Vande Mataram the novel containing it was banned by the British government, but workers and general public defied the ban, many went to colonial prisons repeatedly for singing it, and the ban was overturned by the Indians after they gained independence from the colonial rule. In 1950 (after India's independence), the first two verses of the song were declared the "national song" of the Republic of India, distinct from the national anthem of India, "Jana Gana Mana". The first two verses of the song are an abstract reference to one's mother and motherland, they do not mention any Hindu deity by name,
Of Thee I Sing (book) Of Thee I Sing (book) Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters is a children's book by Barack Obama, with illustrations by Loren Long. It is described by the publisher as "a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation." The stories of thirteen Americans are told in the book: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Neil Armstrong, Sitting Bull, Cesar Chavez, Billie Holiday, Maya Lin, Albert Einstein (who was born in Germany), Georgia O'Keeffe, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and Jane Addams." The proceeds from the sale of the book will