Aam Aadmi (, ) — literal translation: " ordinary man" (''ām'' meaning ordinary + ''ādmī'' meaning man) — is a Hindustani colloquial expression and the equivalent of "the

Average Joe The terms average Joe, ordinary Joe, regular Joe, Joe Sixpack, Joe Lunchbucket, Joe Snuffy, Joe Blow, Joe Schmoe (for males), and ordinary Jane, average Jane, and plain Jane (for females), are used primarily in North America to refer to a comple ...

." The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

based its 2004 election campaign on the ''aam aadmi'' theme. The party's slogan for the election was ''Congress ka Haath, Aam Aadmi ke Saath'' ("the hand of the Congress is with the common man"). In 2007, the Congress launched its ''Aam Aadmi Ka Sipahi'' ("the Common Man's Soldier") campaign to popularize the programmes of its UPA government. The expression was also adopted by the

Aam Aadmi Party The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP, ) is a List of political parties in India, political party in India. It was founded on 26 November 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his then-companions, following the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement against then gover ...

, formed in 2012. At that time, the Congress objected to the newly formed party's name, claiming that the ''aam aadmi'' has been synonymous with the Congress since 1885. "Mango man" is an absurd translation of the phrase (''aam'' is also the Hindi word for "mango"). In 2012, Robert Vadra was criticized by activists, when he mocked them as "mango men in banana republic". In 2014, the new prime minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

directed that

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

change its long-standing Maharaja logo for one utilising ''aam aadmi''.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Hindi words and phrases Indian political slogans Indian National Congress campaigns Indian general election campaigns

See also

References