Arpan Roy is an Indian expatriate based in Singapore. An experimental physicist, he is also the founder and illustrator of The Bong Sense, a popular online magazine.

(CNN) The story of independent India is a story of three generations.

My grandfather, who was born in what is today Bangladesh, had to run away from a place he called home for much of his life after the brutal partition of the subcontinent.

While the last souvenir of British colonialism was overthrown, generations of history and heritage were abandoned in a mass migration that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

A new country, a democracy, took shape in front of his eyes.

With a constitution that guaranteed equality to all castes and charismatic leaders who heralded a new future, India completed its transformation from ancient civilization to modern nation.

Read More