Afghans in India
Total population | |
---|---|
15,806 Afghan refugees (2021)[1][2] 4,504 Afghan students (2021) Bengaluru · Visakhapatnam · Hyderabad | |
Languages | |
Hindi · Urdu · Pashto · Dari | |
Religion | |
Hinduism · Sikhism · Islam · Christianity[4][5] |
Afghan Indians are Indian citizens and non-citizen residents born in, or with ancestors from, Afghanistan.[6][7] As of early 2021, there are at least 15,806 Afghans temporarily residing in India under a special protection and care of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[1][2] Apart from citizens and expatriates, there are a number of communities in India who trace their ancestry back to Pashtun forefathers of Pashtunistan.
History
The earliest record of
The distinguished military general and eminent Sufi saint,
The
During the 19th century many Afghans migrated to India. Prominent among them were the families of
Partition of India and the arrival of Afghan refugees
Before and after the
After the start of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979, approximately 60,000 Afghans took temporary residency in India, most of them being Hindu and Sikh Afghans.[14][15][16] Many of them have subsequently immigrated to countries in Europe, North America and Oceania. Some have returned to their native areas in Afghanistan after the formation of the Karzai administration in late 2001.[17] Those that remained in India have applied for citizenship of India.[6]
On January 1, 2016,
According to UNHCR, India currently hosts at least 15,806
Afghan citizens use India as a temporary place of residence until they are firmly settled in countries of Europe, North America or Oceania.[24] Those who are denied admission into those countries can either remain in India, travel to another country, or return to Afghanistan. In 2021, following the end of the latest war in Afghanistan, India offered an emergency visa (the 'e-Emergency X-Misc Visa') to some Afghan nationals.[20][25][16] Much of Afghanistan's Christian community thrives within India. Prior to 2021, Some Afghani refugees have trouble getting long term visas enabling work and permission to study despite being granted refugee status by UNHCR. Many had issues with enrolling their children in school.[24] Despite these difficulties, some had managed to operate "shops, restaurants and pharmacies."[23][7][26]
Pashto-speaking communities in India
The following are places where Pashtun culture can be found: Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal and Indore); Punjab (Maler Kotla); Bihar (Gaya, Sherghati, Patna, Aurangabad and Sasaram); and Uttar Pradesh (Malihabad, Etawah, Shahjahanpur, Rampur).
There are a large number of Pashto-speaking Pakhtuns in the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal and the territory of Jammu and Kashmir.[27] Although their exact numbers are hard to determine, it is at least in excess of 100,000 for it is known that in 1954 over 100,000 nomadic Pakhtuns living in Kashmir Valley were granted Indian citizenship.
See also
References
- ^ a b c Onward Movements of Afghan Refugees (PDF), UNHCR, March–April 2021, retrieved 24 August 2021
- ^ a b "Over 4,500 Afghan students on Indian campuses hold their breath". The Times of India. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ An Afghan Church Grows in Delhi. July 22, 2013. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
- ^ Where Afghan Christians Flee After Converting to Christianity. July 25, 2013. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
- ^ a b c "Afghan refugees in search of Indian identity". UNHCR. 19 May 2005. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Afghan Refugees In India Fret Over The News Back Home, And Their Own Legal Status". NPR. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ISBN 81-269-0123-3. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
The Khiljis were a Central Asian Turkic dynasty but having been long domiciled in Afghanistan, and adopted some Afghan habits and customs. They were treated as Afghans in Delhi Court
- Central Asians, but the members of the new dynasty, although they were also Turkic, had settled in Afghanistan and brought a new set of customs and culture to Delhi.
- ^ "Google Sites: Sign-in".
- ^ Lethbridge, Roper (31 March 1893). "The golden book of India, a genealogical and biographical dictionary of the ruling princes, chiefs, nobles, and other personages, titled or decorated, of the Indian empire". London Macmillan. Retrieved 31 March 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "pakkapapita.com". ww12.pakkapapita.com. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Agha Family of Srinagar Kashmir". Agha Family of Srinagar Kashmir. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ "Rohingyas in India" (PDF). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2020. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
In the 1980s, the Afghan-Soviet war brought about 60,000 Afghan (majority Sikh and Hindu) refugees in India.
- ^ "Afghan refugees in India face an uncertain future". TRT World. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ News18. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Indian diarist Sushmita Banerjee shot dead in Afghanistan". BBC News. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "Adnan Sami: Fastest fingers first". The Times of India. 16 April 2001.
- ^ Lalwani, Vijayta (18 July 2021). "As tensions rise in Afghanistan, refugees in Delhi worry about their relatives back home". Scroll.in.
- ^ a b "India says it will prioritize Hindus and Sikhs in issuing 'emergency visas' to Afghans". The New York Times. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "An Afghan Church Grows in Delhi". The New York Times. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ "Where Afghan Christians Flee After Converting to Christianity". Christianity Today. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
- ^ a b Aafaq, Zafar (17 August 2021). "'Our future unknown': Afghan nationals in India wary of Taliban". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Tough times follow Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban to Delhi". The Indian Express. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ "India announces emergency e-visa for Afghans". The Hindu. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ Iyengar, Radhika (28 July 2018). "The Afghan Christian refugees of Delhi". Mint. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Special focus on Gujjars, Paharis: CM". Daily Excelsior. Retrieved 22 August 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Pashtoons in Kashmir". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 July 1954. Archived from the original on 9 December 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Justice rolls in Kashmir, Afghan-style". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
- ^ "Saiyids, Mughals, Pashtuns and Galawans". OPF. Archived from the original on 15 May 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
- ^ "A First Look at the Language of Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir" (PDF). SIL International. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Jammu & Kashmir".
Further reading
- Gommans, Jos J. L. (2007). "Afghāns in India". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. ISSN 1873-9830.