- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
THREE copies of Guru Granth Sahib, the central Holy religious scripture of Sikhism, were flown out of Kabul on Tuesday (24) as India evacuated hundreds of people, including Afghan Hindus and Sikhs from the war-torn country.
Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muralidheeran received the copies along with 44 Afghan Sikhs who reached India from the Afghan capital on a special Air India flight after a stopover in Dushanbe, the capital of Afghanistan’s northern neighbour Tajikistan.
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“Blessed to receive & pay obeisance to three holy Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Kabul to Delhi a short while ago,” Puri, the minister of petroleum and natural gas, tweeted along with a video showing him carrying a copy of the holy book.
ਵਾਹੁ ਵਾਹੁ ਬਾਣੀ ਨਿਰੰਕਾਰ ਹੈ
ਤਿਸੁ ਜੇਵਡੁ ਅਵਰੁ ਨ ਕੋਇ ।।Deeply privileged & fortunate to welcome the three holy Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Kabul at @DelhiAirport along with Sh @VMBJP Ji, Sh @dushyanttgautam Ji & members of Sikh Sangat. pic.twitter.com/mWhTwpnoOs
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) August 24, 2021
He also thanked prime minister Narendra Modi for carrying out rescue operations from Afghanistan and said the government is in touch with those who are still stranded in that country.
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News agency Press Trust of India reported citing informed sources that the copies of the sacred scripture will be taken to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurudwara in New Delhi.
RP Singh, a leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee, were also present at the airport.
“I request PM & HM to amend CAA and extend the cut-off date from 2014 to 2021 so that people coming from Afghanistan get benefitted & lead a safe life here and their children are able to study here,” Sirsa said in a tweet later.
“The Afghan Sikhs will stay at a hotel in Karol Bagh till further arrangements are made,” Kanv Bhalla, an entrepreneur who is coordinating rehabilitation efforts on behalf of New York-based philanthropist Mandeep Singh Sobti, said.
The Afghan Sikhs were among the 78 people, including 25 Indian nationals, to be brought to India via Dushanbe.
“Helping in the safe return from Afghanistan. AI 1956 enroute to Delhi from Dushanbe carrying 78 passengers, including 25 Indian nationals. Evacuees were flown in from Kabul on an @IAF_MCC aircraft,” Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), tweeted earlier in the day.
Puneet Singh Chandhok, president of the Indian World Forum, which coordinates the evacuation efforts with the MEA and the air force, said nearly 200 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are still stranded in Afghanistan, Indian daily Hindustan Times reported. He said they have taken shelter at the Karte Parwan Gurdwara in Kabul, which is close to the airport. Around 75 more Afghan Sikhs and Hindus are to be evacuated soon, Chandhok said.
