New Delhi, Aug. 14 -- Tomorrow is India's 80th Independence Day. In just over a year, it will be four score years to the day India embarked on a momentous journey as an independent nation to fulfil its "tryst with destiny."

Eighty years is a milestone for individuals, but for a country, it is time to draw a fresh breath and embark with renewed vigour on the unfinished tasks that lie ahead.

So how should We the People of this great multi-hued nation commemorate freedom from foreign rule?

With pomp and splendour, for sure. But also by taking a few minutes for quiet reflection. On whether we, as citizens, have fulfilled our part of the grand bargain. Or have we, with constant harping on narrow sub-national identities of caste, language, r...