On August 1, 2026, around 50 Iranian Sikhs who had been stranded in Tehran due to the ongoing conflict in West Asia landed in India, with the Government of India facilitating their evacuation. The last batch of Sikh families landed in India, bringing an end to months of uncertainty for members of the Sikh community who had remained trapped in Iran as the security situation worsened.
Notably, several Iranian Sikh families had found themselves caught in difficult conditions after the conflict escalated. While around 25 families were able to leave Iran soon after India issued travel advisories, many others remained stranded in Tehran because of airspace restrictions and operational difficulties. During this period, the affected families took shelter at the historic Gurdwara Bhai Ganga Singh Sabha in Tehran, one of the oldest Sikh shrines in Iran, while waiting for a safe opportunity to return home.
Sardar Lajpal Singh Anand, a lifelong resident of Iran, has expressed profound gratitude to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP National Spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill for facilitating the safe evacuation and return of the Sikh Sangat to India amid the ongoing regional crisis.
In a heartfelt statement, Anand praised the Indian government’s swift response, which was championed by Jaiveer Shergill after raising the community’s urgent concerns with authorities in New Delhi.
“Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh. First of all, I want to thank son Jaiveer who helped us a lot in bringing us here. He went out of his way to help us and provided us with every facility. I am very grateful to him. Along with him, I also want to thank PM Modi who took the initiative to bring the Sikh community from there. He not only planned how to bring us back but also successfully did so. I am very grateful to Modi ji. Thank you very much,” Anand stated.
Responding to Anand’s message, BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill highlighted the government’s swift response regarding the successful repatriation of Sikh families, noting that after he raised the issue of their safe evacuation with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of External Affairs, authorities intervened within just two hours.
“Iran has been home to nearly 70-100 Sikh families for over a century. When I raised the issue of their safe evacuation with PMOIndia, MEAIndia intervened within two hours. Today, the majority of these Sikh families have safely returned to India, thanks to the timely intervention, diplomacy & commitment of PM Narendra Modi. It yet again reaffirms that wherever the Sikh Sangat may be, PM Modi stands firmly with them in times of crisis. Sardar Lajpal Singh Anand, born and brought up in Iran, has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to PM Narendra Modi for ensuring their safe return to India,” he wrote in a post on X.
It is to be noted that, BJP Spokerperson Jaiveer 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,” Shergill said.
Earlier on July 30, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed the Rajya Sabha that as many as 2,557 Indian nationals were evacuated from Iran through Armenia or Azerbaijan for their onward journey to India following the escalation of hostilities in West Asia.
Responding to a series of separate questions in the Upper House of Parliament on the government’s measures to protect Indians amid the Iran-USA-Gulf tensions, Singh said the Indian Embassy in Tehran facilitated the cross-border movement of Indian citizens from Iran to neighbouring countries to enable their return.
“Since the onset of hostilities in West Asia in February 2026, the Indian Embassy in Tehran has facilitated the cross-border movement of 2,557 Indian nationals from Iran to Armenia/Azerbaijan for their onward travel to India,” Singh stated in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The Minister said the government estimates that around 7,000 Indian nationals continue to remain in Iran, including seminary students, medical students, workers, seafarers and fishermen.
