Indeed, many conditions that contributed to this sad episode have not abated. There have been continued massacres of Kashmiri Hindus in the state during the last two years. During the last two months over 170 innocent civilians have been killed by terrorists in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir Sentinel, Sept 1 - Oct 15, 1998, Oct 16-31, 1998). Militants torched seven houses, six of them belonging to migrant Kashmiri Pandits, at Brah-Anantnag and Badgam district (Tribune India, Nov. 9).

 What are these lives being sacrificed for and at what price? Does this mean that in the current global community human life has no meaning? India and Pakistan can continue to establish a dialogue but it will not stop the killings. With each day passing by without any hope - it will be difficult for Kashmiri Pandit refugees to go back to their homes. It is the chicken and egg dilemma of which should come first. Should the state be free of terrorists and then refugees should return or should refugees return first and then worry about a terrorist-free state? History has shown that Kashmiri Pandits have adjusted themselves with the situation they were faced with. This is what this community is doing after ten years of being as refugees.

 Refugees have tried to visit the Kashmir valley for assessing the possibility of returning to their homes, which they abandoned almost 10 years ago, at the start of the Pakistani-supported Kashmiri insurgency. One and all who visited Kashmir narrated the same stories (Kashmir Sentinel, Oct 16-31, 1998) and that is: most of the houses of Kashmiri Pandits been burnt down to ashes, houses in the villages that have not been burnt have been vandalized, fixtures stolen, and only walls are standing. Temples have been damaged and vandalized. The local Muslims have illegally occupied some of the houses of Kashmiri Pandits. It is reported that three different families, meaning a family in each floor have illegally occupied some of the three-floor houses. There are also reports that there have been five families illegally living in a two-storey house. The State Times - a newspaper from the valley ran a story on how the J & K Police is facilitating illegal occupation of Kashmiri Pandit houses by receiving money from illegal occupants each month for their safety. The Pandit refugees are faced with problems of rebuilding or repairing their houses, fighting with the government to get illegal occupants out of the houses, and establishing new relationships with the neighbors whom they may not know at all. A Kashmiri Pandit is ready to go through a long drawn process of recovery provided the security of livelihood and property and safety of life is guaranteed. However, the longer the current situation is allowed to continue, the less reversible it will become for nearly 300,000 victims of ethnic cleansing.