Hinduism in Afghanistan explained

Group:Afghan Hindus
افغان هندوان
هندوس افغانی
Pop:30-40 (2021)
Regions:Larger diaspora in India, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, and Canada[1]
Religions:Hinduism[2]
Languages:Dari, Pashto, Hindko, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Hindustani (Urdu-Hindi)

Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, about 30-40 individuals as of 2021,[3] [4] [5] who live mostly in the cities of Kabul and Jalalabad. Afghan Hindus are ethnically Pashtun,[6] Hindkowan (Hindki), Punjabi, or Sindhi and primarily speak Dari, Pashto, Hindko, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Hindustani (Hindi-Urdu).

Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the Afghan people were multi-religious.[7] Religious persecution, discrimination, and forced conversion of Hindus in Afghanistan perpetrated by Muslims, has caused the Afghan Hindus, along with Buddhist and Sikh population, to dwindle from Afghanistan.[8]

Background

Apart from the Hindkowans, the Indo-Aryan native inhabitants of the region, including Pashayi and Nuristanis, were also known to be followers of a sect of Ancient Hinduism, mixed with tribal cultural identities.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Pashtuns, the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan (officially, no ethnic census ever made), have a component of Vedic ancestors from the Pakthas.[14] [15]

Gandhara, a region encompassing the South-east of Afghanistan, was also a center of Hinduism since the time of the Vedic Period,[16] [17] along with Buddhism.[18] Later forms of Hinduism were also prevalent in this south-eastern region of the country during the Turk shahis, with Khair Khaneh, a Brahmanical temple being excavated in Kabul and a statue of Gardez Ganesha being found in Paktia province.[19] Most of the remains, including marble statuettes, date to the 7th–8th century, during the time of the Turk Shahi.[20] [21] [22] The statue of Ganesha from Gardez is now attributed to the period of Turk Shahis in the 7-8th century CE, rather than to their successors the Hindu Shahis (9th-10th century) as has also been suggested.[23] The dating is essentially based on stylistic analysis, as the statue displays great iconographical and stylistic similarities with the works of the Buddhist monastery of Fondukistan, which is also dated to the same period. Hinduism further flourished under the rule of Hindu Shahis, but went into sharp decline with the advent of Islam through the Ghaznavids, who defeated the Shahis. Nonetheless, it continued as a significant minority in Afghanistan until the 21st century, when its number of followers fell to a few hundred.[24] [25] [26]

History

Prehistory and ancient period (3300–550 BCE)

By roughly 2000–1500 BCE, Indo-Aryan inhabitants of the region (mainly in the eastern parts of present-day Afghanistan) were adherents of Hinduism. Notable among these were the Gandharis and Kambojas.[9] The Pashayi and Nuristanis are present day examples of these Indo-Aryan Vedic people.[27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Persian, Greek, and Mauryan periods (550–150 BCE)

Most historians maintain that Afghanistan was inhabited by ancient Arians followed by the Achaemenid before the arrival of Alexander the Great and his Greek army in 330 BC. It became part of the Seleucid Empire after the departure of Alexander three years later. In 305 BCE, the Seleucid Empire lost control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush to the Indian Emperor "Sandrocottus" as a result of the Seleucid-Mauryan War.

Classical period (150 BCE–650 CE)

When the Chinese travelers Faxian, Song Yun, and Xuanzang explored Afghanistan between the 5th and 7th centuries CE, they wrote numerous travelogues in which reliable information on Afghanistan was stored. They stated that Buddhism was practiced in different parts between the Amu Darya (Oxus River) in the north and the Indus River.[32] However, they did not mention much about Hinduism although Song Yun did state that the Hephthalite rulers did not recognize Buddhism but "preached pseudo gods and killed animals for their meat".

Turk & Kabul Shahi, Zunbil dynasty (650–850 CE)

Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the territory was a religious sediment of Zoroastrianism, Zunbils, Hinduism and Buddhism. It was inhabited by various peoples, including Persians, Khalaj, Turks, and Pashtuns. Parts of the territory South of Hindu kush were ruled by the Zunbils, offspring of the southern-Hephthalite. The eastern parts (Kabulistan) were controlled by the Turk Shahis.

