Speaker Sumitra Mahajan (from left), RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union minister Rajnath Singh and other dignitaries during the cremation of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at Rashtriya Sthal in New Delhi on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

SRINAGAR: Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s death has been mourned widely by political parties and sections of public in Jammu and Kashmir where the legendary leader is known for his mantra of “Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat aur Kashmiriyat”.

The governor administration declared seven-day mourning and a public holiday in all government offices and educational institutions on Friday to pay homage to the former Prime Minister. Governor N.N. Vohra rushed to New Delhi to pay homage and attend the funeral of Vajpayee “with whom I had served for several years, including during the period he was carrying out a dialogue with all segments in the three regions of the State-Jammu, Kashmir Valley and Ladakh”.

Vajpayee, the veteran leader, an impeccable orator and a poet, had raised the slogan of ‘insaniyat (humanity), jamhooriyat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat (the ethno-national and social consciousness and cultural values of the Kashmiri people)” slogan during his third term as Prime Minister (1999 to 2004) as a roadmap to resolve the Kashmir issue. Though some political commentators say that not much was done on ground to implement the doctrine by his government or his political heirs in power, it has been broadly accepted by mainstream parties and even some separatist groups as a key for doable solution to the issue and for ending the decades-old turmoil in J&K.  

The present incumbent Narendra Modi has been referring to “Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat aur Kashmiriyat” dogma constantly as an option to address the issues in the state. The latest pledge from him came during his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Delhi’s Red Fort on Wednesday, incidentally a day before Vajpayee breathed his last.

The Prime Minister said, “In Jammu and Kashmir, Atal Behari Vajpayeeji had shown us the path - and that path is right. We want to move forward on that path. Vajpayeeji had said we have to move forward to ensure Kashmir’s development on ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriyat”.