71 years of Independence and the challenges that lie ahead

As we celebrate 71 years of Independence from the British, challenges that await us as a sovereign state are formidable. On that account, there seems to be hardly anything to be celebrated. As politicians, military officials, ambassadors as well as common people gather to the Galle Face Green to celebrate independence, the challenges that confront us as a nation remain, blurring our modest achievements into oblivion.