CAB 2019: Amid Protests, Hope Floats For Sikh Refugees
Opposition parties may be raging against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) by calling it unconstitutional but minorities persecuted in neighbouring countries are very happy with this Bill.
The 25 Sikh families who reached India after escaping from Kabul eight years ago hope that this Bill will prove to be an important milestone in changing their lives.
Persecution of minorities is nothing new in countries like India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Minority communities are compelled to migrate from one country to another for security of life and property. Sikhs like Shammi Singh and Amreek Singh, who came to India from Afghanistan in 2012, are among those people who don’t want to go back now. Shammi Singh is happy with the new decision of the central government and along with citizenship, he is asking for help from the government in finding a house and setting up a business. The number of Sikh refugees who have reached Ludhiana from Kabul is around 25 and now, they don’t want to return to Afghanistan. Ranjit Singh says that the population of Sikhs in Kabul has dwindled. Only those Sikhs remain there who take care of gurudwaras and other religious places. After the CAB was passed, now they too are ready to come to India. According to these refugees, once the population of Sikhs in Afghanistan was more than 1.5 lakh and there was no discrimination on the basis of religion. A large proportion of business was with the Sikh and Hindu communities. People from other cities also gathered for the baisakhi in Kabul. At that time, Muslims took part in baisakhi and Hindus and Sikhs would visit Muslim homes on Eid. However, conditions began changing in all cities, including Kabul, from 2008. Extremist groups started calling Sikh and Hindu communities kaafir or infidels. Restrictions were imposed on conducting last rites according to Sikh and Hindu customs. Since then, migration of thousands of religious minorities has been going on; they are now ready to come to India. Watch the full report here:
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Persecution of minorities is nothing new in countries like India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Minority communities are compelled to migrate from one country to another for security of life and property. Sikhs like Shammi Singh and Amreek Singh, who came to India from Afghanistan in 2012, are among those people who don’t want to go back now. Shammi Singh is happy with the new decision of the central government and along with citizenship, he is asking for help from the government in finding a house and setting up a business. The number of Sikh refugees who have reached Ludhiana from Kabul is around 25 and now, they don’t want to return to Afghanistan. Ranjit Singh says that the population of Sikhs in Kabul has dwindled. Only those Sikhs remain there who take care of gurudwaras and other religious places. After the CAB was passed, now they too are ready to come to India. According to these refugees, once the population of Sikhs in Afghanistan was more than 1.5 lakh and there was no discrimination on the basis of religion. A large proportion of business was with the Sikh and Hindu communities. People from other cities also gathered for the baisakhi in Kabul. At that time, Muslims took part in baisakhi and Hindus and Sikhs would visit Muslim homes on Eid. However, conditions began changing in all cities, including Kabul, from 2008. Extremist groups started calling Sikh and Hindu communities kaafir or infidels. Restrictions were imposed on conducting last rites according to Sikh and Hindu customs. Since then, migration of thousands of religious minorities has been going on; they are now ready to come to India. Watch the full report here:
Amid uproar over the #CitizenshipAmendmentBill2019, 25 #sikh families who fled from #Kabul eight years back fearing persecution and settled in #Punjab are celebrating the contentious bill@ShahnawazMalik_ #refugees pic.twitter.com/qz9uVT3YZL
— GoNewsIndia (@GoNews_India) December 11, 2019
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