Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the only prime minister to generate the hope for a real breakthrough in the Kashmir issue when he said talks with separatist Hurriyat Conference will be held within the ambit of insaniyat (humanity).
Addressing a rally in Srinagar on April 18, 20003, Vajpayee said, ''Hurriyat kay saath insaniyat kay dairay main baat hogi (talks with Hurriyat Conference will be held within the ambit of humanity).''
The visit was in complete contrast to his May 2002 trip that happened in the wake of the assassination of Hurriyat Conference leader Abdul Gani Lone, the Kaluchak massacre in Jammu and military build-up on the frontier in the wake of December 13, 2001, Parliament attack.
He also offered Pakistan an olive branch in the same rally. "As the prime minister of the country I wanted to have friendly relations with our neighbours and I went to Lahore, but it was returned with Kargil,'' he had said. ''We still invited General Pervez Musharraf to Agra but again failed. We are again extending a hand of friendship, but hands should be extended from both the sides. Both sides should decide to live together. We have everything which makes us have good relations."
''I believe the gun is no solution to problems. It would only kill people and would not solve any problem,” he had said.
The time had come to change Kashmir's fate, he had said. "Sitting in Delhi we are concerned about Kashmir." The audience responded with an applause.
Referring to separatists, he had said not only our doors but also our hearts are always open to them.
Vajpayee made the statement after Hurriyat Conference refused to hold talks with New Delhi.
Three days later, he told the Lok Sabha, “I assured the people of Jammu and Kashmir that we wish to resolve all issues, both domestic and external, through talks. I stressed that the gun can solve no problem, brotherhood can. Issues can be resolved if we move forward guided by three principles of insaniyat, jamhooriyat, Kashmiryat (humanity, democracy, and peaceful coexistence).”
The statement generated a lot of hope after years of bloodshed in the Kashmir. Vajpayee's approach on Kashmir came to be known as Vajpayee doctrine, which every chief minister has been invoking for resolving the Kashmir issue.
On January 22 and March 27, 2004, the then deputy prime minister L.K. Advani met a delegation of the Hurriyat Conference. Nothing was materialised but the talks helped calm the atmosphere in Kashmir.
The talks were held in the backdrop of a ceasefire at the Line of Control between India and Pakistan. The ceasefire announcement was made by Pakistan on November 23, 2003. India quickly reciprocated.
The talk between Centre and Hurriyat Conference failed to cut ice on Kashmir as home ministry refused to grant any concession to the separatists.
The Centre, under Vajpayee's prime ministership, had rejected the 2002 autonomy resolution passed by the NC government led by Farooq Abdullah in the state assembly. The home ministry had said Jammu and Kashmir already enjoy considerable autonomy.
Vajpayee is also credited with honouring his commitment of holding free and fair polls that he made in his Independence Day speech in 2002. The election, widely hailed as the fairest ever, brought the PDP-Congress government to power, dethroning the NC after 30 years.