To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, 150 students sang the national song at the 18th Tirupati Book Festival in 2026, showing strong patriotic spirit. IISER Tirupati Director Santanu Bhattacharya said, “Critical thinking can never become the job of AI, as the human intellect will always reign supreme.” He assured that reading habits will continue despite AI’s rise. Sumantra Bose, Executive Director of the Netaji Research Bureau and professor at Krea University, recalled how Vande Mataram inspired patriotism during India’s freedom struggle. As a grand nephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, he shared his family’s dedication to freedom. He explained that the song was approved by key leaders including Netaji and Rabindranath Tagore. Officials from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan highlighted the vision of founder K.M. Munshi to encourage book reading through quality publications. Representatives from Bhavan’s Guntur and Bhimavaram units also participated, reinforcing the festival’s focus on culture and knowledge.