AMRITSAR:
Sikh groups here have volunteered to perform ?sewa' at gurdwaras in
Afghanistan after the recent spate of migration of the community
following their persecution by Taliban.
"Sikhs are
leaving Afghanistan. We have several historical gurdwaras there. Who
will take care of them? So, we have decided to send Sikh jatha to
Afghanistan to perform sewa in gurdwaras," said Nankana Sahib
Sikh Yatree Jatha president Swaran Singh Gill on
Thursday.
Thirty-five Afghan Sikhs, including 13 children,
were recently found in a shipping container in UK's Tilbury docks.
The Sikhs from Afghanistan were forced to leave their country
following harassment by Taliban.
Gill said he had written to
both home ministry and Afghanistan embassy urging to grant permission
to send an 11-member Sikh jatha to Afghanistan before they leave for
Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in
November.
Acting president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee Bishan Singh told TOI over phone from Lahore on
Thursday that there were historical gurdwaras in Kabul, Jalalabad and
Ghzani in Afghanistan.
During his way back from Mecca, Guru
Nanak Dev had traveled through Afghanistan and had held discourses
with Muslim holy saints in Kabul. He said the migration of Sikhs was
due to their discrimination and persecution. He said around two
decade ago, there were more than 2.25 lakh Sikh population in
Afghanistan which has now come down to a few thousands only. There
was a sizeable number of Sikhs in Ghazni but many of them had
migrated to Pakistan or India.
Gill also said he would also
meet officials of home ministry and Afghanistan embassy in Delhi to
expedite the matter.
