Not too long ago, India provided refuge to twenty-one Hindu and Sikh families from Ghazni in Afghanistan. The constant threat to their lives and the hardships they have to endure is not something that is secret. Islamic terrorism and extremism has made the lives of ethnic and religious minorities in the war torn country a living hell.
While the Hindu and Sikh families came over to India, one man remained. He had to stay behind in order to take care of the Hindu Temple that still exists. His name is Raja Ram. He may have never set his feet in India but his name bears the unmistakable mark of the intimate relationship he shares with out country.
Raja Ram told Radio Free Afghanistan, “We all love our homeland, but they had to flee after the attacks.” “To everyone, their homeland is Kashmir,” he added. He further said, “Members of our community have left with broken hearts because of their worsening circumstances here.” His wife and four children have come to India, in the hope of a better future, but he chose to remain to take care of the Temple. He is paid nearly $100 by the Afghan government a month to take care of it.
The last Hindu of Ghazni still hopes that there will come a day when his wife and children will be able to return to the place they call home and live in peace. But perhaps, he knows in his heart that these are mere fantasies and it does not do well for people to dwell too much in them. “I hope that everyone will return to Afghanistan once there is peace here. The Hindus and Sikhs are sons of this soil — they are Afghans, too,” he said.
Hindus and Sikhs were once an 80,000 strong minority in Afghanistan but they are now vanishing. Most of them have come over to India while some, with the means for it, chose to leave for the West. In India, the beleaguered minorities have found a home and an opportunity to build a future for their children.
While they still miss their homeland, sometimes, as is human nature, they are grateful for the opportunity India has provided them with. And it is in their hopes that India finds the true meaning for its existence. It is the sacred duty of our country to provide shelter to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists whose lives are in jeopardy in our neighbouring Islamic states.
The passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, was the first step towards recognising this sacred duty that India bears towards these unfortunate victims of Islamic extremism. It was opposed tooth and nail by many but the misery that such refugees have to endure illustrates perfectly the necessity of it. In neighbouring Pakistan, we are daily witness to the savagery that the Hindu and Sikh minorities are subjected to.
The story of the last Hindu of Ghazni, Raja Ram, also demonstrates the sacrifices that Hindus have made through the ages to ensure the continued worship of our Gods and Goddesses. All alone in a hostile environment, with his children and wife away in a distant land, he chose to remain to ensure that a candle is still lit in the Temple that has been placed in his care. It is through these monumental sacrifices that our civilisation is sustained and the flag of our ancestors continues to fly high.
