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.”