Author: PTI
Publication: The Times of India
Date: February 15, 2003
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?artid=37557286
It's not just the Bamiyan Buddhas
which faced the wrath of Taliban. For, around 70 historical Sikh gurudwaras
too were completely destroyed by them.
"It all started off after the demolition
of Babri Masjid... the Taliban were angry and thus took out their anger
at Hindu and Sikh religious structures. The factional fighting further
destroyed whatever was left of them," said Khajinder Singh Khurana, an
Afghan refugee, who has put up a photo exhibition of these destroyed gurudwaras.
However, around 30 Hindu temples,
which were on outskirts of Kabul and other cities were saved and only a
few which were inside the towns, were destroyed, said Khurana.
The Taliban took away everything...
marbles, carpets, antiques, anything they could find, said Khurana. The
pictures show the ruins and clearly tell the gory tale of Taliban atrocities.
The present government in Afghanistan
has promised to rebuild the structures but nothing has started as such.
"We have also approached the Indian government to send a delegation there
to study the state of our religious structures," says Khurana, who was
working in the US embassy in Kabul before the Taliban rule.
