Minorities and marginality: pertinacity of Hindus and Sikhs in a repressive environment in Afghanistan

Abstract

The situation of Hindus and Sikhs as a persecuted minority is a little-studied topic in literature dealing with ethno-sectarian conflict in Afghanistan. Hindu and Sikh communities' history and role in Afghanistan's development are examined through a structural, political, socioeconomic, and perceptual analysis of the minority populations since the country gained its independence in 1919. It traces a timeline of their evolving status after the breakdown of state structure and the ensuing civil conflicts and targeted persecution in the 1990s that led to their mass exodus out of the country. A combination of structural failure and rising Islamic fundamentalist ideology in the post-Soviet era led to a war of ethnic cleansing as fundamentalists suffered a crisis of legitimation and resorted to violence as a means to establish their authority. Hindus and Sikhs found themselves in an uphill battle to preserve their culture and religious traditions in a hostile political environment in the post-Taliban period. The international community and Kabul failed in their moral obligation to protect and defend the rights of minorities and oppressed communities.

Keywords:

• political movements
• minorities
• social justice

Notes

1. For details on the Hawala System, see Ballard (2003).

2. The Tribune, 4 March 2012. Accessed May 5, 2012. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120304/spectrum/main3.htm. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism_in_Afghanistan

3. Mir Ismail Masroor Najimi. “Yadwara-e az Hamkaran-e Hinduyam” [Remembering My Fellow Hindus]. Accessed 27 April 2012. http://kabulnath.de/Schankar%20Dara/Minare%20Chakari/M.Masor/Hamkaran%20e%20Hindu%20am.htm

4. Lavina Melwani. “Hindus Abandon Afghanistan” (Hinduism Today, April 1994). Accessed April 25, 2012. http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=3259

5. Ibid.

6. Abubakr Siddique. “Afghan Hindus, Sikhs Seek to Reclaim their ‘House of Love’” (Radio Free Europe (Radio Liberty), 11 November 2011). Accessed April 24, 2012. http://www.rferl.org/content/hindus_sikhs_seek_to_reclaim_afghan_house_of_love/24388591.html

7. Reza Mohammadi. “Afghanistan's Marginalized Hindus: Despite its Long History in the Country, Afghanistan's Hindu Minority Has Been Pushed to the Fringes of Society” (The Guardian, 2 August 2009). http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/aug/02/afghanistan-hindus

8. Hijratullah Ekhtyar. “Afghan Sikhs and Hindus Face Discrimination at School.” Institute of War and Peace Reporting, ARR, No. 405, 28 July 2011. Accessed April 24, 2012. http://iwpr.net/report-news/afghan-sikhs-and-hindus-face-discrimination-school