Vande Mataram "I praise to thee, Mother". The "mother goddess" in later verses of the song has been interpreted as the motherland of the people – Bangamata (Mother Bengal) and "Bharat Mata" (Mother India), though the text does not mention this explicitly. It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement, first sung in a political context by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 session of the Indian National Congress. It became a popular marching song for political activism and Indian freedom movement in 1905. Spiritual Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri Aurobindo referred it as "National Anthem of Bengal". The song and
Shall the Dust Praise Thee? Shall the Dust Praise Thee? "Shall the Dust Praise Thee?" is a science fiction short story by American writer Damon Knight. It was first published in the anthology "Dangerous Visions" (1967). His agent refused to publish it and suggested the "Atheist Journal" in Moscow might buy, it but no one else would. God arrives on Earth, ready to inflict the Day of Wrath on mankind, but finds that all life has already disappeared. The angels tell God that there has been a great war between England, Russia, China, and America which has wiped out all life on earth, and that