The Zunbil and Kabul Shahis were connected with the Indian subcontinent through common Buddhism and Zun religions. The Zunbil kings worshipped a sun god by the name of Zun, from which they derived their name. André Wink writes that "the cult of Zun was primarily Hindu, not Buddhist or Zoroastrian"; nonetheless he still mentions them having parallels with Tibetan Buddhism and Zoroastrianism in their rituals.[33] [34]

The Kabul Shahi ruled north of the Zunbil territory, which included Kabulistan and Gandahara. The Arabs reached Kabul in 653–654 CE when Abdur Rahman bin Samara, along with 6,000 Arab Muslims, penetrated the Zunbil territory and made their way to the shrine of Zun in Zamindawar, which was believed to be located about 3miles south of Musa Qala in today's Helmand Province of Afghanistan. The General of the Arab army "broke of a hand of the idol and plucked out the rubies which were its eyes in order to persuade the Marzbān of Sīstān of the god's worthlessness."[35]

Though the early Arab invaders spread the message of Islam, they were not able to rule for long. Hence, many contemporary ethnic groups in Afghanistan, including the Pashtuns, Kalash, Pashayi, Nuristanis and Hindkowans continued to practice Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. The Kabul Shahis decided to build a giant wall around the city to prevent more Arab invasions, and this wall is still visible today.[36]

Hindu Shahi (850–1000 CE)

Willem Vogelsang in his 2002 book writes: "During the 8th and 9th centuries AD the eastern terroritries of modern Afghanistan were still in the hands of non-Muslim rulers. The Muslims tended to regard them as Indians (Hindus), although many of the local rulers and people were apparently of Hunnic or Turkic descent. Yet, the Muslims were right in so far as the non-Muslim population of eastern Afghanistan was, culturally linked to the Indian sub-continent. Most of them were either Hindus or Buddhists. "[37]

In 870 AD the Saffarids from medieval Zaranj, located at the Nad-e Ali site of modern-day Iran (not to be confused with the similarly named modern city of Zaranj in Afghanistan),[38] conquered most of Afghanistan, establishing Muslim governors throughout the land. It is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side before the arrival of the Ghaznavids in the 10th century.

The first confirmed mention of a Hindu in Afghanistan appears in the 982 AD Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam, where it speaks of a king in "Ninhar" (Nangarhar), who shows a public display of conversion to Islam, even though he had over 30 wives, which are described as "Muslim, Afghan, and Hindu" wives.[39] These names were often used as geographical terms. For example, Hindu (or Hindustani) has been historically used as a geographical term to describe someone who was native from the region known as Hindustan (Indian subcontinent), and Afghan as someone who was native from a region called Afghanistan.[40]

Decline (1000–1800 CE)

When Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni began crossing the Indus River into Hindustan (land of Hindus) in the 10th century, the Ghaznavid Muslims began bringing Hindu slaves to what is now Afghanistan. Martin Ewans in his 2002 book writes:

Al-Idirisi testifies that until as late as the 12th century, a contract of investiture for every Shahi king was performed at Kabul and that here he was obliged to agree to certain ancient conditions which completed the contract.[41] The Ghaznavid military incursions assured the domination of Sunni Islam in what is now Afghanistan and Pakistan. Various historical sources such as Martin Ewans, E.J. Brill and Farishta have recorded the introduction of Islam to Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan to the conquests of and Mahmud:Mahmud used his plundered wealth to finance his armies which included mercenaries. The Indian soldiers, presumably Hindus, who were one of the components of the army with their commander called sipahsalar-i-Hinduwan lived in their quarter of Ghazna practicing their own religion. Indian soldiers under their commander Suvendhray remained loyal to Mahmud. They were also used against a Turkic rebel, with the command given to a Hindu named Tilak according to Baihaki.[42]

In his war on Peshawar and Waihind says al-Utbi, Mahmud acquired 500,000 slaves that included children and girls. Men were sold as slaves to even common merchants. The amount of slaves captured in Nardin plummeted their price and male slaves were even bought by common merchants. After raiding Thanesar, he acquired 200,000 slaves.[43]

The renowned 14th-century Moroccan Muslim scholar Ibn Battuta remarked that the Hindu Kush meant the "slayer of Indians", because slaves brought from India who had to pass through there died in large numbers due to the extreme cold and quantity of snow.[44]

The Ghaznavid Empire was further expanded by the Ghurids. During the Khalji dynasty, there was also free movement between people from India and Afghanistan. It continued this way until the Mughals followed by the Suris and the Durranis.

