AFP: Avtar Singh Khalsa will represent Afghanistan’s tiny Sikh and Hindu minority in the next parliament, where he says he hopes to serve the entire country. Few Afghans are as invested in the government’s quest for peace and stability as the dwindling Sikh and Hindu minorities, which have been decimated by decades of conflict. The
VOA News / May 6, 2018: Afghan Sikh and Hindu faithful have a new home just outside Washington. The AsaMai Hindu Temple, the first shrine for Afghan Hindu and Sikh followers in the region, opened its doors earlier this month during the Vaisakhi’ festival, which is celebrated by both faiths. VOA’s Afghan service reporter Mohammad
Tolo News: Hindu and Sikh residents of Paktia called on government to provide the opportunity for their relatives to return their home country, Afghanistan. From a big number of Hindu and Sikh citizens of Afghanistan who lived in Paktia province, in the east of the country, only three have remained in the province while the remaining
AP: Extremism worsened after the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by a U.S.-led coalition… The tribal regions were gradually overtaken by Taliban and in 2013 several Sikhs were killed, their limbs severed. The brutality of the killings and the threats sent thousands fleeing Pakistan. Click here to read more (external link).
Al Jazeera: Afghanistan’s history is full of such anecdotes and lore about a substantial thriving community of Hindus and Sikhs who have called this country their home over the centuries. But, sociologists note, the population of Hindu and Sikh minorities has seen a drastic decline over the past several decades. Click here to read more (external link).
RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan December 30, 2016 Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan have demanded authorities investigate attacks against members of their communities, after a local Sikh community leader was shot dead in the northern city of Kunduz. Narmang Singh, a shopkeeker also known as Dilsoz, was killed by gunmen on his way to work
Tolo News: Lala Del Souz, the head of the Sikh community in Kunduz city, was killed by unknown gunmen Thursday morning, officials confirmed. Del Souz, a naturopath, was gunned down at about 9am in the Haji Gulistan Kochi Haman area of the city. He had reportedly been on his way to his shop when the shooting
Tolo News: A study by the Pursesh Study and Research Organization shows that Hindus living in Afghanistan have been discriminated against and that their rights are not entrenched in the country’s constitution. According to the study, the Hindus’ rights are being violated in a number of ways including that regarding the confiscation of their properties. There
Reuters: On a bright day in downtown Kabul, Jagtar Singh Laghmani was in his traditional herb shop when a man turned up, drew a knife and told him to convert to Islam or he would cut his throat. Only bystanders and other shopkeepers saved his life. The incident earlier this month was the latest attack on
Tolo News: Close to 99 percent of former Hindu and Sikh citizens of Afghanistan have left the country over the past three decades. The main reasons behind their departure include religious discrimination and the government’s neglect of the minority group, during Taliban era in particular. Click here to read more (external link).