After Kabul terror attack, Afghan Sikhs are fleeing to India

Surbveer Singh Khalsa, an Afghan Sikh, at the Bangla Sahib gurudwara in Delhi. Khalsa did not want his face shown in photos, because he plans to return to Afghanistan to maintain gurudwaras there and fears for his safety. Photo by Zaffar Iqbal.

NEW DELHI— Dozens of Afghan Sikhs are arriving in India to make the country their home after the Kabul terrorist attack on a gurudwara Mar. 25 that killed at least 25 Sikhs. The Islamic State is believed to be behind the attack.

In recent years, houses of worship have become targets for militants, from the Taliban to Al Qaeda and ISIS. In 2018, a suicide bomber killed 19 Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad. The attacks and feeling of insecurity as religious minorities have created panic among Sikhs in Afghanistan, pushing many to seek refuge in India.

After arriving in India, most Afghan Sikhs are now camping in the gurudwara complexes of New Delhi, the capital, in the neighborhoods Rakabganj, Moti Bagh and Bangla Sahib run by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC). 

Gurudwaras have provided free accommodation and food to devotees and the needy for centuries in line with the teachings of the founders of the Sikh faith like Guru Nanak.

Guru Nanak visited Afghanistan in the early 16th century and laid the foundation of Sikhism there. Once a community of nearly 200,000 Sikhs, their population in Afghanistan has now shrunk to fewer than 100 families.

India is home to about 18,000 Afghan refugees and asylum seekers who fled war-torn areas. Most are Muslims, and the UN’s refugee office in Delhi helps them find livelihoods, though many aren’t allowed to work legally and make less than Indians for the same jobs. Many live in colonies spattered with Farsi or Dari script and the aroma of lamb kebabs cooking.

Though Sikhs are less than 2% of India’s population, they share many philosophical and religious beliefs with the country’s majority Hindu population.

40-year-old Surbveer Singh Khalsa and his family of four are among the 200 Sikhs that came to India after the Kabul gurudwara attack. 

The Khalsas are currently staying in Delhi’s Bangla Sahib gurudwara, one of India’s largest Sikh buildings.  A resident of Afghanistan’s Ghaznvi province, 150 kilometers from Kabul, they were among the 182 Sikhs who flew to India in a chartered flight arranged by DSGMC for Sikhs after the Kabul attack. 

Khalsa, who sold ayurvedic medicine in Afghanistan, says the Sikh massacre shook the minuscule Sikh community in Afghanistan and ultimately forced them to leave that country. 

“We thought if a gurudwara can be targeted in Kabul, what will stop the terrorists from carrying out a similar attack in Ghaznvi,” Khalsa said. 

He said leaving Afghanistan was not an easy choice to make, but they have no regrets.

“We are very sad to have left our ancestral land but Afghanistan is no longer safe for Sikhs,” he said. “We had no choice. Our safety was at stake.”

He said the Sikhs in Afghanistan have been living in fear for years and they had no doubt in their mind that they have to leave that country after the Jalalabad terror attack in 2018. The exodus of Sikhs began after that attack, with many selling off their properties much below the market price.

“Everybody wanted to leave,” he said.

 He said the conditions for minorities have become worse in Afghanistan, giving people a great sense of uncertainty. 

“We see violence in Afghanistan on a daily basis. Every day and every month is worse than the previous one,” he said. “In my 40 years I have never seen any year better than the previous one.” 

Khalsa wants to temporarily go back to Afghanistan to maintain four gurudwaras in Ghaznvi province.

“I have not sold my shop in Afghanistan, I just locked it and left with my family at a short notice,” he said. “I will leave my family in India and return to Afghanistan soon, but will eventually come back to India to live with them.” 

After arriving in India, the Afghan Sikhs completed the mandatory quarantine period to protect from COVID-19 in the gurudwara guest rooms. 

“We have been given rooms in the gurudwara guest houses. It is really a comfortable place with running hot and cold water and food served from the free community kitchens of the Gurdwaras,” he said. 

But settling in India is far from easy for the Afghan Sikhs. Many Sikhs living overseas have chipped in with financial aid and other assistance. A large number of Sikhs living in the U.S. have enrolled to become their sponsors in India and are ready to pay their house rent for up to one year, medical expenses and school fees for children.

“Each family will get around 250 dollars [USD] over and above the monthly house rent from the sponsors,” he said. “But the money may still not be enough for us to settle in a new country. There are weddings and people in the family fall sick, so we will have to start to work ourselves soon.”

Dhuriner Singh with his family at the Bangla Sahib gurudwara. Photo by Zaffar Iqbal.

Dhurinder Singh and his family of six are also camping in the Bangla Sahib gurudwara. They say life was tense in Afghanistan and they have sensed great relief after coming to India.

“We haven’t faced any problems in India since we arrived,” he said. “We have been getting the facilities in the gurudwaras as was promised to us when we left Afghanistan.”

His wife Jasveer says it was very difficult to leave the home and family but is hopeful that people in India will support them to start a new life.

Their 14-year-old son Pinderpal Singh misses his friends in Afghanistan the most but is hopeful for a secure future in India.

“I have seen many terror attacks in Afghanistan,” he said. “I regret I could not bring my books with me.”

Others like Manjeet Kaur say the biggest incentive for coming to India is safety and education for their children. 

“I have three children who will study in India now. Education gives us a hope about a better future,” she said.

Many Afghan children in the gurudwara say they want to have a good education and become doctors. 

Ajeet Singh came to India two years back after the Jalalabad terror attack. His older brother and brother-in-law were among the 14 people killed in that attack.

“Some of my family members had already moved to India after the Jalalabad terror attack but after the Kabul attack my relatives living in Afghanistan have also decided to come to India,” he said.

The flight of Sikhs from Afghanistan to India may not have been possible without the help of DSGMC. DSGMC president Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the process of bringing Afghan Sikhs was started soon after the Kabul terror attack when they approached the Gurdwara Committee in India for help.

He said the DSGMC made all their arrangements to travel from Afghanistan to India and got long-term visas issued for them, including a chartered flight.

Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.