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Taliban Destroyed 70 Gurdwaras in Afghanistan

By P.T.I.

Rediff.com, Feb. 15, 2003

"It is not just the Bamiyan Buddhas which faced the wrath of Taliban. They also completely destroyed nearly 70 historical Sikh gurdwaras in Afghanistan. 'It all started after the demolition of Babri Masjid . . . the Taliban were angry and took out their anger at Hindu and Sikh religious structures. The factional fighting further destroyed whatever was left of them,' Khajinder Singh Khurana, an Afghan refugee who has put up a photo exhibition of the destroyed gurdwaras in New Delhi, said."
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"But around 30 Hindu temples, which were on outskirts of Kabul and other cities were saved, Khurana said. 'The Taliban took away everything . . . marbles, carpets, antiques, anything they could find,' Khurana said. The pictures show the ruins and clearly outline the destruction caused due by the Taliban. The present government in Afghanistan has promised to rebuild the structures but no move has been made so far in this regard. '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 United States embassy in Kabul before the Taliban rule."
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