Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri receives three Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib evacuated from Afghanistan

The Afghan Sikhs brought the holy scriptures on a flight that landed in New Delhi from Kabul earlier today.

The three of the last six Swaroops of the holy scripture, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, were evacuated from the violence-racked country on a flight to India.

The evacuation of the Swaroops from Afghanistan also marked the end of Sikhism in Afghanistan.

The pictures of Sikh men carrying three Swaroops of the ‘Living Guru’, packed in suitcases, on their heads and walking barefoot inside Kabul airport went viral Monday.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib is not merely a holy scripture for the followers of Sikhism. For them, it is their ‘Living Guru’ as it contains the Gurbani — the teachings of ten Gurus of Sikhism, including the founder Guru Nanak Dev ji.

One of the 46 Afghan Sikhs, who were evacuated Monday, told The Indian Express, “We are also carrying three Saroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahib with us. We cannot leave our Guru behind when all of us are leaving the country. It is heartbreaking to see the end of Sikhism in our country but we have no other option. We can’t leave behind the saroops as there would be no one left to do their sewa. We have packed them safely in suitcases.”

However, this is not the first time that the Swaroops of Sri Guru Granth Sahibhave been shifted from Afghanistan to India. After the attack at Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul on March 25, 2020 by an Islamic State gunman in which at least 25 Sikhs were killed, seven such saroops from different gurdwaras of Afghanistan were shifted to India.

“There were 13 Saroops of Guru Granth Sahib in Afghanistan of which 7 were already shifted to India earlier. Three have been shifted today and now just 3 more remain in Afghanistan. Those too will be shifted soon,” said Chhabol Singh, member Karte Parwan gurdwara committee.

Paramjit Singh Sarna, president, SAD (Delhi), tweeted, “End of an era of #Sikhi in #Afghanistan. Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has forced Sikhs to flee their homes. Saroop of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji from the Kabul, Ghazni and Jalalabad Gurdwaras leave for India with a heavy heart by our #Sikh minority brothers in order to preserve it for future generations. This marks the end of Sikhi in Afghanistan but also a new beginning for our Sikh brothers in India.”