Post their 2021 offensive, the Taliban met the leaders of Hindu and Sikh communities of Afghanistan and assured them of a safe and secure life despite political and military changes happening in the country.
They even exchanged mobile numbers with the leaders of these minuscule communities to help them contact in case of any difficulty. Taliban have asked them to raise their white flag outside gurdwara to avoid any misunderstanding and let others know that they are under the Taliban's protection.
History and victimization of Sikhs in Afghanistan
Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, is said to have visited Afghanistan in the 15th century. The Sikh population in the region consisted of those members of the indigenous population who resisted the process of conversion from Buddhism to Islam which took place between the ninth and thirteenth centuries, and who subsequently aligned themselves with the teachings of Guru Nanak during the course of the fifteenth century.
In 1504, Kabul was captured by Mughal emperor Babur and by 1526 he took control of Northern India. Referred to as Hindustan's own market by Babur, Kabul became one of the provinces of Hindustan until 1738 when the region was conquered by Persian ruler Nadir Shah.
At that time, Sikh followers in Kabul came to present-day East Punjab to pay respect to the Sikh Gurus. They even went from East Punjab to Afghanistan to spread the teachings of the Sikh Gurus and establish Gurudwaras there.
By the early 19th century, the Sikh empire under the Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed large parts of the Durrani empire under the Afghans. During the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848-49, however, the Sikhs were supported by the Afghans, even though they lost out to the British.
In the late 19th and 20th centuries, a Sikh reform movement, Singh Sabha, was established in reaction to the Christian conversion activities following the annexation of the Sikh Empire by the British.
As part of the Sikh reform movement, Akali Kaur Singh went door to door to spread the Sikh doctrine. His efforts led to the creation of several gurudwaras in the region.
During the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, the first major exodus of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus happened in the late 19th century. Under his reign of terror, Khan judicially executed around a lakh people. During this period, several Hindus and Sikhs emigrated and the Afghan Sikh community of Patiala in Punjab was then established.
They were also affected by terror activities on two occasions. These are:
1- On the first day of Baisakhi in 1998 when a man with an AK-47 stormed into a gurudwara and killed 13 Sikhs.
2- In 1999, Gurdwara Guru Teg Bahadur Singh in Jalalabad was attacked by rockets fired by the Mujahideen killing 17 Sikhs.
However, the most extensive exodus of the Sikhs and Hindus started when the Mujahideen took over Afghanistan in 1992. They wanted to capture the city of Jalalabad and killed more than a hundred Sikhs during six months period.
Being subjected to several instances of Kidnapping, extortion and persecution, Sikhs started leaving the country in large numbers. Their troubles multiplied when the Taliban rose to power in 1994.
As per historical accounts, there were more than 60,000 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan but by 2019 they have reduced to a thousand and are mainly restricted to Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni.
Their properties and Gurudwaras located outside the aforementioned areas were forcefully occupied by the locals of the majority community during the turmoil of the civil war.
In 2018, a suicide bomb attack killed at least 19 Sikhs and the March 2020 attack on Gurdwara Guru Har Rai Sahib killed 25 people. Since then, there has been a surge in the emigration of the Afghan Sikhs.
History and victimization of Hindus in Afghanistan
There is no reliable information as to when Hinduism first arrived in the country but historians suggest that the Hindu Kush may have its cultural ties with the Indus Valley Civilization (5500-2000 BCE).
While others believe that before the arrival of Alexander the Great and his army in 330 BC, ancient Arians lived in the region followed by the Achaemenid.
The Indo-Aryan inhabitants practised Hindusim, most notably Gandharis. Between the fifth and seventh centuries, Buddhism was practised in different parts of the country.
Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, Zoroastrianism, Zunbils, Hinduism and Buddhism was practised by the individuals who were Persians, Khalaj, Turks, and Pashtuns.
Between 635-654 CE, Abdur Rahman bin Samara along with 6,000 Arab Muslims entered the Zunbil region and advanced towards the shrine of Zun in Zamindawar, three miles from the present day's Helmand province.
The Arab Army General broke the hand and plucked rubies from the eyes of the idol to persuade the worthlessness of god. They then advanced towards Kabul with a message to spread Islam. The region then administered by Kabul Shahi built giant walls around the city to prevent Arab invasions.
During the 8th and 9th centuries AD, the eastern territories of Afghanistan were ruled by non-Muslim rulers and were regarded as Indians (Hindus) by most Muslims.
In 870 AD, the Saffarids from medieval Zaranj conquered most of Afghanistan, establishing Muslim governors throughout the land. Even then, Hindu Shahis held Gandhara and the eastern borders of Afghanistan.
In the 10th century, the power shifted to Ghazni and the most notable among them was Mahmud Ghaznavi who ruled between 998 and 1030. Mahmud expelled Hindus from Ghandhara, encouraged mass conversions to Islam, looted Hindu temples and carried off an immense booty, earning for himself the titles of 'Image-breaker' or 'scourge of India'.
When the sultan began crossing the Indus river in the 10th century, they brought Hindu slaves to Afghanistan. He acquired around 500,000 slaves in his war on Peshawar and 2 lakh after raiding Thanesar, including children and girls. Men were sold as slaves to common merchants.
The Hindu Kush meant the slayer of Indians as the slaves died in large numbers while crossing the extreme cold region.
Ghurids extended the Ghaznavid Empire and free movement of people between India and Afghanistan was allowed during the Khalji dynasty and continued until Suris and the Durranis.
Till the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, several thousand Hindus lived in the country which has plummeted to about 1,000. During the Taliban regime, they were forced to wear yellow badges in public to identify themselves as non-Muslims while the women were forced to wear burqas to avoid harassment.
In July 2013, the Afghan parliament refused to reserve seats for the minority groups and a bill reserving seats for them was voted against.
Until the 1970s, there were at least 200,000 Hindus and Sikhs living in Afghanistan, and by 2020, their number declined to nearly 50 Hindus and about 650 Sikhs. As per data, 99% of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus have fled the country in the last 3 decades, seeking asylum in countries such as India, Germany and United States.
Safe passage to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus
Around 200 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were offered a safe passage to India by the Centre. Despite fearing persecution under the Taliban rule, some Hindu and Sikh Afghans preferred going to the US or Canada over India.
TRT world quoted one of Afghans as saying, "What is the harm in seeking migration to the US or Canada? We know the fate of those who migrated to India. There are no job opportunities and many of them either returned or moved to other countries."
The IMF lowered its previous growth forecast of 12.5% to that of 8.5% for India. The pandemic-hit Indian economy is reeling under slow growth and is not depicting any signs of recovery shortly.
Additionally, the International Religious Freedom Report 2021 has put India on a list of CPCs or Countries of Particular Concern for the second year in a row due to the violations of religious freedoms in the year 2020.
Also Read: Will Taliban impose Sharia law in Afghanistan: Afghan women fear the return of the dark period
Also Read: Afghanistan: Know its history, geography, map, language, culture, religion and more
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