Hindus In Afghanistan
The Oxford American Dictionary's definition of religion is "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power". Religion is the one identity trait which goes through a painful process when changed. Hindus and Sikhs lived peacefully with their Muslim friends in Afghanistan, but after the Taliban came in power, things have changed. As Afghanistan was going through a rather violent period during the Taliban years, the Hindus and people of other minority religions were suppressed. As a result, many Hindus had to flee to other countries. Religion became the national identity; it became more important to be a Muslim than to be an Afghan.
Hinduism, originally from India, is the most ancient religion in the world. But nothing can be said about when it started and who established the religion. It initiated with the religious practices of the Aryans who moved from present day Iran towards India ("The History of Hinduism").
"Hindu Afghans who have seen their loved ones, their community and their way of like evaporate before their very eyes" (Melwani, 1994). There used to be 40,000 Hindus living in Afghanistan at one time, and now, hardly too many are there. Most of the Hindus were merchants, selling food, dry fruits, medicines Indian tea and spices, and currency exchange. Some Hindus had so much power that "they controlled the exchanged market" (Melwani, 1994). This is feared to frighten the others. But at the same time, there were many Hindus that lived in poor conditions. There were many Hindu temples in Kabul, Kandahar and Jalalabad. Hindus were treated with immense respect and honor. (Melwani, 1994)
In 1992, the Mata Asha Mai Temple in Kabul was attacked with rockets, "to which local Hindus had devoted a lot of time and money" (Melwani, 1994). Most of the destruction was because of the Babri Masjid Demolition in Ayodha, India. This illustrates how distance is irrelevant to the strong religious feelings people react...
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