How Partition violence affected Hindus and Sikhs in Afghanistan
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In September 1947, authorities in Kabul watched the spiralling communal violence following the Partition of India with growing dread, fearing the bloodshed would leap across the border into Afghanistan.
“During the week, F.M. Muhammad Asif Khan, the Police Commandant, Kabul, invited 20 leading Muslim Pakistani traders to his residence,” wrote the British military attache in a September 19 memo. While the Commandant expressed sympathy for Muslims in India, his message was one of restraint: he advised the traders to remain calm, cautioning them against any provocation that might disturb the city’s tranquility. Crucially, “he asked them not to take revenge on Hindus and Sikhs residing in Afghanistan”.
While the attache’s report confirmed that Kabul remained largely peaceful, the same could not be said for the provinces. Violent communal incidents erupted in Kandahar, triggering internal displacement.
“Many Hindus and Sikhs have arrived in Kabul, not only from Kandahar, but also from small towns and villages from other parts of the country,” the attache wrote. “Hindus and Sikhs are reported to be selling their household articles and disposing of Afghanis in their possession in exchange for gold and jewellery in order that they may carry their wealth with them more easily, if forced to flee the country.”
The Afghan government...