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Every time the two warring and nuclear neighbours tone down their rhetoric and make an effort for peace, Kashmir blossoms. On April 19, 2003, when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee again extended his hand to Pakistan, relief surged across Kashmir.

These Kashmiri children fool around for the camera after a refreshing swim in the Dal Lake in Srinagar. At the height of militancy, the lake was out of bounds for everyone, except the security forces who would constantly patrol it.

Photograph: Ami Vitale/Getty Images