The exodus of the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs hastened with every regime change in Afghanistan. From the high of 220,000 before 1992, their numbers were reduced to merely 65 individuals in 2021.
Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the start of war against Soviet army caused Afghans to flee the country including the Hindus and Sikhs.
The marching of Mujahidin parties into Kabul, in 1992, resulted in full scale civil war in the country, the starting point of the worst situation for these religious minorities. Since then, the Hindus and Sikhs have encountered several threats—socially deprived, politically neglected, and religiously intimidated. Their economic, cultural, and educational conditions sunk into their worse in history. Although the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was considered the beginning of their exodus from the country, the fact is that they had been forced to leave Afghanistan since the reign of Abdul Rahman Khan in 1880s. As a result of such unfortunate circumstances, Afghanistan’s long-established religious minorities are now on the brink of extinction. This research report attempts to map out the reasons and circumstances, including suppression, which have led to the mass exodus of the Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.