Hindus and Sikhs in Kabul – a Fact Sheet

Source: Foundation for Cultural and Civil Society

6 September 2003
Hindus and Sikhs in Kabul – a Fact Sheet

Compiled with information provided by Dr. Andar from the Academy of Sciences
and APAMR, the Afghan Professional Alliance for Minority Rights

History
Hindus have an ancient history in Afghanistan.
• The ties go back to the Vedic age: the ancient Aryans who settled in India presumably came through – or, according to some scholars, from – Afghanistan
• Afghanistan was a centre for Buddhism between the 2nd and 7th centuries A.D. and thus attracted many pilgrims from the subcontinent
• From the end of the 6th Century A.D. to end of the 10th Century A.D. Kabul and most of South-eastern Afghanistan was ruled by the “Hindu Shahs”, a series of small dynasties of Hindu faith.
• Hindus and later the Sikhs co-existed peacefully with the rest of the Afghan population before 1992. At times there were some tensions, however this never turned into pogroms or religious strife. The communist period is seen by Hindus and Sikhs as the time they most fully enjoyed their minority rights. This was only interrupted by the tensions that erupted between the Hindu and Muslim communities in 1986, with the destruction of the Baburi mosque in India. At that time several Hindu temples were burnt in Afghanistan.
• Several Afghan place-names bear witness to the Hindu influence: Bagram (Bagi Ram), Laghman (Lam Gan), Parwan (Pagwan), Shakar Dara (Shankar Dara) etc.

The Hindu and Sikh population in Afghanistan
Before the civil war the Hindus and Sikhs represented about 1% of Afghanistan’s population, or about 200,000 people. About 15 to 20 thousand families lived in Kabul, and the rest of the population lived in other Afghan cities (Jalalabad, Khost, Ghazni, Lashkar Gah and Kandahar) and some in the countryside.
Now the estimated population of Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan is about 1,200 families, of which 350 live in Kabul. Last year (2002) only about 50 families returned from exile. The rest emigrated to India (an estimated 100,000 people) or further abroad.
Hindus and Sikhs have traditionally specialized in trade, traditional medicine, the crafts, and music. The Afghan King Shah Shuja, when he returned from exile in India in 1839, brought with him Indian musicians – the trappings of a royal court. He installed these musicians first in the Bala Hissar, his royal residence, and later in Kharabad, the area at the foot of the palace. Over time Kharabad was to become known as the musicians’ quarter.
According to Afghanistan’s 1964 Constitution, Hindus and Sikhs enjoy equal rights with the rest of the Afghan population. They may practice their religion in private. However, during the reign of Zaher Shah, they could not obtain a permit to build a temple. The dharamsal (Sikh temple) that was built in Kharabad dates from the late 1980s.

Clans
The major Hindu clans living in Afghanistan are the Katri, Chawa, Bapla, Kandi, Katal and Daka. The Katri clan is the largest, and is also known as the Sardar Khel.
The main Sikh clans are:
• In Khost: the Gogardh, Chokra, Matoja and Chawla. These speak Pashtun
• In Kabul: the Soti, Rardha, Takdha, Jagama, Maden, Ahoja and Chapak.

Religious Festivals
The main religious festivals of the Sikhs are:
• Waisak (13 April): on this day the 10th and last Guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Singh, proclaimed the 5 mandatory distinguishing signs of the Sikhs: the bracelet, not cutting facial hair, the knife, the comb and the underwear.
• The birthday of Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikhs
• The Sri Guru Granth Sahib festival, dedicated to the holy book of the Sikhs, the “Granth Sahib”
The main religious festivals of the Hindus are:
• Rokhi (also celebrated by the Sikhs). On this day the brother promises to protect his sister, who ties a bracelet to his arm and gives him some sweets.
• Holi (March): dedicated to Ganesh, and a celebration of happiness.
• Diwali (November): the Hindu New Year

Human Rights issues (extract from a paper prepared by APAMR in May 2003)

1 Education
• Due to fear of persecution or ridicule Hindus and Sikhs do not send their children to public schools.
• They receive neither government nor international assistance for their schools. Currently only a school in the dharamsal of Karte Parwan is functioning, on a shoestring.
• There are no professional teachers, and those that do teach receive only 1,000 Afghanis a month paid by the Hindu and Sikh community
• In Kandahar there is no school at all, only classes in the temple. Two of their previous schools have been occupied by Muslims. In Khost, Jalalabad and Ghazni schools are also desperately needed.

2 Assistance to Returnees
• During their exile in India Hindus and Sikhs received almost no aid at all. Currently the Indian Government is exerting pressure on them to return to Kabul. Those living in Afghanistan have great difficulties obtaining visas for their travel to relatives and religious functions in India
• There are no facilities to welcome returnees in Kabul; most end up living in miserable conditions in the temple still functioning, on the expenses of the diminished and impoverished Hindu/Sikh community still living in Afghanistan. Community leaders have advised other families still in India not to return.

3 Unlawful occupation of their property
Hindus and Sikhs in Kabul, Helmand and Khost have not been able to gain access to their property, occupied by Northern Alliance commanders and other powerful people. They suffer from the same lack of access to justice as other Afghans and are generally intimidated by the unlawful occupants. For example House #10 in St. 13, Wazir Akbar Khan, is illegally occupied by Prof. Rabbani who has made it into a guesthouse – claims Mr. Sobersingh

4 Religious persecution
In Kandahar alone, the following public spaces of the Hindus and Sikhs are occupied by Muslims:
• Two dharamsals (Sikh temples)
• Six mandars (Hindu temples)
• Two schools
• One Hindu Soozan (crematorium)
In Helmand
• the Governor reportedly had the Hindu and Sikh shops in Lashkar Gah demolished, and did not allocate new lands for them, although he did allocate lands for Muslims whose shops had also been demolished.
• People leasing their property to Hindus were pressurized by the Governor to expel them
• In Kabul, Gardez and Khost religious sites of Hindus and Sikhs were destroyed during the period of Prof. Rabbani’s government and under the Taliban. Currently only 3 Hindu and 3 Sikh temples are functioning in Kabul.
• These temples are charged for electricity while mosques are not