Spirits run low in Delhi's 'Little Kabul' on Afghanistan's I-Day

New Delhi: For Afghans living in India, August 19 is a milestone day with the community getting together to mark their country's Independence Day in a foreign land.

On Thursday, however, days after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, the mood at Delhi's 'Little Kabul' was anything but celebratory.

This 'Independence Day' was not about the spirit of freedom but fear that their war-ravaged homeland was back under Taliban control, Afghans at Lajpat Nagar, Bhogal and Hazrat Nizamuddin said as they anxiously followed events on social media, television channels and other media outlets.

From restaurants to departmental stores, the spirit of freedom, otherwise peaking on the anniversary day, was running low.

Sharifa Ashuri, 23, who had moved to Delhi from Kabul in 2015, after the death of her father, said what is happening in Afghanistan is "weighing heavy on our minds".

At a restaurant in Lajpat Nagar, where she works to make a living, she scrolls through social media feed to read about the situation in her country. Her colleagues, also Afghans, huddle around her to watch videos, purportedly showing the Taliban roaming on the streets.

"My father worked in the military, but he was later killed. My mother and I along with other family members then moved from our village in Parwan province to Kabul and then to India as we didn't feel safe there. We feel safe in India," Ashuri told.

At most of the restaurants in the area, the mood among the Afghan nationals was sombre on what would have been the 102nd anniversary of their Independence Day.

Kabul Delhi Restaurant in Lajpat Nagar-II, otherwise brimming with guests and known for offering choicest Afghan delicacies, only had very few patrons in the afternoon who ate quietly in a corner.

The 17-year-old restaurant, named after the capital cities of India and Afghanistan to signify the cultural connect of the two countries, is one of the preferred culinary destinations in Delhi to enjoy Afghan cuisine like Kabul Uzbeki, kofta chalao, qawrdagh (mutton fry), qorma kofta, and firni (desserts).

A framed picture of Jami Masjid of Herat is hung on the wall, and a period drama plays on TV screen with low volume, but no special menu for August 19.

Mohammad Shafique, another resident of Lajpat Nagar who had moved to Delhi from Kabul in 2016, detests Taliban.

"They are hardliners and they won't let women have education or freedom. Right now, they are trying to appear moderate or reformed as they have to form a government. My Afghanistan as it was, is no more, my country has been destroyed," he rued.

"What to think of Independence Day celebrations when your brothers and sisters are living in fear in their own homeland," Shafique said.