Last Hindu priest refuses to abandon Afghanistan ancestral temple, says 'will consider it Seva even if Taliban kills me'

Image credit: Pixabay (Representational Image)

Kabul: After the last US troop left Afghanistan, the Taliban intensified its violent activities and started capturing the major cities of Afghanistan. After the Taliban captured the major provinces, Afghan diplomats including President Ashraf Ghani flee from the country leaving the citizens in chaos.

Terrified citizens of Afghanistan are desperate to leave the country as it is evident that the Taliban's rule will only make their life miserable. However, Pandit Rajesh Kumar, the last Hindu priest of the Rattan Nath temple, has decided not to leave the country despite being offered help.

The priest reportedly said that he could not leave the temple as his ancestors had served the mandir for hundreds of years. A Twitter user Bhardwaj shared Rajesh Kumar's story on the micro-blogging site "Some Hindus have urged me to leave Kabul & offered to arrange for my travel and stay. But my ancestors served this Mandir for hundreds of years. I will not abandon it. If Taliban kills me, I consider it my Seva," said Pandit Rajesh Kumar.

This is a video of Rattan Nath temple of Kabul and Pandit Rajesh Kumar from 2019.

The temple looks like any normal residential house from outside so as to not draw any undue attentionhttps://t.co/gAOasKVv84 — Bharadwaj (@BharadwajSpeaks) August 15, 2021

Twitter user also shared the video of temple and priest with caption that read: "This is a video of Rattan Nath temple of Kabul and Pandit Rajesh Kumar from 2019. The temple looks like any normal residential house from outside so as to not draw any undue attention"

This is a video of Rattan Nath temple of Kabul and Pandit Rajesh Kumar from 2019.

The temple looks like any normal residential house from outside so as to not draw any undue attentionhttps://t.co/gAOasKVv84

— Bharadwaj (@BharadwajSpeaks) August 15, 2021

Taliban insurgents took over Kabul on Sunday (August 15) after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and President Ghani fled the country, bringing an unprecedented end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the war-torn country.