2013 was an explosive year when it comes to politics in India. Just a few months shy of the General elections, the barely year old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stormed the scene by perhaps exceeding their own expectations and winning an unprecedented 28 seats in the Delhi State Assembly Elections. In the course of the build up to these elections, the online world was replete with comments, war of words and slugfests between the supporters of the AAP, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress. In the midst of all these, people involved in these virtual brawls have managed to coin ingenious terms that you cannot afford to ignore. Some of these are outright hilarious.
Image copyright: AFP
Let’s take a look at some of these words that did not exist in the English lexicon before 2013. Note that these words are not yet officially a part of English.
1. AAPtard
An AAPtard is a term used by BJP supporters and anyone opposed to the AAP to refer to a blind AAP supporter – usually on Twitter and on the comments section of popular news websites. In fact, the term is so popular, there are multiple Twitter accounts dedicated to it.
2. Feku
Coined initially by Congress supporters, Feku is the term used to address BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, the current CM of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. While BJP loyalists hail him as the man who singlehandedly developed Gujarat economically, his detractors use the term “Feku” to describe him. Feku in crude Hindi translates to someone who is a liar. While the term Feku existed in Hindi since quite some time, there is no doubt that it has gained popularity in 2013.
3. Pappu
Like Feku, the word “Pappu” too has been a part of Hindi since time immemorial. While it is quite common as a pet name, it is thought to have a negative connotation as it is also used to call out to someone of low intellect. Pappu is the name given to Rahul Gandhi, the son of Sonia Gandhi, the Italian born leader of the Indian National Congress.
4. Khujli/Khujliwal
Khujli is the Hindi term for an itch. Khujli is used by people opposed to Arvind Kejriwal to call out to him in a slightly derogatory manner.
5. NaMo
NaMo is the shortened version of Narendra Modi. It is extensively used by BJP supporters in various meme’s and online campaigns highlighting Narendra Modi’s achievements. Congress and AAP supporters use the term in posters that criticize Modi.
6. JokePal
Jokepal is the term used to criticize versions of the much sought after Anti-Corruption legislation called the LokPal Bill that was recently passed by the Indian parliament. Most recently, some members of the AAP had termed the bill a JokePal, criticizing it for being too weak.
These were some of the funny terms that I came across on social media and all over the web pertaining to the current political situation in India. Do you guys have any others that I should add here?
