Awtar Singh Khalsa

Awtar Singh Khalsa is the President of the National Committee of Hindus and Sikhs of Afghanistan and the head of Kabul’s Dharamshalas Committee for Hindu worship centres. He served in the Army from 1981 to 1990 and subsequently worked as a teacher of his mother tongue and Punjabi. Singh served as the Sikh representative to the Loya Jirga from his home district of Paktia, and was appointed as a senator in 2004 for a five year term. He is a role model for Sikhs as well as Hindus living in difficult conditions in Afghanistan. He raises voice for their rights and also against any kind of injustice against them. There were no proper schools for their children, no buial places for cremation of their dead persons and no arrangements for their safety. S. Awtar Singh Khalsa made strenuous efforts for getting all these things for his Sikh and Hindu brother and sisters.

A number of private and state schools have been started for the children of these people including the girls. The city councilor of Kabul has allotted some land with in the city for burial, but, there is a strong opposition by the Muslim inhabitants. Efforts have also been made for improving the state of girls. According to Khalsa ji” It is a great shame for Afghans that most families do not allow girls to study. For example, in Kandahar, Helmand, Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces, women are not even allowed to leave the home, let alone to go to school. In those provinces, even the Hindu and Sikh women wear burqas when they leave the house. Women want to have a greater share of power. They are present in most decisionmaking institutions – for example the Parliament and government ministries, the police and the army – but they expect more. They should be given up to 50%. The law has enabled them to study. The real groundwork must be done now to allow women to benefit from that right.” S. Awtar Singh Khalsa works for the welfare of all. Believing in Sikhism, he follows the teachings of the Gurus to consider everyone equal. He gives the message of love and universal brotherhood. He has been teaching this to his students and during all these years has trained a large number of them to come forward for serving the humanity. Being role model for all of them, he says “I have always endeavoured to eliminate prejudices. Basically, I believe that humanity is important, not religion. If humanity is the base, then religion will prosper by itself. I have worked as a teacher in two provinces: Paktia and Kabul. It is an honour for me that people who were once my students are now teaching other children and serving their society.”