Afghan minority seeks home in India
More than 120 Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees have received citizenship in their ancestral homeland, thanks to strong support from their community and the Indian government.
NEW DELHI, India, December 13 (UNHCR) - Mention Afghan refugees, and most people think of the ethnic Pashtuns in Pakistan or the Tajiks and Hazaras in Iran. But beyond Afghanistan's neighbouring countries, an Afghan minority is thriving in India through self-help and government support.
India is home to some 9,200 Afghan refugees, among them 8,500 Hindus and Sikhs who call the country their ancestral homeland.
"Our ancestors first went to Afghanistan during the time of King Ranjit Singh in Lahore [during the 19th Century], when it was still part of India. Many others fled from Lahore to Afghanistan during partition in 1947 as it was unsafe to go back to India," explained Manohar Singh, a founder member of the Khalsa Diwan Welfare Society for Afghan Hindus and Sikhs in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
In eastern Afghanistan, the community had farm lands, vineyards, big houses and a thriving business community. "We were just 2 percent of the population in Jalalabad, but we controlled a large part of the economy," recalled Singh.
However, they were forced to flee Afghanistan as early as 1978. "Some of our elders left during the communist regime. Others from places like Laghman and Ghazni left in the early 1990s under the mujahideen," he added, noting that they lost 95 percent of their property. "I returned to Jalalabad in 1993 to check on my land but found it occupied by warlords. I was forced to give it up."
Today, Singh is an active part of his community in India. When not tending to his electronics business, he works at the Khalsa Diwan Welfare Society to empower Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. The society provides skills training and financial assistance and is funded by 550 Afghan shopkeepers and factory owners through monthly contributions. The staff are volunteers and the services are free.
At Khalsa Diwan's centre in West Delhi, the community has taken over computer classes previously funded by UNHCR. Four such classes are offered daily for different ages and levels. Graduates from the course teach other students about word processing, Excel spreadsheets and desktop publishing.
Sewing classes supply manpower to tailor shops in the neighbourhood. Among the apprentices is Simran, 20, who came to Delhi when she was four years old. "I make clothes for my family, not for sale," she said. "I got married recently. My husband is in Germany and I hope to join him soon."
Khalsa Diwan also pays the fees of 680 needy students in 28 local schools in West Delhi. Those who need extra help can attend after-school tuition and English-language classes, some of them taught by DAFI scholars funded by the German government. "Are there schools in Afghanistan?," one of the girls asked. Half the class was born in India and has never seen Afghanistan.
And they probably never will. "I often dream that I'm still in Jalalabad," said Singh, now a father of four daughters and a son. "But the situation is very bad, women can't even go out. How can we return?"
Thankfully, there's a solution in sight. The Indian government has agreed that after 12 years of residency - the standard under the citizenship law - Afghan Hindu and Sikh refugees can apply for Indian citizenship.
The authorities also agreed in 2005 on certain mechanisms to facilitate this process. Over 120 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs have so far been naturalized and another 4,000 have expressed interest.
Khalsa Diwan helps to refer interested parties to UNHCR's implementing partner, the Socio-Legal Information Centre (SLIC), which runs three centres in Delhi to counsel the refugees, fill in forms and follow up on naturalization procedures. It's a long process, but SLIC hopes that all eligible Afghan Hindus and Sikhs would have lodged their applications by the end of 2008 and that Indian citizenship can be acquired shortly afterwards.
Thanks to the authorities' support and the community's strong self-help spirit, this Afghan minority may finally be able to find a durable solution and a lasting home in India.
By Vivian Tan in New Delhi, India
Related news and stories
Women-run businesses in Afghanistan dealt a blow by deepening restrictions
UNHCR launches new appeal for Afghan refugees and hosts, urging partners to stay the course
I had to flee for my education, but refused to leave other Afghan girls to their fate
Former refugee, now volunteer teacher, helps other Afghan girls get an education
Families struggle for survival during Afghanistan's coldest winter in a decade
Afghan women affected by Taliban bans on work and study fear for their futures
Your search for « new delhi » matched 412 results. Displaying page 7 of 46 pages.
-
Afghan refugees in India become Indian, at last
10 Mar 2006 ... NEW DELHI, India, 10 March, (UNHCR) - "I, Meet Singh, do solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and that I will faithfully ...... -
Afghan refugees in search of Indian identity
19 May 2005 ... NEW DELHI, India, May 18 (UNHCR) - At 21, Jagjit Kaur has spent more than half her life in New Delhi. She looks, sounds and behaves like an Indian. "My Indian friends are shocked when I tell them I am ...... -
High Commissioner Guterres visits India, meets refugees
3 Dec 2009 ... NEW DELHI, India, December 3 (UNHCR) - Huddled in sweaters on a cold December morning, some 20 refugees representing their communities met this week with UN High Commissioner for Refugees António ...... -
Don Bosco Ashalayam
27 Oct 2011 ... Address: Okhla Road Jamia Nagar New Delhi - 110045 India Tel: +91 011 268 206 32 Fax: +91 011 250 800 97 Email: [email protected] Web: www.dbasha.org... -
Refugees and their host communities in India hard hit by coronavirus lockdown
1 Jul 2020 ... refugee who arrived in India from Myanmar in 2013 with his wife and three children, used to survive by doing translation work for a non-profit legal aid organization in New Delhi, the capital. ...... -
Address by Ms Erika Feller, Director of the Department of International Protection, UNHCR, at the South Asia Regional Judicial Symposium on Refugee Protection (New Delhi, 13-14 November 1999)
14 Nov 1999 ... ... or other migrants trying to establish new lives for genuine, but not refugee-related, reasons. ... Africa, Australia, Canada, Poland, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom - to name but a few. ...... -
Socio-Legal Information Centre
27 Oct 2011 ... Address: 576 Masjid Road Jungpura, Bhogal New Delhi India Tel: +91 11 243 78 854 or 79 855 Fax: +91 11 243 745 02 Email: [email protected] Web: www.hrln.org... -
"On the Humanitarian Frontlines" - Lecture by Mrs. Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of India and the Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi, 5 May 2000
5 May 2000 ... ... The Iraqi Kurds brought a new dimension to the concept of displacement. They did not cross an ... Some felt that the UN resolution 688 could lead to a New World Order, in which the international ...... -
World Refugee Day 2004 National Activity Plan: India
20 Apr 2004 ... In New Delhi, UNHCR will organise on 20 June an interactive roundtable involving prominent academics and human rights activists. The discussion will focus on durable solutions for refugees in India. A ......