Cities limping back to normal after having their peace destroyed may lull leaders into thinking it’s okay, but perhaps that would be the difference between a government that wants to come back and one that does not. Peace is considered a boring, unexciting slogan, but it is the only one the Congress has at the moment.

It is amazing that a party that had MP Rahul Gandhi hold forth on Kalawati in the Lok Sabha, that wanted to build cross-party alliances on peace, growth and modernity (aka nuclear deal) has allowed someone like Narendra Modi to articulate an assertive I-will-keep-you-safe discourse. If it has to be relevant, the UPA must challenge that discourse and tie in the peace agenda with other things. It should try listening in to discussions in Muslim groups or homes — all livid at a kid-glove (read pusillanimous) approach that is ostensibly justified so as to not ruffle “Muslim” feathers, and the inference that they are all implicated as a community. If only there was tough-peace on display, one that loudly says that the cycle of hate, terror, shoddy, prejudiced investigations and then again hate and terror, will be snapped. If there was a just and meticulous overview of what happens after, justice and zero-tolerance towards killers of all sorts, wardrobes and ministerial tailors wouldn’t get discussed in the media.

seema.chishti@expressindia.com