Close X
Thursday, October 31, 2024
ADVT 
India

25 Sikh Families From Afghanistan Seek Indian Citizenship, Sushma Swaraj Assures Aid

IANS, 09 Jul, 2018 12:18 PM
    There are about 25 Sikh families in the city, which left Afghanistan a decade ago over security concerns. They have sought Indian citizenship and government support for their rehabilitation.
     
     
    Kulwant Kaur, a widow, said she had come to India about eight years ago with her son and daughter, while her husband was killed by militants in Afghanistan. “We are living in penury, but at least we are safe here. Come what may, we are not going back to Afghanistan. I work as a domestic helper. I hope the government provides me a job,” she said.
     
     
    Another family said they were “tortured” in Afghanistan. “Here, at times we get food from a gurdwara. Some of us are daily wagers, while others drive auto-rickshaw. We have our passports and other documents. We need government support,” said one of them.
     
     
    Shammi Singh, 54, lives in a rented dilapidated house at Chawni Mohalla. He said as a youth, he had never imagined that he would leave Kabul. “There used to be around 1.8 lakh Sikh families in Afghanistan and there was no discrimination. But things started getting worse in the last 10 years, as people there started treating us as traitors,” he said.
     
     
    “We request the government to give us Indian citizenship and provide us accommodation,” he added.
     
     
    Former SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said: “The issue needs to be addressed by the governments. We can provide them food, but that is not a permanent solution. The SGPC should provide them financial assistance.”
     
     
    External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said she had spoken with Iqbal Singh, a Sikh man who was admitted to the AIIMS here after being injured in the blast that claimed 19 lives in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad last week, and offered all assistance to him.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Amarinder Singh Orders Probe Into Drug-Related Deaths

    Amarinder Singh Orders Probe Into Drug-Related Deaths
    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered a probe into the recent spate of drug-related deaths in the state and directed officials to take action against the culprits.

    Amarinder Singh Orders Probe Into Drug-Related Deaths

    237-Kg Delhi Boy Undergoes Weight-Loss Surgery, Hospital Claims He Is World’s Heaviest Teen

    237-Kg Delhi Boy Undergoes Weight-Loss Surgery, Hospital Claims He Is World’s Heaviest Teen
    Delhi boy Mihir Jain weighed a whopping 237 kg at the age of 14, and was not able to walk or breathe properly when he went to a hospital here for a weight-reduction surgery.

    237-Kg Delhi Boy Undergoes Weight-Loss Surgery, Hospital Claims He Is World’s Heaviest Teen

    Delhi's Qutub Minar Under Renovation As Bird Excreta Causes Damage

    Delhi's Qutub Minar Under Renovation As Bird Excreta Causes Damage
    Qutub Minar is getting refurbished after 50 years. The Old Sal wood doors and window panels developed cracks allowing birds and bats to enter inside.

    Delhi's Qutub Minar Under Renovation As Bird Excreta Causes Damage

    Mother Stabs 6-Year-Old Son With Dagger While Bathing Him In Bathinda

    The six-year-old boy suffered injuries in chest and abdomen and died on the spot, the Station House Officer (Civil Lines) Rashpal Singh said.

    Mother Stabs 6-Year-Old Son With Dagger While Bathing Him In Bathinda

    Rajasthan Man Allegedly Shoots Teen Son Who Tried To Rape Cousin

    Rajasthan Man Allegedly Shoots Teen Son Who Tried To Rape Cousin
    Police ruled out that the incident was a human sacrifice and said the boy used to allegedly molest his cousin and recently also tried to rape her.

    Rajasthan Man Allegedly Shoots Teen Son Who Tried To Rape Cousin

    Man Kills Woman Teacher, Runs 5 KM With Severed Head In Jharkhand

    Man Kills Woman Teacher, Runs 5 KM With Severed Head In Jharkhand
    Mentally Challenged Man Hari called the teacher out of the school premises and attacked her with a sharp-edged weapon.

    Man Kills Woman Teacher, Runs 5 KM With Severed Head In Jharkhand