SIKH MIGRATION TO WEST ASIA

Punjabis working in the Middle East do not fall under the category of diaspora because their stay is temporary as they go to work in these countries for specific periods with clear intention of returning home post their work assignments. However, there are two countries where the Sikhs had a long and significant presence, i.e., Iran and Afghanistan. Both countries have lost most of the Sikh population since the Iranian revolution in the case of former and Taliban upsurge in the case of later. Afghan Sikhs: Sikhs have maintained a presence in Afghanistan for more than 500 years. The Afghan Sikh population grew in 1947 as Sikhs from the 'Pothohar' region of the newly formed Pakistan arrived. Once boasting a population of over 2.5 lakhs in the 1990s, Afghanistan's Sikh population has fallen to an estimated 2,500. Most of them left for India and many others to UK and North America. Some of them got rehabilitated in Continental Europe. Afghan Sikhs have a Gurdwara of their own in South Hall, UK. The gurdwara in Moscow is also run predominantly by Afghan Sikhs. A number of Sikhs from Afghanistan have also chosen to settle in The Netherlands and Sweden. Iran Sikhs: Sikhs started migrating to Iran since early twentieth century. Prior to 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran had substantial Sikh presence and they seemed quite affluent mostly dealing with business (motor parts). I used to visit Iran quite often on business in Shah's time and found that the large gurdwara (founded 1941) in Teheran was very well run with some of the best 'kirtan' I had ever heard. The prosperity of Sikh community could be gauged from the fact that on arrival at the Teheran airport, only the Sikhs were accosted by porters seeking 'bakshish'. The large Gurdwara had a school attached (taught Punjabi and 'Sikhi' also) which was a popular venue for Indian delegations visiting Iran. The Gurdwara was visited by Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001, Manmohan Singh in 2012 and Narendra Modi in 2016 as prime ministers. Post revolution the Sikh population has been dramatically reduced (only about 100 families in Teheran). Besides Teheran there were quite a few Sikh families in Zehedan. Most Sikhs are very devout Sikhs and can speak Persian fluently.

PRESENT STATUS OF SIKH MIGRATION MAJOR SIKH POPULATIONS: OVERSEAS SIKH COMMUNITY

Region/Major Countries Numbers NORTH AMERICA 1,000,000 United States 500,000 Canada 455,000 EUROPE 620,000 United Kingdom 432,000 Italy 80,000 Germany 35,000 Greece 20,000 France 15,000 Spain 15,000 Others 23,000 ASIA PACIFIC 300,000 Australia 72,000 New Zealand 25,000 Malaysia 85,000 Indonesia 30,000 Thailand 25,000 Philippines 20,000 Singapore 13,000 Others 30,000 OTHER REGIONS 80,000 Africa 60,000 Latin America and the Caribbean 20,000 Grand Total 2,000,000 Source: Brill's Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, 2017. INDIA 20,000,000 AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION Sikh Migration Pre & Post Independence: As an interesting observation, 2/3rds of Sikh migration pre-Indian Independence was to South-east Asia and East Asia but post-independence, it is just the reverse with 2/3rd migration to the West (white industrialized) countries.