I sometimes stay up at night, paralysed by fear, wondering what would happen to India if it weren’t for those brave people in the judiciary. They battle against tremendous odds, spend valuable hours of their lives trying to ensure that justice is served, and do this without any signs of gratitude from the rest of the country. There are no railway stations or cricket stadiums named after them, nor are their photographs stamped on birth certificates or Aadhaar cards to remind us of their constant dedication. And yet, they persevere, putting things right and making India better, one exhausting court case at a time.

The latest example of their commitment to fixing major problems for the rest of us came via a decision related to two lions. For those who missed the story, those animals were living in a zoo-cum-animal reserve somewhere in West Bengal. They had been given names that weren’t vetted by people presumably qualified to do these things, and the result was chaos after a few well-meaning nationalists found that the names were blasphemous. These intrepid patriots allegedly received complaints about hurt sentiments from across the country, which surprised me at first because I had no idea the lions were famous. Then again, I was probably uninformed because I don’t hang around with the right kind of people. I was grateful to the nationalists, of course, because it is only this kind of attention to detail that ensures our borders are safe and our culture is protected. It’s why foreign powers only encroach upon Indian territory when our nationalists are busy examining animals in zoos.