Adopted as India’s National Song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950, Vande Mataram was initially composed independently and later included in Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel ‘Anandamath’, published in 1882. First sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Congress Session in Calcutta.

Once, our lanes hummed with ‘Ram Ram’ and ‘Adaab’. Now, they crackle with expletives so inventive they'd make a gangster blush.

Our cynical neighbour Sharmaji was lamenting how the old circus troupes had vanished. “In our days, there was Kamla Circus, Oriental Circus, Gemini, Apollo... Oh, what fun! Clowns, elephants, acrobats!” he sighed.

Despite numerous efforts, the captains of India's current political system have not been able to free themselves from Mahatma Gandhi's life ideals and Gandhian ideology. Congressmen never truly embodied Gandhi's principles, and Hindutva thinkers have been irritated by the name Gandhi since the beginning.

Bollywood films have created numerous misconceptions about fairness that result in the sale of tons of Fair & Lovely cream every day. In the pursuit of fair skin, people try various remedies. Due to their dark skin, children are often given names like Kalia, Kalicharan, and Bhura, among others. Even Lord Krishna asked his mother, "Why is Radha fair, and why am I dark?" Truly, the curse of colour discrimination has plagued Indian society for ages.

Political science textbooks state that the foundation of democracy rests on the principle of ‘equality before the law’. Article 14 of the Indian Constitution also affirms this. Still, in reality, this principle is trampled upon by those who pretend to be the ‘guardians’ of justice and governance—judges, governors, politicians, bureaucrats. These individuals manipulate the law to their advantage because they enjoy special privileges.