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Afghan Sikhs return to India at 'end of an era'

Sikhs and Hindus thank Indian PM for helping them to escape after the Taliban took over Kabul
Afghan Sikhs return to India at 'end of an era'

Men carry the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, after it was brought back by Afghan Sikh evacuees at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Aug. 24. (Photo: AFP)

Published: August 26, 2021 08:39 AM GMT
Updated: August 26, 2021 08:51 AM GMT

The evacuation of Sikhs and Hindus from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to India marks a new chapter in the history of Sikhism.

On Aug. 24, three copies of Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs, were flown out of Kabul and will be now retained with religious sanctity in Delhi and other parts of the country.

India’s federal urban development and petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri, a Sikh, was among those who received the holy books.

Puri carried one of the holy books on his head and called himself “a blessed one” for the opportunity to perform the solemn duty.

Among the 75 persons arriving in the county on Aug. 24 were 46 Afghan Sikhs. The previous day had seen the arrival of 23 Afghan Sikhs. The return of the members of this warrior and agrarian community after having lived in Afghanistan for ages is a significant development.

Paramjeet Singh Sarna, a Delhi-based Sikh leader and Akali Dal politician, said the latest developments in Afghanistan and the return of his community members mark “the end of an era of Sikh history in Afghanistan.”

I feel sad for Hindus and Sikhs as we have been uprooted. But the conditions of local Afghans, especially women, are pitiable

The history of Sikhism in Afghanistan dates back to the 15th century when the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak, visited the region, said an Afghan lawmaker.

Senator Anarkali Honaryar, the Sikh woman politician who was among those flown out of Kabul in an Indian Air Force aircraft on Aug. 22, said Sikh shrines in Afghanistan in cities like Kabul and Kandahar are vulnerable after the Taliban takeover.

Sikh community sources said there are six gurdwaras in Kabul, five in Kandahar and one each in Jalalabad and Ghazni. These include the oldest Gurdwara Khalsa in Shor Bazaar locality in Kabul.

In fact, the name of the locality is a Hindi word meaning "noise," they said. Moreover, in Ghazni, there are a few old handwritten copies of the holy Guru Granth Sahib.

Nirmal Singh, chief of the Khalsa Diwan (a body of priests), has now sought the intervention of the Narendra Modi government to ensure the upkeep and sanctity of Sikh shrines and sacred books left behind in Afghanistan. “There is every possibility of their desecration,” he said.

These places of worship and sacred books survived through the first stint of Taliban rule in the 1990s. But the same cannot be guaranteed now, community members fear.

An Afghan Sikh woman told UCA News: “I feel sad for Hindus and Sikhs as we have been uprooted. But the conditions of local Afghans, especially women, are pitiable. The American influence had a sober impact and the status of women was changing. People were hoping for miracles. But all the good things were short-lived.”

Sikhs from India have been undertaking pilgrimages to Kabul and Ghazni since the 18th and 19th centuries but now that won’t happy anymore, she said while speaking on condition of anonymity.

Echoing her views, a Muslim evacuee said: “It is a story of a pipe dream gone haywire.”

Many others said those who were been left behind will face Taliban high-handedness. Women will be confined to homes without access to education and men will not even be able to shave, they said.

A Kabul-based trader after landing in India said: “The sad part of the tragedy is that Afghanistan has been handed over to the same people whom the Americans claimed to have ousted.”

This law should be enforced soon to help reduce the hardships of Sikhs and Hindus

It was a lucky breakthrough for the Sikhs and Hindus who could escape to India and for this they thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government. A number of Sikhs who had taken shelter inside a gurdwara in Kabul were initially stopped by the Taliban from taking a flight.

One of them referred to the much-criticized Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) enacted by the Modi government in December 201 to help refugees from neighboring countries. “This law should be enforced soon to help reduce the hardships of Sikhs and Hindus,” he said.

The CAA allows the granting of Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan arriving on or before Dec. 31, 2014, while excluding Muslims.

Indian opposition leaders and the European Union have said the CAA discriminates against Muslims from the three countries.

But Puri said: “Recent developments in our volatile neighborhood and the way Sikhs and Hindus are going through a harrowing time are precisely why it was necessary to enact the CAA.”

The return of Afghan Sikhs will likely cast a shadow on the forthcoming state elections in Punjab expected to be held in March next year.

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