The safe return of around 50 members of the Sikh community from Iran reflected India’s commitment to protecting every citizen across the world, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said on Saturday (August 1, 2026).

Mr. Shergill, who had earlier urged the Indian government to facilitate the safe return of Sikhs stranded in Iran, in a statement expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ministry of External Affairs for ensuring their secure evacuation during the West Asia crisis.

“The Modi government has once again demonstrated that India stands firmly by the side of every Indian, irrespective of where they live in the world. Under Operation Sindhu, the government rescued Indians caught in the West Asia crisis with remarkable efficiency,” Mr. Shergill said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unwavering commitment to the Sikh community has been visible repeatedly, from ensuring the safe return of the ‘saroops’ (physical and sacred) of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan, standing firmly with Punjabis during times of natural calamities, and now ensuring the safe evacuation of Sikhs from Iran,” he added.

Lajpal Singh Anand, a second/third-generation Iranian Sikh, has thanked the Indian government for ensuring the safe return of Sikh families, a statement by the BJP said.

The Sikh connection to Iran can be traced back to Guru Nanak Dev, when, on his fourth spiritual journey, he visited Mecca and returned via Iran to Kartarpur Sahib. Sikhs began settling in Zahedan, a town in Iran near the Pakistan and Afghanistan border, as well as in Tehran, in the 1900s. The population has been dwindling over the years, and the Sikh population in Iran now numbers only a few hundred. The exact number is difficult to ascertain, Professor Paramvir Singh of the Department of Encyclopaedia of Sikhism at Punjabi University, Patiala, said.

Published - August 01, 2026 08:01 pm IST