AP Photo

The shameful departure of thousands of people originally from the North-East but settled in other cities - has forced India into an existential soul-searching conversation, as she turns a slightly-depressed 65. Our secularism, our capacity to find a pan-Indian identity that rises above religion and region, our belief in the ability to co-exist happily in a multi-faith, multi-lingual society - is what has defined our self-image since Independence. It is our secular self-confidence that argued in favour of granting asylum to persecuted minorities from Pakistan who might seek refuge. We argued then that the nature of the Pakistani State, the subsequent creation of Bangladesh, the sectarian violence against Shia Muslims, the brutal discrimination against the Ahmadis were evidence that...