South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 and Hindus were living in Afghanistan before the civil war of the 1990s.51 Most Hindu- Sikhs primarily dwell in major cities, with the largest numbers living in Jalalabad, Ghazni, Kabul, and to a smaller extent in Kandahar.52 The attitude towards non-Muslims in Afghanistan has been one of tolerance throughout its history. Even at the time of King Abdul Rahman, the Hindu-Sikhs escaped the rough handling of the state apparatus though they had to pay the discriminatory Jizya.53 The Hindu-Sikhs had been living in prosperity and harmony until the civil war of 1992. With the breakout of the civil war, they became prime targets for kidnappings, extortion, and banditry.54 They were harassed, their lands were taken by force, and many were even killed for expressing their faith, even in insignificant ways.55 Their properties were looted and their houses were occupied by the Mujaheddin during the civil war of 1992-1996. Specifically, with the destruction of the Babri Masjid in India in 1992, the Mujaheddin came down hard on the Hindu-Sikh community. They destroyed their temples and harassed the members of the community.56 The situation led to their en masse exodus to India and other places. With the emergence of the Taliban, Hindu-Sikhs had to endure further repression and persecution. As the Taliban took control of Kabul in 1996, they took a more repressive approach towards non-Muslims, even ordering Hindu-Sikhs to wear yellow badges 51 ‘We Cannot Live Here: Afghanistan’s Sikhs Weigh Future after Suicide Bombing’, Reuters, accessed November 11, 2019, https://www.reuters.com/article/ us-afghanistan-sikhs/we-cannot-live-here-afghanistans-sikhs-weigh-future-aftersuicide-bombing-idUSKBN1JS0VZ. 52 Ibid. 53 Fabrizio Foschini, ‘The Other Fold of the Turban: Afghanistan’s Hindus and Sikhs’ Afghanistan Analyst Network, accessed November 19, 2019, https://www. afghanistan-analysts.org/the-other-fold-of-the-turban-afghanistans-hindus-andsikhs. 54 Ruchi Kumar, ‘We Belong to Afghanistan’, Foreign Policy, July 6, 2018, accessed November 11, 2019, https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/06/we-belong-toafghanistan-said-slain-sikh-leader. 55 Ruchi Kumar, ‘The Decline of Afghanistan’s Hindu and Sikh Communities | Afghanistan,’ Al Jazeera , January 01, 2017, accessed November 11, 2019, https:// www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/12/decline-afghanistan-hindu-sikhcommunities-161225082540860.html. 56 Hafizullah Emadi, ‘Repression and endurance anathematized Hindu and Sikh women of Afghanistan’, Nationalities Papers: The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity, 44, no. 4 (July 2016). 12