Farmers Movement Archive

Afghan Sikhs find saviours in their attempt to start lives afresh here

NEW DELHI: Jaspal Singh was present in the Guru Nanak Durbar Gurdwara in Kabul, Afghanistan, when it was attacked in 2018. Jaspal, whose shop was located close to the gurdwara believes that he lived due to sheer luck. But that attack in March this year urged the 36-year-old not to rely on luck for survival. Jaspal, his wife, four daughters and son left their country and arrived in Delhi on November 26. With no money in hand after they were unable to sell off their herbal medicine shop in Kabul in hurry to cross over to India, Jaspal family has had to depend on assistance as they try to make a fresh start while residing in a gurdwara in Ganesh Nagar, east Delhi. Life in a new country for the Singhs would have been a non-starter had it not been for the help provided by international group United Sikhs. The organisation, which is involved in assisting the farmers sitting on protests against the new farm laws on the borders of Delhi, has, for years, worked to bring Sikhs from Afghanistan to India safely. United Sikhs has provided 10 immigrant families the essentials to start life afresh, among them mattresses, kitchen utensils, refrigerator, washing machine, water purifier, etc. Parvinder Singh, director in India of United Sikhs, said, “Since the refugees don’t have any Indian identity documents, the local MLA has helped the families to apply for the papers.” Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh, who was present when the household items were presented to the refugee families, said, “This is the land of Guru Nanak and I hope that the families from Afghanistan feel at home in Delhi and join the mainstream quickly and start contributing to our country.” Jaspal’s brother, Pal Singh, is worried, but optimistic, about finding livelihood in India. “We faced a lot of trouble living there,” Pal said. “Even though the Afghan government supported us and tried to protect us, Taliban and Daesh regularly approached us and threatened us.” He said following the Kabul gurdwara attack, United Sikhs assured them of a safe passage to India. Many other Sikhs, like 57-year-old Tejinder Singh, who lived in Ghazni and had a cloth business, left during the pandemic four months ago. “We left behind our shop as it is. We only about managed to collect some money to bring our eight-member family here,” said the elderly Sikh. Tejinder’s nephew Rakbir Singh, 30, ran a grocery store in Ghazni. “With the assistance we have received, we are less tense and feel encouraged to search for employment,” said Rakbir.

The Times of India

2020-12-31

Delhi