Afghan Sikhs return: Nidan Singh, who was abducted from gurdwara months ago, arrives in Delhi; delegation in tow

Eleven members of the Sikh community from Afghanistan, who were granted short-term visas by the Indian Embassy in Kabul, including Nidan Singh Sachdeva, who was abducted from a gurudwara in Paktia province last month, touched down in New Delhi on Sunday morning.

Nidan Singh (Afghan Sikh who was kidnapped a month ago and released recently) arrives in Delhi along with his family and a delegation of Afghan Sikhs. https://t.co/5ux6Oj0706 pic.twitter.com/hSQOK4coXY

— ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2020

The rest of the ten are families of the Afghan Sikhs who were killed in the Kabul Gurudwara terror attack earlier this year. More than 25 Afghan Sikhs and one Indian Sikh were killed on the March 25th Gurudwara terror attack in Kabul.

The group includes Salmeet Kaur who was reportedly kidnapped in Kabul but later came back. Hopes are high among the Sikh community that they will get Indian citizenship.

Speaking to news agency ANI on his return, an emotional Sachdeva, said, "I don`t know what to call Hindustan -- whether it is my mother or my father -- Hindustan is Hindustan."

"I was abducted from the gurudwara and 20 hours later, I was covered with blood. I was tied to a tree as well. They used to beat me and ask me to convert into a Muslim. I repeatedly told them that why should I convert, I have my own religion," he said while describing his ordeals.

Nidan Singh thanked the Government of India for bringing him here.

"I am more than thankful to the Indian government for bringing us here to our motherland. I have no words to describe my feelings here. I arrived here after much struggle. The atmosphere of fear prevails there. Gurudwara is where we can be safe but a step outside the Gurdwara is fearful," he said."They used to beat me every day and every night," he said further and added, "It is because of sheer happiness, I am speechless. I am very grateful to them."

The Union Ministry of External Affairs had recently announced that India has decided to facilitate the return of Afghan Hindu and Sikh community members facing security threats in Afghanistan to India.

Indian mission in Kabul is "providing them necessary visas" to come to India and once they reach here the request for citizenship will be "examined and acted upon" based on "rules and policies", he explained.

While no details have been given on the rules, India could give citizenship to these Afghan minorities under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed last year, which gives citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities from three countries --Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan with a cut of date of 31st December 2014.

The decision comes four months after an Islamic State-backed attack at a gurdwara in Kabul`s Shor Bazaar killed at least 25 members of the community.

India has condemned the "targeting and persecution" of minority community members by terrorists in Afghanistan at the behest of their external supporters remains a matter of grave concern.

The leaders of the Afghan Sikh community have appealed to the Indian government to accommodate the Sikhs and Hindus from Afghanistan and grant them legal entry with long term residency multiple entry visas.

Once a community of nearly 250,000 people, the Sikh and Hindu community in Afghanistan has endured years of discrimination and violence from extremists, and the community is now estimated to comprise fewer than 100 families across the country.

(With agency inputs)