Hopes surge for return of Hindu exiles to Kashmir

An attempt is being made to see if some of the half million Hindus who fled Kashmir 13 years ago to escape Islamic separatist violence can return to their homes, land and businesses.

The National Commission for Minorities, an independent organisation, is planning to take small batches of Kashmiri Hindus, known as pandits, to the Kashmir Valley to test safety and local attitudes.

The first trip will be arranged later this week after talks with the Jammu and Kashmir government. The commission's vice-chairman, Tarlochan Singh, said he had been encouraged by the prime minister's office saying 'any move to resettle the Kashmiri pandits in their home state is welcome'.

Mr Singh said the aim of the visit was to let Kashmiri pandits check if their homes and businesses remained, discuss solutions if the buildings had been occupied by neighbours and gauge the mood of the community.

'The idea is to give them a chance to see how they feel themselves about going back, how safe they would feel and how local people feel about their return,' Mr Singh said.

Fearing for their lives when Islamic militants turned violent, Kashmiri pandits fled in panic. They believed they would be gone for a few weeks. But 13 years later, about 350,000 of them are still living in appallingly overcrowded and insanitary refugee camps in Jammu and New Delhi. Whole families - parents, in-laws and children - eat, sleep, cook and study in a tiny room.