Modern period

The main ethnic groups in Afghanistan which practice Hinduism today are the Punjabis and Sindhis who are believed to have come along with Sikhs as merchants to Afghanistan in the 19th century.[45] Till the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, there were several thousand Hindus living in the country but today their number is only about 1,000.[46] Most of the others immigrated to India, the European Union, North America or elsewhere.[4]

Afghan Hindus and Afghan Sikhs often share places of worship. Along with the Sikhs, they are all collectively known as Hindki. Linguistic demographics among the Hindu community are diverse and generally follow regional origins: those hailing from Punjab generally speak Punjabi, Sindhis speak Sindhi, and the northern and southern dialects of Hindko. The local Hindu community in Afghanistan is mostly based in the city of Kabul. The 2002 loya jirga had two seats reserved for Hindus[47] and former President Hamid Karzai's economic advisor, Sham Lal Bhatija was an Afghan Hindu.[48]

During the Taliban 1996 to late 2001 rule, Hindus were forced to wear yellow badges in public to identify themselves as non-Muslims. Hindu women were forced to wear burqas, a measure which was claimed to "protect" them from harassment. This was part of the Taliban's plan to segregate "un-Islamic" and "idolatrous" communities from Islamic ones.[49]

The decree was condemned by the Indian and U.S. governments as a violation of religious freedom. Widespread protests against the Taliban regime broke out in Bhopal, India. In the United States, Abraham Foxman, chairman of the Anti-Defamation League, compared the decree to the practices of Nazi Germany, where Jews were required to wear labels identifying them as such.[50] Several influential lawmakers in the United States wore yellow badges with the inscription "I am a Hindu", on the floor of the Senate during the debate as a demonstration of their solidarity with the Hindu minority in Afghanistan.[51] [52] [53]

Since the 1990s, many Afghan Hindus have fled the country, seeking asylum in countries such as India, Germany and United States.[54]

In July 2013, the Afghan parliament refused to reserve seats for the minority group as a bill reserving seats for the mentioned was voted against. The bill by the then president Hamid Karzai, had tribal people and "women" as "vulnerable groups" who got reservation, but not religious minorities as per the religious equality article in the constitution.[55]

Notable people

Diaspora

See also: Afghan diaspora.

Group:Afghan Hindu Diaspora
Total:80,000 - 280,000
Total Year:
Total Source:Estimate
Regions:India, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia
Pop1:15,000-16,000
Region2: Germany
Pop2:7,000-10,000
Ref2:[62]
Region3: United States
Pop3:3,000
Ref3:[63]
Region4: United Kingdom
Pop4:1,600
Ref4:[64]
Langs:Hindko (native), English, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto (older generation), Dari (older generation)

As both populations are frequently merged in historic and contemporary estimations, the population ratio between Afghan Sikhs and Hindus is estimated to be 60:40 according to historian Inderjeet Singh.

With a wide range of population approximations in the absence of official census data and with much of the community concentrated in the provinces of Kabul, Nangarhar, Ghazni, and Kandahar, the Afghan Hindu population was estimated to be between 80,000 and 280,000 in the 1970s,[4] [65] [66] [67] as per estimates by historian Inderjeet Singh, Ehsan Shayegan with the Porsesh Research and Studies Organisation and Rawail Singh, an Afghan Sikh civil rights activist.

In the time of 1980's after the Afghan civil war 1979 the population of Hindus and Sikh fell at a very fast rate due to Taliban's rise to power and religious persecution and discrimination and they migrated from Afghanistan to other countries,[68] The continue rise of Islamization and Taliban insurgency also contributed in the diaspora.[69] The decline was seen mostly in Pashtuns-dominated areas, due to Pashtunistan and Pashtun nationalism,[70] with the Afghan Hindu population declining to 3,000 by 2009.[65]

As per the 2017 data, more than 99% of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus have left the country in the last 3 decades.[67] Many of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs have been settled in Germany, France, United States, Australia, India, Belgium, the Netherlands and other nations.[4]

The Afghan Hindu population declined to approximately 50 in 2020.[4] Later, following the Fall of Kabul in 2021, the Government of India evacuated many Sikhs and Hindus out of the country due to the Taliban takeover. As a result, only one Hindu priest remains in the nation today, also acting as Temple guard.[71]

