Afghan Hindus, Sikhs Seek To Reclaim Their 'House Of Love'
S hankar Lal, at age 63, wants to reclaim his native "House of Love" after living in exile in India for 20 years. The Hindu patriarch is from Prem Nagar, Hindi for House of Love, a once-prosperous Hindu village in southeastern Afghanistan that over the years has been absorbed by the neighboring city of Khost. For the past two weeks Lal and other leaders from Khost's once-vibrant Hindu and Sikh communities have been petitioning provincial authorities to force local strongmen from properties they vacated amid the civil war in the early 1990s. Support promised by local officials and tribal elders has Lal looking forward to a day when his grandchildren can return to Khost. "I want them to relive my childhood in our hometown," he says. From afar, Lal and others from the community have kept close watch on developments in their home country. "Whenever we heard some good news about Afghanistan, we would celebrate it like a festival," Lal says. "If we hea