing among several:

• chota wala, 'the small one'
• dusra wala, 'the second one'
• agla wala, 'the next one'

In British military jargon of the first half of the 20th century, a "base wallah" is someone employed at a military base, or with a job far behind the front lines.

Ian McDonald has a short story, "Sanjeev and Robotwallah" (2007), and there is a character named General Robotwallah in the 2010 novel For the Win by Cory Doctorow.