What are the difficulties Sikh community are facing in Afghanistan?

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Recently, a Sikh leader in Afghanistan, Nidan Singh Sachdeva was released on July 18 after being held hostage for almost a month. He was accused of kidnapping the Taliban of Afghanistan, but the Taliban denied the charge.

In recent years, attacks on people from the Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan have increased and their numbers have declined sharply. Sikhs and Hindus are very small minority communities in Afghanistan.

India’s Foreign Ministry has now given a statement that, “India has decided to provide assistance to the Hindus and Sikh community in Afghanistan to return to India, who are feeling threatened with their security.”

The Ministry has expressed concern in its statement that it is a matter of grave concern to target and persecute the minority community of the extremists in Afghanistan due to outside support.

In the month of March itself, there was an extremist attack on a gurdwara in Kabul, in which at least 25 people were killed. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for this attack. Two years ago, Sikhs were attacked in Afghanistan by the Islamic State, in which 19 people were killed.

Who is Nidan Singh Sachdeva

The family of 55-year-old Nidan Singh Sachdeva came to India from Afghanistan in 1990 itself. They live in Delhi but they often go to Afghanistan. When he was kidnapped, he was serving in the Gurudwara of Chamkani district.

After being kidnapped, his wife wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking help. In his letter, he had expressed the apprehension that his husband was abducted by extremists.

Sikhs have to bear the brunt of war

The Sikh community living there has had to bear the brunt of Afghanistan’s war on a large scale. Sikh families settled in other countries in search of a safe place.

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“There were a good number of Sikhs in Afghanistan before the war started. Apart from Kabul, there were businesses and lands of Sikhs in provinces like Kandahar, Ghazni, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktia but many others left the country after the war started. Similarly, hundreds of Sikhs were forced to go to other countries. Some of these European countries went to India. Most of the people of Sikh community left slowly from here. “

He says that Sikhs have a strong presence in Afghanistan, but a large number of them had left the country even in the 70s before the war. Now only a few hundred families of Sikhs are left here.

He says, “It is believed that about 30-40 years ago there were about 2.5 lakh people of Sikh community living in Afghanistan. During that time people of Sikh community were also in government jobs and politics. In Sikh Afghan army, General’s position Have also lived. “

Sikhs have a significant presence in Afghan society

Sikhs have been a part of Afghan society for centuries. Sikhs are having strong interference in the business world of Afghanistan. He was also associated with moneylender work.

Sikhs also have a significant presence in Afghanistan in terms of political representation. There has been a lot of reduction in this after the war.

Saeed Anwar says, “Most educated people who ruled were left from Afghanistan. Three years ago, the Afghan government decided that a seat in Parliament would be reserved for Sikhs, to represent the Sikhs.” After this, a Sikh MP has been formed for the first time. His name is Narinder Singh Khalsa. Apart from this, some Sikhs are represented at small levels. “

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Before joining politics, Narinder Singh Khalsa was a businessman by profession and he had no experience of politics. He is the elder son of Avtar Singh Khalsa.

Avatar Singh Khalsa had made a nomination for the 2018 parliamentary elections in Afghanistan but died in a suicide attack in Jalalabad in June 2018, just a few days after his nomination.

After the father’s death, Narinder Singh Khasla, with the support of Hindu and Sikh community, had nominated him for the parliamentary election in his place. Avatar Singh Khalsa has “lost eight people of his family so far and if the remaining 14 have to die for Afghanistan, we will not back down for this.”

“We will live in this country and will never leave Afghanistan. We will be proud to take chest shots for our country.”

In Afghanistan, Hindus and Sikhs can contest elections for only one seat in the entire country.

Anarkali Kaur became a Honory Senate member a decade ago in the new post-war regime in Afghanistan.

Steps taken by the Afghan government

The Afghan government has also taken some steps in view of this atrocities on Sikhs.

Saeed Anwar explains that in many provinces separate schools for Sikhs have been built in three to four years. The Sikh Gurdwaras were demolished during the war. The Afghan government has decided this year that special funds will be given in the national budget to rebuild these gurdwaras.

What happened to the lands and houses of the people of Sikh community who have left their property and gone out.

Saeed Anwar explains about this, “The land and home of the Sikhs whose entire family has gone from here have been occupied by the mafia people. For the last two years, the Afghan government has been trying to get these land mafia Be rescued so that if these Sikh families come again, they will be given back their property.

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Instructions have also been given to the governors. In the last two years, some Sikh families have also returned to Khost and Paktia. “

Is conversion also an issue

In Pakistan, the issue of conversion of Hindu minority communities forcibly remains in the headlines. Is there any issue in Muslim majority country Afghanistan too?

Saeed Anwar says that Hindu and Sikh minorities have a very friendly relationship with Afghans here. It is not even thought that someone’s forced conversion should be done.

He says, “All the Jews who lived here left Afghanistan, but only one Jew has survived in Kabul. His prayer is in Kabul and he alone goes to pray in it. For the last two decades, no such complaint I do not see here that there has been talk of pressure to change the religion. “

The Citizenship Amendment Act was passed in the Parliament of India in December last year, which aims to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim illegal migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

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