A former adviser to runaway Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called upon Sikhs and Hindus, who come from Afghanistan but who have fled to India, to return to their native land.
Sandpal Singh Khalsa, an Afghan Sikh, has said that the members of the Hindu and Sikh communities need to take care of their “business interests” that have been left unattended since they flew to New Delhi after the Taliban took over their country in August.
Khalsa on Sunday addressed a meeting held at a gurdwara (Sikh temple) in New Delhi, during which he called on members of the Hindu and Sikh communities in Delhi to consider returning to their homeland.
His call was backed by Narender Singh Khalsa, a former Afghan Sikh politician who was part of Ghani's administration, and Manjit Singh Lamba, a former deputy linked to the Minority Development Council of the country.
At the moment, more than 200 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus remain in Afghanistan, down from several thousands in the early Nineties before the Taliban first came to power in 1996.
Decades of religious persecution by Islamist hardliners has driven most of these communities from the country. Most of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus still there are spice traders or grocers.
27 October 2021, 13:55 GMT
Sandpal Singh Khalsa and nearly 70 other members of the Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities were evacuated by the Narendra Modi-led Indian government in two separate flights on 22 and 24 August earlier this year.
Khalsa's proposal to return, however, met with opposition at Sunday's meeting in Delhi.
Around 50 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who were at the meeting objected to the idea of returning to Afghanistan and warned of “unforeseen” incidents that may occur in the central Asian nation.
“While Khalsa and other former officials under Ghani are of the view that the communities must now return to Afghanistan, a majority of the community wants to wait for things to get back to normal before making any decision,” Guljeet Singh, one of the Indian Sikh activists at the meeting, told Sputnik.
Ghani’s Aides Irked Over Visa Delays
Singh disclosed that those who took part in Sunday's meeting were particularly critical of Prime Minister Modi’s government. They were annoyed by the delay in “evacuating” the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who seek to travel to India, despite their repeated appeals over the past few weeks.
As opposed to the members of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities who want to return to Afghanistan, the ones who have been left behind in Kabul are appealing to the Indian government to grant them sanctuary. Singh, a former adviser of Ghani, was also “particularly scathing” at Sunday's meeting about the Indian government’s “policy” towards the stranded Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, questioning why they were not being allowed to travel to India.
“Nearly 216 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus still remain in Kabul. There are six others who don’t have any passport at all. The Indian government must arrange for their return as well,” said Singh.
He said that they weren’t expecting any financial assistance from the Indian government and were just waiting for visa clearance.
“These Sikhs and Hindus might consider returning to Afghanistan once the situation has stabilised. But for now, their safe evacuation to India remains a priority for us,” underlined Singh.
India's Home Ministry on 25 August invalidated all the Indian visas held by Afghan passport holders and called upon those wanting to travel to India to apply online.
Singh also pointed out that even though the Taliban has so far “not harmed” any Afghan Sikh or Hindu, the Islamist group’s resurgence has “emboldened” radicals in the country.
“Some of the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus have claimed that people have just walked into our religious places and warned us to leave," he said.
"These people are not affiliated with the Taliban, even though they claim to be from the new government. That is a big security issue for our brothers who have been left behind,” Singh pointed out.
At a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security on 17 August, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the “safe evacuation” of Indian-origin communities from Afghanistan was a “priority” for his government.
“Safety, security and early return" of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan, as well as "travel of Afghan nationals, especially minorities, who wish to visit India" also featured in the meeting between India’s envoy to Qatar Deepak Mittal, and the head of the Taliban’s political office, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, on 31 August.