Ludhiana: The Sikh refugees who were brought back to India from Afghanistan during Taliban uprising with the promise with the promise of Indian citizenship and a decent living, are in a miserable condition with neither citizenship not jobs nor any kind of education for their children.
On August 15, 2021, Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Prior to which, there was a sizeable population of Hindus and Sikhs. In 1992, their population was 2 lakh 700 that decreased to 2 lakh in 2020. Three years back, the Hindus and Sikhs living in Kabul were brought back to India with promises of Indian citizenship and other facilities. However, the promises are yet to be fulfilled.
Deprived of education and job, Afghan refugee, Amrik Singh, said "After returning to Ludhiana their children are face problems in getting education while their sole source of income is by driving rickshaws. We have not been accepted by the society till now. Surprisingly, marriage proposals for our children came only from people who have come from Kabul. The Punjabis residing here refuse to marry our children". He said that Aadhaar cards were issued but the community is deprived of all the basic facilities.
"The children could not get basic education even in Afghanistan because religious classes are held in schools of Kabul. Though they used to get Punjabi education in the gurudwara, they were not admitted to any school there. Now in India too, the children could not be enrolled in schools as a result they are deprived of jobs", Singh said.
Singh requesting the government of India to bring back Hindus and Sikhs to India, said that 25 Sikhs including his relatives were killed in an explosion outside Gurdwara Guru Hari Rai Sahib in Afghanistan in 2020. "As it was not safe to reside in Kabul, many of us were brought back to Punjab with the help of the Government of India. After Taliban took over Afghanistan, a lot has changed. They pressurized everybody to accept Islam," Singh said.
The Sikh refugees from Kabul said they are hopeful that Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the central government would resolve their problems. They said that although their businesses were running well and they earned well in Kabul, they came to India to save their lives but now, they can't find jobs here.
The Sikh refugee families from Kabul have been repeatedly seeking help from the SGPC and the Akali Dal. When contacted, SGPC member Gurcharan Singh Grewal said that the central government should help the refugees and make a proposal for them in the budget so that their children can get employment and live a better life.
