India Afghan Sikhs WEB
Metadata
- India Afghan Sikhs WEB
- October 11, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English USAGM SHARE PLAYBOOK SLUG: INDIA AFGHAN SIKHS HEADLINE: Afghanistan’s Dwindling Sikh Community Escapes to India TEASER: New Delhi has facilitated the repatriation of Sikhs and Hindus leaving Afghanistan by offering visas and long-term residency permits. PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 10/11/2022 at 10:20am BYLINE: Anjana Pasricha DATELINE: NEW DELHI VIDEOGRAPHER: Darshan Singh PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: wpm, Salem Solomon VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original, AFP, Reuters PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 3:00 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[More than 50 Afghan Sikhs arrived in India recently from Afghanistan where they had been living for generations. They were among the last members of the Sikh community to quit the strife-torn country due to violence that has also targeted them. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi speaks to one family that has returned.]] ((NARRATOR)) In a Sikh temple in New Delhi, Harbans Singh offers a prayer of gratitude. It has become his temporary home after he left Afghanistan, where his family had lived for generations. ((Harbans Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “We have left our homes, our shops and come empty-handed to save ourselves. Conditions there are very bad, that is why we have come.” ((NARRATOR)) Singh and his son were among a few hundred Sikhs living in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power last year. Now, most of the community has left. The latest exodus was sparked by a deadly attack in June on a Sikh temple in Kabul that raised fears of a resurgence in violence targeting the community — even before Taliban rule, Sikh temples had been attacked by groups like Islamic State, prompting most to flee. The Singhs, who had never visited India, feel safe in this temple which has long been the first stop in India for Afghan Sikhs. They say it is a relief to leave behind the blasts and explosions. Still uprooting themselves was hard. ((Mahinder Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “We had our temples and community there and we used to organize fairs on special occasions. I remember all that. Leaving our life there makes me feel sad.” ((NARRATOR)) It was not just fear of violence — Afghanistan’s economic collapse since the Taliban took power had also hit business. Like many other Sikhs, the Singhs owned a shop selling spices in Jalalabad. ((Mahinder Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “Our work had dwindled. Business was not what it used to be earlier. There was too much turmoil and most customers had stopped coming.” ((NARRATOR)) Rebuilding life will be hard. While New Delhi has given visas and residency permits to Afghan Sikhs, the wait for citizenship can be long and uncertain. It has led to a conundrum, points out Partap Singh, who left Afghanistan 30 years ago. ((Partap Singh, Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara President (in Hindi)) “In Afghanistan, they used to say we are Indians. Here they say we are Afghans. Where do we belong? We don’t know where to go or what to do.” ((NARRATOR)) Those who have fled to India in recent years are struggling to resettle. ((Partap Singh, Guru Arjan Dev ji Gurdwara President (in Hindi)) “They don’t have proper homes, good work, or citizenship papers that would facilitate their rehabilitation. Educating their children is a challenge. They are facing so many hardships. Some are setting up pavement stalls or selling street food to earn a living.” ((NARRATOR)) The Singhs know all too well that the road ahead will be challenging. ((Anjana Pasricha, for VOA News, New Delhi)).
- Transcript/Script USAGM SHARE PLAYBOOK SLUG: INDIA AFGHAN SIKHS HEADLINE: Afghanistan’s Dwindling Sikh Community Escapes to India TEASER: New Delhi has facilitated the repatriation of Sikhs and Hindus leaving Afghanistan by offering visas and long-term residency permits. PUBLISHED AT: Tuesday, 10/11/2022 at 10:20am BYLINE: Anjana Pasricha DATELINE: NEW DELHI VIDEOGRAPHER: Darshan Singh PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: wpm, Salem Solomon VIDEO SOURCE (S): Original, AFP, Reuters PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO __ TRT: 3:00 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG EDITOR NOTES:)) ((INTRO)) [[More than 50 Afghan Sikhs arrived in India recently from Afghanistan where they had been living for generations. They were among the last members of the Sikh community to quit the strife-torn country due to violence that has also targeted them. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi speaks to one family that has returned.]] ((NARRATOR)) In a Sikh temple in New Delhi, Harbans Singh offers a prayer of gratitude. It has become his temporary home after he left Afghanistan, where his family had lived for generations. ((Harbans Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “We have left our homes, our shops and come empty-handed to save ourselves. Conditions there are very bad, that is why we have come.” ((NARRATOR)) Singh and his son were among a few hundred Sikhs living in Afghanistan when the Taliban took power last year. Now, most of the community has left. The latest exodus was sparked by a deadly attack in June on a Sikh temple in Kabul that raised fears of a resurgence in violence targeting the community — even before Taliban rule, Sikh temples had been attacked by groups like Islamic State, prompting most to flee. The Singhs, who had never visited India, feel safe in this temple which has long been the first stop in India for Afghan Sikhs. They say it is a relief to leave behind the blasts and explosions. Still uprooting themselves was hard. ((Mahinder Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “We had our temples and community there and we used to organize fairs on special occasions. I remember all that. Leaving our life there makes me feel sad.” ((NARRATOR)) It was not just fear of violence — Afghanistan’s economic collapse since the Taliban took power had also hit business. Like many other Sikhs, the Singhs owned a shop selling spices in Jalalabad. ((Mahinder Singh, Former Jalalabad Resident)) “Our work had dwindled. Business was not what it used to be earlier. There was too much turmoil and most customers had stopped coming.” ((NARRATOR)) Rebuilding life will be hard. While New Delhi has given visas and residency permits to Afghan Sikhs, the wait for citizenship can be long and uncertain. It has led to a conundrum, points out Partap Singh, who left Afghanistan 30 years ago. ((Partap Singh, Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara President (in Hindi)) “In Afghanistan, they used to say we are Indians. Here they say we are Afghans. Where do we belong? We don’t know where to go or what to do.” ((NARRATOR)) Those who have fled to India in recent years are struggling to resettle. ((Partap Singh, Guru Arjan Dev ji Gurdwara President (in Hindi)) “They don’t have proper homes, good work, or citizenship papers that would facilitate their rehabilitation. Educating their children is a challenge. They are facing so many hardships. Some are setting up pavement stalls or selling street food to earn a living.” ((NARRATOR)) The Singhs know all too well that the road ahead will be challenging. ((Anjana Pasricha, for VOA News, New Delhi)).
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date October 11, 2022 11:50 EDT
- Byline Anjana Pasricha
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America