It would have been instructive to heed an incident that took place many years ago, one which led to a debate on the rights of the child (enshrined in the Constitution and the statute books) and a landmark judgement that preached tolerance. Back in 1985, some Jehovah’s Witnesses children were expelled from a school in Kottayam, Kerala, for refusing to sing the national anthem under the instruction of the deputy inspector of schools. A millenarian Christian denomination, the faith proscribes its followers from saluting the national flag or sing the anthem, among other things. Following an appeal, the Supreme Court stepped in and directed the school to readmit the children, with these words, “Our tradition teaches tolerance, our philosophy teaches tolerance and our Constitution practises tolerance, let us not dilute it.”