In an address regarding the national song, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar clarified that while he holds a deep love for the motherland and remains willing to chant Vande Mataram a hundred times over, his secular principles place a strict boundary on the recitation of its religious verses. The writer asserted his fundamental right to atheism, explaining that the initial stanzas glorifying the physical beauty and abundance of the land sit in harmony with his ideals, but the subsequent segments that introduce traditional deity figures conflict with his personal worldview.
Refusing to let civic duty be transformed into a compulsory spiritual test, he maintained a distinct separation between authentic national pride and forced religious conformity.
News Edit KV Raman