Demographics

YearPercentIncrease
19801.6%
20050.35%-1.25%
20100.04%-0.31
20200.04%-

Ancient Hindu temples

PlaceDescriptionOther informationRef.
PolushaBhima Devi (Durga) and temple of MaheshveraVisited by Xuanzang[72]
SakawandTemple dedicated to Surya[73] [74]
Asamai TempleThe Asamai temple is at the foothills of the central Kabul hill Koh-e Asamai[75]
Bhairo TempleShor Bazaar[76]
Mangaldwar Mandir

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Country Policy and Information Note: Afghanistan: Hindus and Sikhs . 6.0 . March 2021 . Home Office, United Kingdom . 17 May 2021 . 15.
  2. Web site: Dark days continue for Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan. Singh. Manpreet. 22 August 2014. Hindustan Times. 2021-02-13.
  3. Web site: Afghan Sikhs, Hindus meet Taliban officials, are assured of safety . MSN news . . Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone from Kabul, Gurnam Singh, president of the Gurdwara Dashmesh Pita Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji Singh Sabha Karte Parwan, said around 300 people — 280 Sikhs and 30-40 Hindus — have taken shelter at the gurdwara since the Taliban started taking over provinces of Afghanistan..
  4. News: Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan — how many remain, why they want to leave . 28 July 2020 . Divya . Goyal . The Indian Express.
  5. Web site: 3.14.3. Hindus and Sikhs . 2023-11-17 . European Union Agency for Asylum . en.
  6. Book: The clash of fundamentalisms: crusades, jihads and modernity. registration. 20. The friends from Peshawar would speak of Hindu and Sikh Pashtuns who had migrated to India. In the tribal areas – the no man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan – quite a few Hindus stayed on and were protected by the tribal codes. The same was true in Afghanistan itself (till the mujahidin and the Taliban arrived). . Verso. 20 April 2008. 978-1-85984-457-1. Ali, Tariq. 2003.
  7. Book: Wink, André. Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Early Medieval India and the Expansion of Islam 7Th-11th Centuries. 2002. BRILL. 978-0-391-04173-8. en. André Winkhold.
  8. Encyclopedia: 2018. Afghanistan. Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Brill Publishers. Leiden. Basu. Helene. 1. 10.1163/2212-5019_BEH_COM_9000000190. 978-90-04-17641-6. 2212-5019. Hutter. Vasudha. Narayanan. Manfred. Malinar. Knut A.. Jacobsen. Angelika.
  9. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/139 UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Taxila
  10. Book: Minahan, James B.. Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. 10 February 2014. ABC-CLIO. 9781610690188. 217. English. Historically, north and east Afghanistan was considered part of the Indian cultural and religious sphere. Early accounts of the region mention the Pashayi as living in a region producing rice and sugarcane, with many wooded areas. Many of the people of the region were Buddhists, though small groups of Hindus and others with tribal religions were noted..
  11. Book: Weekes, Richard V.. Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1984. 9780313233920. 601. English. registration.
  12. Book: Khanam, R.. Encyclopaedic ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia. Global Vision Publishing House. 2005. 9788182200654. 631. English.
  13. Web site: 1997. The Pashayi of Afghanistan. Bethany World Prayer Center. English. Before their conversion to Islam, the Pashayi followed a religion that was probably a corrupt form of Hinduism and Buddhism. Today, they are Sunni (orthodox) Muslims of the Hanafite sect.. 11 April 2019.
  14. India: from Indus Valley civilisation to Mauryas By Gyan Swarup Gupta Published by Concept Publishing Company, 1999,, page 199.
  15. Book: The World's Major Languages. Comrie. Bernard. 1990. Oxford University Press. 549.
  16. Web site: Rigveda 1.126:7, English translation by Ralph TH Griffith.
  17. Book: Arthur Anthony Macdonell. A History of Sanskrit Literature. 1997. Motilal Banarsidass . 978-81-208-0095-3. 130–.
    • Schmidt, Karl J. (1995). An Atlas and Survey of South Asian History, p.120: "In addition to being a center of religion for Buddhists, as well as Hindus, Taxila was a thriving center for art, culture, and learning."
