| Personality | Nickname |
|---|---|
| Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | Mahatma, Bapu, Father of the Nation |
| Dadabhai Naoroji | Grand Old Man of India |
| Bal Gangadhar Tilak | Lokmanya |
| Rabindranath Tagore | Gurudev |
| Pt Madan Mohan Malviya | Mahamana |
| Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan | Frontier Gandhi, Badshah Khan |
| Vallabhbhai Patel | Sardar, Iron Man of India |
| Lala Lajpat Rai | Lion of Punjab (Punjab Kesari) |
| Chittaranjan Das | Deshbandhu |
| C.F. Andrews | Deenbandhu |
| Subhash Chandra Bose | Netaji |
| C. Rajagopalachari | Rajaji, C.R. |
| Sarojini Naidu | Nightingale of India |
| C.N. Annadurai | Anna |
| Jayaprakash Narayan | Loknayak |
| Purushottam Das Tandon | Rajarshi |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Panditji, Chacha |
| Raja Rammohan Roy | Morning Star of Indian Renaissance |
| Dr. Rajendra Prasad | Ajatshatru |
| Sheikh Abdullah | Sher-e-kashmir |
| Lala Lajpat Rai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal | Lal, Bal, Pal |
| Milkha Singh | Flying Sikh |
| P.T. Usha | Payolli Express |
| Sunil Gavaskar | Little Master |
| M.A.K. Pataudi | Tiger |
Subhash Chandra Bose was the first to do so. He said the following in his message to the Mahatma on Azad Hind Radio, Rangoon on 4th June, 1944, "...Father of our Nation in this holy war for India's liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes."
The title was first applied to Bose in Germany in early 1942 by the Indian soldiers of the Indische Legion. The Indische Legion or 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment was a military unit raised during the Second World War intended to serve as a liberation force for British-ruled India. The title stayed forever.
Dadabhai Naoroji was the oldest leader among Indian nationalists. When he was 61 years, he became the second President of Indian National Congress in 1886. He became its President for the third time in 1906 at the age of 81 years. He was considered a mentor to Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Mahatma Gandhi.
Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan belonged to North West Frontier Province of British India. He had ideological similarities with Mahatma Gandhi and was also very close to him. Hence he was known as Sarhadi Gandhi meaning Frontier Ganghi.
Indian society in 18th century was shackled by some abhorrent and inhuman practices like sati, child marriages and untouchability. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was a firm believer in an ideal society free from social inequality. He established the Brahmo Samaj which preached monotheism and was against animal sacrifices. He was opposed to child marriage and favoured widow remarriage. He fought for the abolition of Sati. It was because of his efforts in making the Indian society free from social evils, he is known as the Morning Star of Indian Renaissance.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad was a gentleman and a selfless person. Because of his behaviour, he enjoyed cordial relations with everyone. Since he had no enemies, he was referred to as Ajatshatru by Mahatma Gandhi
Sarojini Naidu was a poetess par excellence who wrote delightful poems. It was because of lyrical quality of her poems, she was known as Nightingale of India.
Vallabhbhai Patel was given the title of Sardar by Mahatma Gandhi after his success in Bordoli Satyagraha. After independence, Sardar Patel executed the herculean task of integrating hundreds of small kingdom into a single nation. For this he used talks, tact and force as the situation demanded. This earned him the title of Iron Man of India.
Lala Lajpat Rai was a part of the extremist group within the Congress which was opposed to the moderate group led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Extremists wanted complete independence from the British and were against any leniency being shown to them. The radical and fearless approach of Lala Lajpat Rai earned him the title of Punjab Kesari.