Context: Recently, Ministry of External Affairs welcomed the first group of 11 members of the Sikh and Hindu minority community of Afghanistan, including a community leader who was recently released from captivity.
Issue

• Since a terror attack by an IS gunman killed 25 Sikhs at Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul in March, the small Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan have made multiple appeals to the Indian government for immediate evacuation.

When did Hinduism reach Afghanistan?

• Hindu rulers once reigned over Eastern Afghanistan, including Kabul.
• The Zunbil dynasty is believed to be the earliest Hindus who ruled over Kandahar to Ghazni regions of Afghanistan, from 600 to 780 AD. Also, Islam entered Afghanistan in the 7th century.
• Later the Hindu Shahi dynasty ruled. They were replaced only by the end of the 10th century by Ghaznavids, who maintained Hindu forces.
• It was only in 1504 that Mughal Emperor Babur captured Kabul. Babur used to refer to Kabul as ‘Hindustan’s own market’ and the province of Kabul remained with Hindustan until 1738.

When did Sikhism reach Afghanistan?

• Sikhism founder Guru Nanak visited Afghanistan in the early 16th century and laid the foundation of Sikhism there.
• As per the history of his travels recorded in the earliest janamsakhis, it was during his fourth udaasi (travels) during 1519-21, with his companion Bhai Mardana, that Guru Nanak reached Afghanistan and visited Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Sultanpur.  Kabul was then under Babur’s rule.
• The seventh Sikh Guru, Har Rai, too played a pivotal role in sending Sikh missionaries to Kabul and a dharamsaal (earlier name for gurdwara) was established there.

When did their exodus from the country start?

• There were at least 2 lakh Sikhs and Hindus (in a 60:40 ratio) in Afghanistan until the 1970s.
• The exodus started in 1992 when the Mujahideen (Arabic term for one engaged in jihad) took over. “The Soviet intervention, which started in 1979, lasted for a decade and Afghanistan became a battleground for the Cold War.
• The US and its allies started providing weapons to Mujahideen to fight a proxy war against the Soviet occupation. The Soviets withdrew in 1989.
• The Mujahideen captured Kabul in 1992. Sikhs and Hindus started the exodus and left the country. After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, those who remained continued to face persecution.
• Today, 99 % of Hindus and Sikhs in Afghan society have left the country. Afghanistan now refuses to acknowledge them as their natives. There are around 650 Sikhs (90-100 families) and nearly 50 Hindus left in Afghanistan.

Where did those who moved out settle?

• Afghan government issued speedy passports under a scheme called Aab Gang pilgrimage passport (Aab meaning water, Gang meaning river Ganga). 50,000 people left Afghanistan under this scheme and came to India.
• After arriving in India, many Sikhs and Hindus moved to other countries and are currently spread across the UK, Europe, US etc. The majority of Afghan Hindus are now settled in Germany and Sikhs in the UK.

Currently, how many Afghan Sikhs are settled in India?

• Approximately, there are 18,000 Afghan Sikhs living in India, of whom 50-60% have citizenship and the rest are living as refugees or on long-term visas. Most are living in Delhi followed by Punjab and Haryana.

Will the CAA help them?

• The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is a bill introduced by the Central Government in the Parliament of India in 2019 to primarily amend the Citizenship Act of 1955.
• The main purpose of the bill is to make certain religious communities of illegal migrants or refugees eligible for Indian citizenship – in a fast-track manner.
• The Bill, among other things, seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians who migrated to India till the end of 2014 from countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, due to reasons like persecutions.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019, in effect, seeks to give Indian nationality only to the non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
• The countries from which minorities are allowed include Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, but not Myanmar or Sri Lanka.
• Citizenship is granted by relaxing the requirement of residence in India for citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to 5 years for these migrants.