India, Nov. 16 -- In a democracy, symbols are sacred, but their interpretations, adoptions, and usage are human and therefore political. India's national song, Vande Mataram, embodies that paradox. It is not just a melody of devotion, but the spirit of a civilisation that has always revered the land as its mother, and Indians as her children. Yet, for decades, the Left and the Congress establishment have sought to decide who may speak of that reverence, who may interpret it, who must stay silent, and especially, who should forget about it.

What is unfolding today is not "dirty" politics, as some Left outlets claim, but the long-overdue democratisation of conversations about our country and our past. For too long, Congress has monopolised...