five children have the honour of representing the warriors baptised by the guru gobind singh, who led the sikhs‘ fight against religious persecution in india 300 years ago. singing. sikhs have lived here for centuries and have gathered and celebrated vaisakhi every year — through the soviet invasion, civil war and taliban rule. but this year the big day is overshadowed by a deep sense of loss. in the 1990s, the sikh community in afghanistan numbered around 250,000. much of the country's trade and commerce was run by sikhs, and the community flourished. thousands would gather in the streets for religious events and whole districts were populated by sikhs. but today's community is estimated to be as few as 100 families. properties are empty and it is a risk to step outside. narinder singh is the sikh community's only member of the afghan parliament. he is under armed guard around the clock. inside the gurdwara or temple compound is a shrine to those sikhs who were killed in a devastating suicide attack last year. it was a tragedy that rocked the entire community. suicide bombers had tar