Sikhs, Hindus refuse to return, urge Afghan minister to protect gurdwaras and temples

The Taliban has extended an open invitation to Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, declaring that those who had departed from their ancestral lands are most welcome to return and resume their businesses, yet the communities remain hesitant to contemplate such a journey owing to pressing concerns over their personal security and the well-being of their families.

A delegation of thirteen Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, who have long resided in India and other lands abroad, met the Afghan Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, and conveyed the steadfast wish that the sanctity of their shrines and temples be preserved in their absence, The Indian Express reported.

Presently, scarcely fifty Sikhs and Hindus linger within Afghanistan, chiefly to tend the gurdwaras and temples, and the delegation pressed for the safeguarding of these holy sites, the restitution of encroached properties, and the granting of multiple entry and exit visas between India and Afghanistan to facilitate their oversight.

The community has long been dispersed, with the vast majority now settled in nations such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and India, and the recollection of flourishing enterprises abandoned under duress remains vivid among them.

The call to return is thus met with reluctance, for the spectre of persecution still looms large, and the conditions for a secure and dignified life remain uncertain under the current regime, TIE reported, citing the delegation.

The Afghan authorities, in response, assured that the Sikhs and Hindus may return to their homeland at will, claiming that Afghanistan is their rightful country and home, yet the delegation emphasised that preservation of life outweighs all other considerations, and that their principal concern lies in the protection and maintenance of the sacred sites left behind.

A mere handful reside in Kabul, Jalalabad, and Ghazni, tending only a few operational gurdwaras and temples, while the majority of religious sites lie closed, bereft of congregants and care.

The exodus of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus began in earnest following the rise of the Mujahideen in 1992, prompted by escalating violence, extortion, and persecution, and was compounded by subsequent Taliban rule between 1996 and 2001, and once more following the Taliban’s resurgence in 2021.

The delegation seeks only that their holy sites be secured and preserved, with adequate provisions for regular worship, while they continue their lives in safety abroad, for the bonds to their native land endure, yet prudence forbids their full return in the present climate.