sikhpride

As Guru Nanak Dev ji travelled extensively much beyond the borders of India, the historical Gurdwaras commemorating his travels had come into being in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Burma (presently Mayamar), Nepal and Bangladesh. In Afghanistan, the memorial places related with guru’s travels existed in Kabul, Jalalabad and Ghazni. There were minimum 8 Gurdwaras in Kabul. However, 7 out of these Gurdwaras were destroyed in the fighting in the 1980s. All these gurdwaras were located in Shor Bazar, once the hub of cloth and dry fruit trade which was mostly in the hands of Sikhs and Hindus. Only one gurdwara at Karte Parwan, associated with Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, survived and remained operational. The Khalsa School, which once had over a thousand students, is now in ruins. During the war for Kabul’s control, Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary commander of the Afghan resistance, entrenched himself in the Gurdwaras with the basements serving as bunkers while Uzbek warlord Abdur Rashid Dostum was shelling from the higher elevation of the fort Bala Hissar. Massoud won the battle but the Gurdwaras lost. When the Talibans rule came they encouraged the encroachers to occupy the abandoned Gurdwaras. After the rout of Talibans, the small number of Sikhs and Hindus those who are left have claimed all the 7 Gurdwaras to be restored. The new constitution of Afghanistan (although now an Islamic republic) ensures due representation to Hindus Gurdwara Chowk Bazar Chittagong Gurdwara Pahartali Chittagong Some Prominent Gurdwaras and 18 Sikh Organizations of The World and Sikhs and guarantees their religious rights. Anarkali Kaur, is presently the Sikh representative in the Afganistan Parliament.