SUHAIL KHAN
SRINAGAR, Nov 5: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has paid an emotional tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, lauding his visionary approach to the Kashmir issue and expressing regret that Vajpayee’s roadmap for peace was not fully realized.
Speaking in the J&K Assembly, Abdullah reflected on Vajpayee’s legacy, emphasizing how different the region might have been had Vajpayee’s initiatives been followed through.
“Vajpayee was a rare statesman, a true visionary who grasped the complex fabric of Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah stated, underscoring the former Prime Minister’s efforts to promote peace through diplomacy and cross-border connections. He recalled landmark initiatives, including the Lahore bus journey and Vajpayee’s visit to Minar-e-Pakistan, aimed at building goodwill with Pakistan.
Abdullah praised Vajpayee’s famous slogan of “Jamhooriyat, Kashmiriyat, and Insaniyat” (Democracy, Kashmiri Identity, and Humanity), describing it as an embodiment of the spirit of Kashmir. “Vajpayee didn’t just utter these words; he lived them,” he remarked. “No leader before or after has embraced these ideals with the same conviction.”
One of Vajpayee’s key initiatives, according to Abdullah, was opening cross-border routes to reunite divided families, fostering deeper social and cultural bonds among the people of Jammu and Kashmir. “He believed in healing wounds through people-to-people connections, but unfortunately, today we are seeing these distances widen,” Abdullah lamented, in a veiled reference to recent policy shifts, including the revocation of Article 370.
Reflecting on missed opportunities, Abdullah pointed out that Vajpayee had even considered engagement with the National Conference’s autonomy aspirations, signaling a commitment to dialogue. “If we had stayed true to Vajpayee’s vision, the challenges we face today might have been different,” he observed.
This assembly session was especially poignant for Abdullah, as it marked the last occasion for tributes from Ladakh and Kargil, now a separate union territory, underscoring how deeply the region has changed.
