AFGHANISTAN, April 30, 2019 (Global Voices): In Afghanistan, Sikh and Hindu minority groups have for decades experienced targeted religious persecution while suffering from low access to civil rights. Given that these injustices have been compounded by the country’s deep and growing security issues, it is hardly surprising that of the 220,000 Sikh and Hindu citizens living in Afghanistan in the 1980s, less than a thousand remain. The Manmeet Bhullar Foundation is committed to enabling Afghan Sikhs and Hindus to achieve asylum in Canada. They have asked the Canadian government to recognize Hindus and Sikhs of Afghanistan as particularly vulnerable minorities and develop an appropriate plan to evacuate them. Canada-based organisations, including the World Sikh Organization and Gurdwara communities have supported the asylum drive, claiming notable successes. The first Sikh and Hindu Afghan Refugee families arrived in Canada on March 13, 2019.
As an exit door potentially opens for Afghanistan’s remaining Sikhs and Hindus, the publication in March of the “Survey of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs” conducted by the Porsesh Research and Studies Organization (PRSO), a non-profit based in Kabul feels pertinent. The survey was conducted “to understand better the situation, and provide a clear picture of their [Afghan Hindus and Sikhs] living conditions” according to its authors. The survey focused on the security, political participation, economic situation, civil rights, national mood, migration, and integration situation of Hindu and Sikh communities in Afghanistan. The survey found that “Hindus and Sikhs are considerably less optimistic about the direction of Afghanistan compared to the rest of Afghans.” At the heart of the two groups issues in the country is a systemic bias against non-Islamic religions written into the constitution, which the survey called “excessively dependent upon Islamic interpretations and (containing) many articles discriminatory towards Hindus and Sikhs.” Although both groups are free to worship, the constitution’s recognition of the supremacy of Islamic law makes it difficult for Hindus and Sikhs to live publicly according to their faith.
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