Foreign Policy: As in Iraq and Syria, the long war in Afghanistan has been particularly harsh on religious minorities. Afghanistan once had thriving Sikh and Hindu communities, but today, the numbers have been reduced to only the most determined and persistent. Click here to read more (external link).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 3, 2018 Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan mourned their dead one day after a suicide bombing in Jalalabad killed 17, with some saying they’re considering leaving the country. Senior members of the community were among those killed as they traveled in a convoy to meet with President Ashraf Ghani, including
Ayaz Gul VOA News July 1, 2018 ISLAMABAD — Afghan officials say a suicide bomb blast has killed at least 19 people, including at least 10 members of the country’s tiny Hindu and Sikh minority, in the eastern province of Nangarhar. The victims were on their way to the governor’s office in the provincial capital of
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
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: 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