Originally Posted by Yaatri
Hadji is one who has done Hadj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, a long arduous trip for most, was indeed an accomplishment in the old days. In one of the Indian languages there is a saying involving the word Hadji, which sort of means I scratch your back, I will scratch yours. You call me Qazi or Qadi ( judge or an officer who presdies presides over matters of law) and I will call you Hadji.
Totally OT but...
Ethnic slurs sometimes live a very strange life cycle. For instance, when I was a child, the ethnic slurs of the jour (in the seventies) were "....!" and "Nig Nog!". You could be riding your bike and a passing motorist would blow his horn and shout "F'ing ....!". Fumbling for change on the bus - driver gets impatient and could yell "Come on you Bloody ....!". Slightest altercation with anyone in authority "Oi, ....!, listen to me..." I recall it was an extremely insulting phrase at the time, but now young English lads of South Asian ancestry openly call themselves ....'s. I suppose this is similar to the development of the "N" word
I'm quite sure once the word Haji is popularized in America by returning soldiers, 20 or 30 years down the road, young Americans with Middle Eastern ancestry will be calling one another Haji. None of this makes it right to use etnic slurs in the first place. They are extremely hurtful words that represent bigotry.