I was one of those who had not understood Priyanka’s gesture in its proper light at the time. I had allowed myself to be overpowered by cynicism when I wrote in my column in The Indian Express: “...it is difficult to believe that considerations of political gain had nothing to do with this episode.” However, my views on death penalty have undergone a significant change since then. I now see that compassion and mercy are indeed an active and higher form of non-violence, as preached by all the religions of the world. My one grouse against Sonia is that, during the ten years of UPA rule, when her voice was the most powerful, she did not persuade her government to adopt the same enlightened stand on capital punishment. In 2007, India voted against a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on capital punishment. India did so again in 2012, voting against the UNGA draft resolution seeking an end to death penalty. As many as 140 countries in the world have either abolished death penalty or do not practise it any more. The European Union has made “abolition of death penalty” a precondition for membership. Sadly, India has chosen to be a retentionist state, disregarding the moral message of its own rich religious traditions.