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Sikhism Portal |
Sikhism in Afghanistan is limited to small populations, primarily in major cities, with the largest numbers of Afghan Sikhs living in Jalalabad, Kabul, and Kandahar.[1] These Sikhs are Afghan nationals, and generally speak Pashto, the language of Afghanistan's majority Pashto community,[2] though some speak Dari (the lingua franca) or their traditional Hindi and Punjabi.[3]
Estimates of the Afghan Sikh population prior to the 1979 Soviet invasion have been given as 200,000,[4] and 50,000 prior to the 1992 Afghan Civil War.[5][6] Estimates of the current number of Sikhs range from 170[7] to 3,000[8] families.
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Around 300 Sikhs visit Gurdwara Karte Parwan, a primary place of worship in the area, located in the Karte Parwan section of Kabul.
As of 2001, Jalalabad had 100 Sikh families, totalling around 700 people, who worship at two large Gurdwaras. Legend states that the older of the Gurudwaras was built to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.[9]
Some early Khatri Sikhs established and maintained colonies in Afghanistan for trading purposes.[10] Later, conflicts between the Sikh misls and empire against the Afghan based Durrani Empire led to tension. Sikhs also served in the British Empire's military during several operations in Afghanistan in the 19th century.
During the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, many Afghan Sikhs fled to India and Pakistan, where the Sikh community is well-established; a second wave followed following the 1992 fall of the Najibullah regime.[11] Sikh gurdwaras (temples) throughout the country were destroyed in the Afghan Civil War of the 1990s, leaving only the Gurdwara Karte Parwan in Kabul.[12]
Under the Taliban, the Sikhs were a relatively tolerated religious minority, and allowed to practice their religion.[13] However, the Sikh custom of cremation of the dead was prohibited by the Taliban, and cremation grounds vandalised.[14] In addition, Sikhs were required to wear yellow patches or veils to identify themselves.[15]
Sikh families have immigrated to other countries including India, Pakistan, and England.
Sikhs in Afghanistan continue to face problems, with the issue of the Sikh custom of cremation figuring prominently. City development also threatens to destroy the Gurudwara Parte Karwan and adjoining shrine to Guru Nanak.[16]
By tradition, Sikhs cremate their dead, an act considered sacrilege in Islam.[17] Cremation has become a major issue among Sikh Afghans, as traditional cremation grounds have been appropriated by Muslims, particularly in the Qalacha area of Kabul, which Sikhs and Hindus had used for over a century.[18] In 2003 Sikhs complained to the Afghan government regarding the loss of cremation grounds, which had forced them to send a woman's body to Pakistan to be cremated, following which the Minister of Religious affairs investigated the issue.[19] Though the grounds were reported as returned to Sikh control in 2006,[20] though in 2007 local Muslims allegedly beat Sikhs attempting to cremate a community leader, and the funeral proceeded only with police protection.[21] As of 2010, cremation in Kabul is still reported as being disapproved of by locals.[22]
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