Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the first king of the Sikh Empire, had ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent, expanding his control to the Afghan region in the early years of the 19th century.
Following the zealous evangelist campaigns of the British, a Singh Sabha reformist movement emerged in the subcontinent in response to the proselytisation activities, which arrived in Afghanistan in the early years of the 20th century, writes Inderjeet Singh.
As part of the movement, prominent Sikh preacher Akali Kaur Singh had arrived in Nangararh province of Afghanistan in 1919 to preach the doctrine of Sikhism. Under his leadership, the Khalsa Diwan Afghanistan was established, which is credited with the propagation and preservation of Sikh values in the region.
Sikh Exodus from Afghanistan
The first instance of mass migration of Sikhs from Afghanistan came at the time of the reign of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan when the fundamentalist zeitgeist of the Afghan society had troubled the indigenous Hindus…