scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaNo job, social security: 350 Afghan Sikhs in Delhi who fled Taliban...

No job, social security: 350 Afghan Sikhs in Delhi who fled Taliban rule await visas to Canada

Failing to get citizenship under CAA, most are looking to settle in Canada which has Punjabi diaspora. Canada offers to cover house rent & provide monthly stipends for one year.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: 51-year-old Gurpreet Sahni (name changed) arrived in Delhi last August. He was part of a batch of 30 Afghan Sikhs who were evacuated two months following a terrorist attack on one of Kabul’s largest gurdwaras that killed two. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then written to the community, condemning the attack and paving the way for their evacuation to India.

However, after six months and an expired e-visa, Sahni is prepared to return to Afghanistan.

“If I don’t get a Canadian visa within the next few months, I’ll go back to Kabul and find a job there. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) process also does not seem like an option. There’s no point waiting here,” he told ThePrint, sipping tea and looking wistfully out the window of his 3-BHK apartment in Tilak Nagar. 

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, offers a pathway of citizenship for persecuted religious minorities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians — from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. However, it only applies to those who arrived in India before 31 December 2014. Therefore, Afghan Sikhs fleeing the recent Taliban takeover haven’t been able to pursue Indian citizenship under this law. 

Sahini explained that he was finding it increasingly difficult to support his six children, wife and sister-in-law, especially after all their e-visas expired in December 2022. He is one of about 350 Afghan Sikhs in India who are waiting for visas to Canada.

According to Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney, an estimated 120 Afghan Sikhs, who took refuge in India, are now in Canada. About 17 have gone to the US.

Sahney, who is helping the refugees in India, said those who reached Canada are part of a programme under which the Canadian government has offered to cover house rent and provide monthly stipends of Rs 1.2 lakh (Can$ 2,000) to adults of the household for one year.

Sahney has been helping the refugees in India alongside the heads of two gurdwaras in Delhi. Chabol Singh, 57, an Afghan Sikh living in India for over two decades, is the main coordinator for the refugees.

Chabol Singh, 57, an Afghan Sikh living in Delhi for over two decades, is coordinating the journey of refugees to Canada | ThePrint
Chabol Singh, 57, an Afghan Sikh living in Delhi for over two decades, is coordinating the journey of refugees to Canada | ThePrint

Also Read: Move to India or trust Taliban? Kabul’s Sikhs in doubt, 2 months after IS attack on gurudwara


Citizenship under CAA not an option

Currently, eight Afghan Sikhs remain in Afghanistan who are seeking an e-visa to India. This is a massive drop from the roughly 500-odd Afghan Sikhs who were living there prior to 15 August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power and ushered in increased persecution of religious minorities

About 350 who are waiting on a Canadian visa are being financially supported by Sahney. The AAP MP told ThePrint: “I have been paying for their house rent, food and other amenities out of my personal funds. Children are also being taught at the gurdwaras in Delhi.”

Asked why the central government is not offering the refugees any financial support, he said: “I cannot comment on that. But I have repeatedly said Afghan Sikhs are the most bonafide claimants of Indian citizenship under the CAA, but certain criteria of the law need to be relaxed.”

Allure of Canada

Most Afghan Sikh families that this reporter spoke to expressed that they would rather go to Canada than stay on in India. They talked about the allure of living in a developed country, which is also home to a large Punjabi diaspora.

Chabol Singh, who has lived in India for over two decades after fleeing the 1992 Afghan civil war, said he got refugee status in India in 1993. “Until 2003, I was getting monthly financial aid from the UNHCR (Mission in India). But the refugees coming to India now don’t even have that option. Why will they stay here if they can seek a better life in Canada?” he asked.

India has often served as a place for Afghan Sikhs to settle down whenever trouble reared its head back home. Large groups fled to the country in the ’70s during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, then in 1992-1996 during the civil war and again in 1996-2001 when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. Many fled after July 2018, when a suicide bombing in the city of Jalalabad killed at least 19 people, most of whom were Sikhs. 

(Edited by Richa Mishra)


Also Read: Dropping semesters to selling tea, Afghan students in India are struggling to survive


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular