People from all communities are looking to leave Afghanistan at the first chance they get as the Taliban gains power. But Pandit Rajesh Kumar, the priest of a Hindu temple in Kabul, says he would not flee. Kumar is perhaps the last Hindu priest living in the Afghan capital, some reports suggest. Why does he want to stay?
‘I will not abandon the temple’
“Some Hindus have urged me to leave Kabul and offered to arrange for my travel and stay,” Kumar, the priest of the Rattan Nath Temple, reportedly said. He, however, added that he cannot abandon the temple. “My ancestors served this Mandir for hundreds of years. I will not abandon it. If (the) Taliban kills me, I (will) consider it my seva (service).”
By Sagar Malik
This is a video of Rattan Nath temple of Kabul and Pandit Rajesh Kumar from 2019.
