List of nicknames of prime ministers of India

This is a list of nicknames or public names of prime ministers of India that were or are in common usage.

Jawaharlal Nehru
Full name: Jawaharlal Nehru


 * Pandit, for his Kashmiri Pandit ancestry.
 * Chacha (Hindi: uncle), as he was better known among children.

Lal Bahadur Shastri
Full name: Lal Bahadur Shastri


 * Man of Peace
 * Nanhe (Hindi: little) was his childhood nickname.

Indira Gandhi
Full name: Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi


 * Priyadarshini (Sanskrit: dear to the sight)
 * Mother India, a biographical book written on her by Pranay Gupte.
 * Iron Lady, Henry Kissinger described her as an "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her tough personality since her lifetime.
 * Durga, given by the opposition leaders after she led victory against Pakistan in 1971 war.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Full name: Atal Bihari Vajpayee


 * Ajatashatru (Sanskrit: having no enemy), for having a perpetual good-man aura and no enemies even from the opposing sides.
 * Bhishma Pitamaha, a nickname that is given to him by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

H. D. Deve Gowda
Full name: Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda


 * Mannina Maga (Kannada: son of the soil), for iterating that he is down-to-earth and cares for the poor.
 * Dodda Gowdaru (Kannada: Senior Gowda), for disambiguating him from his children or anybody else with the Gowda title.

Narendra Modi
Full name: Narendra Damodardas Modi


 * NaMo, a portmanteau derived from his first and last names.
 * Modiji, a heavily used colloquial term to refer to him ("-ji" suffix is added in Hindi as a mark of respect to elders, and hence, Modi-ji).
 * Feku, a term used often by members of the opposition to criticise his outlandish promises, u-turns and lies in campaign.