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
Jana Gana Mana enthralled the college students while Margaret Cousins, then vice-principal of the college (also an expert in European music and wife of Irish poet James Cousins), both requested Tagore to create an English translation of the song and set down the musical notation to the national anthem, which is followed only when the song is sung in the original slow rendition style. Tagore translated the work into English while at the college on 28 February 1919, titled . The college adopted Tagore's translation of the song as their prayer song which is sung till today. Before it was the national anthem