    • Srinivasan, Doris Meth (2008). "Hindu Deities in Gandharan art," in Gandhara, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Legends, Monasteries, and Paradise, pp.130-143: "Gandhara was not cut off from the heartland of early Hinduism in the Gangetic Valley. The two regions shared cultural and political connections and trade relations and this facilitated the adoption and exchange of religious ideas. [...] It is during the Kushan Era that flowering of religious imagery occurred. [...] Gandhara often introduced its own idiosyncratic expression upon the Buddhist and Hindu imagery it had initially come in contact with."
    • Blurton, T. Richard (1993). Hindu Art, Harvard University Press: "The earliest figures of Shiva which show him in purely human form come from the area of ancient Gandhara" (p.84) and "Coins from Gandhara of the first century BC show Lakshmi [...] four-armed, on a lotus." (p.176)
  19. Kuwayama. Shoshin. 1976. The Turki Śāhis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculptures in Afghanistan. East and West. 26. 3/4. 407. 29756318. 0012-8376.
  20. KUWAYAMA (Kyoto City University of Fine Arts). SHOSHIN. 1975. KHAIR KHANEH AND ITS CHINESE EVIDENCES. Orient. XI.
  21. Kuwayama. Shoshin. 1976. The Turki Śāhis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculptures in Afghanistan. East and West. 26. 3/4. 375–407. 29756318. 0012-8376.
  22. Book: Hackin. Joseph. Recherches Archéologiques au Col de Khair khaneh près de Kābul : vol.1 / Page 77 (Grayscale High Resolution Image). 1936. DAFA.
  23. "It is not therefore possible to attribute these pieces to the Hindu Shahi period. They should be attributed to the Shahi period before the Hindu Shahis originated by the Brahman wazir Kallar, that is, the Turki Shahis." p.405 " According to the above sources, Brahmanism and Buddhism are properly supposed to have coexisted especially during the 7th-8th century A.D. just before the Muslim hegemony. The marble sculptures from eastern Afghanistan should not be attributed to the period of the Hindu Shahis but to that of the Turki Shahis." p.407 in Kuwayama. Shoshin. 1976. The Turki Śāhis and Relevant Brahmanical Sculptures in Afghanistan. East and West. 26. 3/4. 375–407. 0012-8376. 29756318.
  24. "Contained within a clay urn were a gold bracteate with the portrait of a ruler, three early drachms of the Turk-Shahis (Type 236, one of which is countermarked), and a countermarked drachm of the Sasanian king Khusro II dating from year 37 of his reign (= 626/7). The two countermarks on Khusro 's drachm prove that the urn could only have been deposited after 689" ALRAM. MICHAEL. 2014. From the Sasanians to the Huns New Numismatic Evidence from the Hindu Kush. The Numismatic Chronicle. 174. 282–285. 0078-2696. 44710198.
  25. Book: Kim. Hyun Jin. The Huns. 19 November 2015. Routledge. 978-1-317-34091-1. 62–64. en.
  26. Web site: Alram. Michael. Filigenzi. Anna. Kinberger. Michaela. Nell. Daniel. Pfisterer. Matthias. Vondrovec. Klaus. The Countenance of the other (The Coins of the Huns and Western Turks in Central Asia and India) 2012-2013 exhibit: 16. THE HINDU SHAHIS IN KABULISTAN AND GANDHARA AND THE ARAB CONQUEST. July 22, 2017. Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna. Pro.geo.univie.ac.at. 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210310235911/http://pro.geo.univie.ac.at/projects/khm/showcases/showcase16?language=en. dead.
  27. Book: Minahan, James B.. Ethnic Groups of North, East, and Central Asia: An Encyclopedia. 10 February 2014. ABC-CLIO. English. 9781610690188. 217. Historically, north and east Afghanistan was considered part of the Indian cultural and religious sphere. Early accounts of the region mention the Pashayi as living in a region producing rice and sugarcane, with many wooded areas. Many of the people of the region were Buddhists, though small groups of Hindus and others with tribal religions were noted..
  28. Book: Weekes, Richard V.. Muslim peoples: a world ethnographic survey. 1984. Greenwood Publishing Group. English. 9780313233920. 601. registration.
  29. Book: Khanam, R.. Encyclopaedic ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia. 2005. Global Vision Publishing House. English. 9788182200654. 631.
  30. Web site: The Pashayi of Afghanistan . Bethany World Prayer Center . 11 April 2019 . English . 1997. Before their conversion to Islam, the Pashayi followed a religion that was probably a corrupt form of Hinduism and Buddhism. Today, they are Sunni (orthodox) Muslims of the Hanafite sect..
