The Unreported Suffering Of Afghan Sikhs And Hindus

[killah]

Children playing on top of a derelict tank in Old Kabul. The destroyed building in background was once a shared temple (known as Dharamsal) of hundreds of Sikhs and Hindus in the area. In these neighborhoods many Sikh and Hindu families of Afghanistan lived side by side with their Muslim neighbors for years. But immediately upon the entrance of the traitorous jehadi fighters into Kabul in 1992, crimes were wrought upon these fellow citizens of our country; large numbers of haves and have-nots were killed or forced to emigrate to Pakistan and from there to India. According to reports from RAWA members in Kabul, during the dark years of the civil war the leaders of the Northern Alliance forcefully circumcised many Hindu men and raped many Hindu women.

Islam is the predominant religion in Afghanistan, and, as in most of the world, Sunni Muslims comprise the majority and Shi'ite Muslims the minority. Sunni Muslims are associated with the Sunna, the tradition of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad revered by most Muslims as supplementary to the Qur'an. Sunnis believe anyone pious and devout can be a caliph (a successor to Muhammad as head of Islam), whereas Shi'ites think the caliphate can only be held by descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima. Shi'ites also believe Imams (descendants of Muhammad) can expand on the Qur'an and change laws and doctrines.

Mehmooda (is a member of RAWA's cultural committee) says that, besides Muslims, there were "some Hindu and Sikh minority till 1992, but when fundamentalists took power, they expelled and killed all Hindu and Sikh minority from Afghanistan. But we are so keen to have them again in the country. They also expelled and persecuted a small Jewish minority, but we are so interested to ask them to come back and live in their Afghanistan if they desire to do so."

Afghan sikh refugee Armit Singh, who fled Afghanistan, sitting with his fellows Sikhs in Panja Sahib Gudwara in Hasanabdal about 50km from Islamabad.

Sikh boy reads his Punjabi textbook - Oct 2002

An Afghan Sikh boy reads his Punjabi textbook in a special

ill-staffed school inside the capital's main Kart-i-Parwan common

Hindu-Sikh temple in Kabul. At least 100 pupils study in this school

without proper teachers. Representatives of Afghanistan's tiny Hinud

and Sikh community believes they will make a socio-political

re-emergence after a decade of neglegence and oppression with four

delegates they have chosen to take part in the country's tribal

gathering or Loya Jirga to open Monday in Kabul with the task to

choose a new leader for the war-torn nation for a period of up to two

years. —AFP

Afghan Sikhs are again permitted to attend school to study their religion and the Hindi language. In a country that appears to be homogeneous to the outside eye, Afghanistan's people will surprise you with their varying ethnic backgrounds and traditions. - Steve McCurry

Gurdwara in Kabul

Afghan Sikh children, some too young to understand the meaning of war, taking refuge at Panji Sahib Gudwara at Hasanabdal about 50km from Islamabad

AP - One of the few Gurdwara's not destoryed by Islamic fundamentalists Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib, Kabul, Afghanistan

The Heart-rending Story of Afghani Sikhs

Rupali Ghosh with Gajinder Singh.

http://www.sikhreview.org/december2001/terror.htm

Taliban Destroyed 70 Gurdwaras in Afghanistan

By P.T.I.

Rediff.com, Feb. 15, 2003

"It is not just the Bamiyan Buddhas which faced the wrath of Taliban. They also completely destroyed nearly 70 historical Sikh gurdwaras in Afghanistan. 'It all started after the demolition of Babri Masjid . . . the Taliban were angry and took out their anger at Hindu and Sikh religious structures. The factional fighting further destroyed whatever was left of them,' Khajinder Singh Khurana, an Afghan refugee who has put up a photo exhibition of the destroyed gurdwaras in New Delhi, said."

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"But around 30 Hindu temples, which were on outskirts of Kabul and other cities were saved, Khurana said. 'The Taliban took away everything . . . marbles, carpets, antiques, anything they could find,' Khurana said. The pictures show the ruins and clearly outline the destruction caused due by the Taliban. The present government in Afghanistan has promised to rebuild the structures but no move has been made so far in this regard. 'We have also approached the Indian government to send a delegation there to study the state of our religious structures,' says Khurana, who was working in the United States embassy in Kabul before the Taliban rule."

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Afghanistan refugee returns: 'Out of sight, out of mind'

Amnesty International has today (23 June 2003) singled out the UK, alongside Afghanistan's immediate neighbours, for criticism for its policy of returning refugees to Afghanistan.

The organisation said that the security situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated in 2003, with at least two thirds of the country now in a situation of "generalised instability." There have been armed attacks on the security forces in Kabul, local commanders continue to fight turf wars, civilians are often killed, women and girls are forced to marry and property is destroyed.

In its report Afghanistan: Out of sight, out of mind: The fate of the Afghan returnees, Amnesty International highlights its concerns that, under current conditions, the return of many refugees and internally displaced persons is unsustainable and is leading to destitution.

Amnesty International UK Media Director Lesley Warner said:

"We urge non-neighbouring states hosting Afghan refugees, especially industrialised states such as European Union countries and Australia, to be aware that the forced return of refugees or rejected asylum seekers from their territory sends out the misleading message that return to Afghanistan should be promoted. It is likely to set a dangerous precedent to developing states which host far larger numbers of Afghans."

Amnesty International interviewed more than 100 refugees who had been returned to Afghanistan.

Three Sikh asylum seekers, who had been forcibly returned from the UK, were forced to seek shelter in a Sikh temple in Kabul. They reported being abused in a market place in Kabul and said they felt vulnerable as potential targets for persecution in a city where the majority of the Afghan Sikh community has not returned.

The full report is available online at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa110142003

[Gupt Lion]

that is so sad but in kalyug you have to expect such things the world is on its head

the world has forgot dharam

and forgeten that they will be a time when they will have to stand infront of dharam raj

the messengers of death will deal with the culprits and they will be left repenting

Jaap Naaam everything else is false with athier phair simran on Waheguruu

Naam will create a better world for all

the more naam that is in the panth the more chardikala it will get

[mann_kaum_layee_qurbaan]

the one thing i have noticed is that when muslims become fundamentalists, they are very cruel. When hindus become fundamentals they become cruel as well. when sikhs follow the fundamentals of sikhi, they become compassionate. makes you think about some of these people's fundamentals.

peace.

[SSM]

True- one thing Muslims and Hindus do is rape women when they become extreme, but that's one thing the true Sikhs do not do.

Its truely sad. That's religion for you. I'm finding it hard to avoid critising the history of islam but perhaps the stories of Muhammad encourage them to rape these women, murder these men for they are infidels.

Sikhs on the other hand, we are taught that we should love Akal Purakh's creation, love the world, love the animals so of course we should not be so cruel to humans beings.

[Guest PRITAM SINGH KHALSA]

Thats sux what is happening but thats what a religion does that tries to take over the world.

Dont explain islam or people will start to complain and want the thread closed.

[curious_man]

vaahegurooo...

these students pics r soo...innocent...

vaaheguru...keep them all in chardi kalla!!