By Bramdut Sharma- April 2003
I went to Kabul (Afghanistan) on deputation for three years under the first Indian Technical Aid Programme (ITEC Aid Programme) to help the friendly countries to uplift the people in their education, social and economical status, by the Government of India to our friendly countries in 1965 as a Mathematics teacher to the Ministry of Education, Royal Afghan Government, Kabul to teach maths to the Higher Classes in their schools of 12th grade. The Afghan Govt. was very happy with my work and thus the tenure of my deputation was increased by another four years
According to the wishes of my Late respected father that I should come to India once in a year to see him, so I went Delhi in the month of Dec 65 in the long Winter Vacation of Schools of Kabul. While I was coming back to Kabul, I meet Late Sh. Jagat Ram in the plane. He told me that he is the President of Afghan Hindu Sahita Samiti in Kabul. I was very happy to see an Afghan Hindu for the first time and asked him about any school for the Afghan Hindu’s children to teach Hindi as our religion books are all in Hindi and Sanskrit. He told me that they don’t have any such school for their children. Mr. Jagat Ram had a desire to have a school to teach Hindi to their children, but he can’t find any teacher to teach them Hindi. On this I told him that I would be happy to help him in finding the teachers to teach Hindi to their children.
After a week, Sh. Jagat Ram called me in a meeting of Afghan Hindu Sahita Samiti, where it was decided to open a school in the premises of Asamai Temple. With in a month, three new rooms were constructed and the school was started with three Hindi classes with three Hindi teachers. After one year the three rooms were insufficient to the new students and thus they added four more rooms for further expansion of the school. The parents were also very much interested in getting their children the knowledge of Hindi language, so they were sending each and every child of their families to avail the facility of learning Hindi. The school was recognized by the Delhi Corporation unto Primary level.
The Samiti had a desire that the school must have a library of the religion books so I asked Mr. Jagat Ram to write a letter to late Sh. Hanuman Prasad Poddar of Gitapress Gorakhpur to send some religion books in donation for the school. He was very kind enough to send about thousand books by post for the school library for the children. Next year I again went Delhi. I approached Indraprastha Library to donate some books to the school library, which they sent some books to the school. Thus the library became rich by some good books. There were about 500 hundred students in the school at the time when I left Kabul, after my deputation was completed in 1972.
At that time of my departure, I had a desire to see the students of the school, so I went to every class with Late Bhai Mahar Chand, where I advised the students to learn the Hindi language quickly so that they may be able to read their religion books at the earliest and other things for their betterment in their studies as well as to take care of their health and do some exercises and Yoga.
After some time I came to know that the Samiti had constructed a new building of the temple with sufficient number of rooms for the school. The strength of the school went to 1000 of boys and girls. The school was opened in two shifts. The morning shift was for those students, who were reading in the Afghan High Schools in the evening for their 12th grade. The evening shift was for those who were reading in the Afghan schools in the morning for their school for 12th grade. The school was also running a school bus to bring the students living far away from the school.
Once the authorities of the Embassy of India, Kabul also had a plan to open a school for the children of Indian Nationals, who are and will be in Kabul as the members of Indian Embassy as well as the personals coming Kabul for another programmes under ITEC Aid Programmes and other Aid programmes to different departments of the Royal Afghan Govt. as well as to private concerns like Ariana Airlines and Indian Hospitals for Afghan children and so on.
The Embassy opened a school named Indian School, Kabul, initially with ten children for nursery classes with two teachers in the library hall of Indian Embassy, which becomes a full fledged Senior Secondary School in Kabul, recognized by the Delhi Board of Senior Secondary education New Delhi after my departure from Kabul. The strength of the school went to about eleven hundred of students This school played a very important role in imparting education to the Afghan Students also for their Senior Secondary School Level. As a founder member of the school, I also had my contributions in opening this Indian School, Kabul.
As a whole, the Hindi School of Kabul was running nicely. Since I served that country for a period of seven years. I pray to GOD that the peace will come soon to this land so that the people of that country may prosper educationally, socially as well as economically in the coming future.
Brahma Sharma
Principal (Retd)
Afghan Hindus and Sikhs 