Dear Shri Modi Ji,
We are writing to you at a time when our country is passing through an unprecedented health crisis. We are aware that the government under your leadership is doing its best to fight off coronavirus. We pray to Waheguru that our country emerges victorious in this battle.
But as the human race is confronted with the Covid-19 challenge, enemies of humanity have struck again, this time at a 400-year-old gurdwara in Kabul’s Shor Bazaar, killing more than 20 innocent devotees.
Over the years, the Afghan Sikh population has dwindled. Today, there are a handful of Sikh families who are left in all over Afghanistan.
The recent decades of war in Afghanistan have been hard on the Afghan Sikh community, which has not only suffered through the conflict, but also faced persecution and terror.
We, therefore, urge the central government to press upon Afghan authorities and the international community to ensure safety and security of Afghan Sikhs.
Given India’s tall stature on the global stage under your leadership, we are confident that the international community would also act swiftly in securing Sikh lives there if pressured by New Delhi.
We are aware that the coronavirus crisis has led to bans on domestic and international travel for now. But the situation in Afghanistan, as the terror attack on the Kabul gurdwara indicated, poses grave threats to the lives of Sikhs in Afghanistan.
The SADD, therefore, requests you that the tiny Sikh population in Afghanistan be offered a rescue flight to India.
The terror attack has come as a double whammy for them. Some Sikhs in Afghanistan, amid coronavirus-induced international lockdowns, are not even able to cremate their dear ones they lost in the terror assault because of increasing intolerance.
We urge you that the Indian government offer them an opportunity to transport the bodies to India for cremation.
We also urge you that the process be initiated to encourage Afghan Sikhs to take Indian citizenship in accordance with the CAA.
Thanking you in anticipation,
Paramjit Singh Sarna
President, SADD
