The Indian government is evacuating 110 Sikhs from Afghanistan under the rescue operation Devi Shakti carried out by the Indian Air Force and the Ministry of External affairs. President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Manjinder Singh Sirsa has announced the arrival of the Sikhs from Kabul to New Delhi by a special flight.
A Sikh delegation is arriving in India from Afghanistan soon, under Operation Devi Shakti. The delegation is also bringing with them, Guru Granth Sahib. pic.twitter.com/L65fHjTDMG
— ANI (@ANI) December 10, 2021
Sirsa added that the Sikhs from Afghanistan will be hosted at the Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib for the time being. He thanked PM Modi and HM Amit Shah for evacuating the stranded Sikhs from the war-torn country.
BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga also tweeted about the arrival of Sikhs from Afghanistan.
A Sikh delegation to arrive soon in India from Afghanistan soon under Operation Devi Shakti. They also bring with them the Holy Guru Granth Sahib. pic.twitter.com/RJ65LobAfD
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) December 10, 2021
In the video shared, a Sikh man could be seen thanking the Indian government for the evacuation.
The group of 110 Sikhs and Hindus are to arrive in India on December 10. Sirsa had shared a video of the Sikhs carrying the Swaroop of the Holy Guru Granth Sahib on their head and boarding a flight to India.
Pious Swaroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji Maharaj coming to India from Afghanistan on a special flight
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) December 10, 2021
Sikhs and Hindus of Afghanistan thank PM @narendramodi Ji and @AmitShah Ji for their massive support 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/BDKZiOXmGN
Earlier, at the end of October, Afghan Sikhs trapped in Jalalabad, Ghazni and Kabul had requested the Sikh leaders and the Government of India to help them leave Afghanistan and reunite with their, family. Manjinder Singh Sirsa had then appealed to Prime Minister Modi for the rescue of Afghan Sikhs and stated that India is their only hope.
Back in August, Afghan Sikhs had brought three hand-written Swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from Afghanistan to India. They were received at the airport by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State and V Muraleedharan, Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian Air Force had also rescued Afghanistan Member of Parliament Narender Singh Khalsa including 20 other Sikhs.