  31. Web site: Richard F. Strand. 31 December 2005. Richard Strand's Nuristân Site: Peoples and Languages of Nuristan. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401180243/http://nuristan.info/Nuristani/Nuristanis1.html. 1 April 2019. 19 January 2012. nuristan.info.
  32. Web site: 1969. Chinese Travelers in Afghanistan. August 9, 2012. Abdul Hai Habibi. alamahabibi.com.
  33. André Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Brill 1990. p 118
  34. "Parallels have been noted with pre-Buddhist religious and monarchy practices in Tibet and had Zoroastrianism in its ritual". Al- Hind: The slave kings and the Islamic conquest. 2, page 118. By André Wink
  35. André Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Brill 1990. p 120
  36. News: The Kabul Times Annual. 220. Kabul Times Pub. Agency, Information, Culture Ministry., 1970.
  37. by Willem Vogelsang, Edition: illustrated Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2002 Page 188
  38. Mehrafarin. Reza. Haji. Seyyed Rasool Mousavi. 2010. In Search of Ram Shahrestan The Capital of the Sistan Province in the Sassanid Era. Central Asiatic Journal. 54. 2. 256–272. 41928560. 0008-9192.
  39. Book: Vogelsang. Willem. The Afghans. Wiley-Blackwell. 2002. 0-631-19841-5. 18. 2012-08-16.
  40. Book: David Lorenzen. Who Invented Hinduism: Essays on Religion in History. Yoda Press. 2006. 9788190227261. 9.
  41. Al-Idrisi, p. 67, Maqbul Ahmed; Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, 1991, p. 127, Andre Wink.
  42. Book: Romila Thapar. Somanatha: The Many Voices of a History. Verso. 2005. 9781844670208. 40. Romila Thapar.
  43. https://books.google.com/books?id=75FlxDhZWpwC&dq=mahmud+500,000+slaves&pg=PA126 Al-Hind the Making of the Indo-Islamic World: The Slave Kings and the Islamic Conquest : 11Th-13th Centuries
  44. Book: Christoph Witzenrath. Eurasian Slavery, Ransom and Abolition in World History, 1200-1860. Routledge. 2016. 978-1-317-14002-3. 45. Ibn Battuta, the renowned Moroccan fourteenth century world traveller remarked in a spine-chilling passage that Hindu Kush means slayer of the Indians, because the slave boys and girls who are brought from India die there in large numbers as a result of the extreme cold and the quantity of snow..
  45. Web site: Majumder. Sanjoy. 2003-09-25. Sikhs struggle in Afghanistan. 2009-12-17. BBC.
  46. News: Sikhs struggle for recognition in the Islamic republic . Tony . Cross . 14 November 2009 . 13 February 2021 . Radio France Internationale www1.rfi.fr.
  47. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2032169.stm Afghanistan's loya jirga
  48. Web site: Karzai's Hindu Afghan serves his country. 2021-02-13. The New Indian Express.
  49. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/fyi/news/05/22/taleban.hindus/index.html Taliban to mark Afghan Hindus
  50. http://english.people.com.cn/english/200105/23/eng20010523_70812.html Taliban: Hindus Must Wear Identity Labels
  51. Web site: U.S. House condemns Taliban over Hindu badges – WWRN – World-wide Religious News. 31 March 2017.
  52. Web site: rediff.com US edition: US lawmakers say 'We are Hindus'. 31 March 2017.
  53. Web site: Afghanistan News Center. 31 March 2017. 2 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120402015503/http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2001/june/jun8d2001.html. dead.
  54. http://www.pluralism.org/resources/slideshow/hindgerm/index.php Immigrant Hinduism in Germany: Tamils from Sri Lanka and Their Temples
  55. Web site: We condemn the discrimination against Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan. 12 May 2015. Kabul Press.
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  67. Web site: Nearly 99% Of Hindus, Sikhs Left Afghanistan in Last Three decades. 2021-02-13. TOLOnews. en.
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  71. Web site: 2021-08-17. Last Hindu priest refuses to abandon Afghanistan ancestral temple, says 'will consider it Seva even if Taliban kills me'. 2021-11-03. Zee News. en.
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  76. Hindu Castes and Sects, by Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya, Published by Editors Indian, Calcutta, 1968- page 470.

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