Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo often rendered at patriotic occasions in India, and is one of the most prominent patriotic songs alongside "Jana Gana Mana" (the national anthem), "Vande Mataram" (the national song), and "Sare Jahan se Accha". "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" was written by Kavi Pradeep to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died during the Sino-Indian War. Pradeep was deeply moved by accounts of casualties of the war. In late 1962, while taking a walk along Mahim beach in Mumbai, Pradeep received a sudden bout of inspiration. He borrowed a pen from a fellow walker, and wrote the opening stanza of the song
National anthem of a national anthem outside of its country, however, is dependent on the international recognition of that country. For instance, Taiwan has not been recognized by the Olympics as a separate nation since 1979 and must compete as Chinese Taipei; its National Banner Song is used instead of its national anthem. In Taiwan, the country's national anthem is sung before instead of during flag-rising and flag-lowering, followed by the National Banner Song during the actual flag-rising and flag-lowering. Even within a state, the state's citizenry may interpret the national anthem differently (such as in the United States some view the