Afghan Indians are Indian citizens and non-citizen residents born in, or with ancestors from, Afghanistan. As of early 2021, there are at least 15,806 Afghans temporarily residing in India under a special protection and care of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Apart from citizens and expatriates, there are a number of communities in India who trace their ancestry back to Pashtun forefathers of Pashtunistan. History The earliest record of Afghans in India is during the late 13th century when they began migrating during the Khalji dynasty who formed an empire in Northern India. It was founded by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji and became the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi sultanate of India. The Lodi dynasty ruled Northern India until the invasion of Babur in 1526, at which point the Mughal Empire was created. During this period Afghans from Kabulistan began arriving to India for business and pleasure. The Sur Empire replaced the Mughal Empire from 1540 to 1557. Other Pashtuns began invading India until the Sikh Empire came to power. This formed a barrier between Afghanistan (Durrani Empire) and British India. Afghans were required visas to enter India after this period. The Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri (Farid Khan) defeated the Mughal Empire in 1540. After his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur and then as the governor of Bihar. In 1537, when Babur's son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur Dynasty. A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself a gifted administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the empire laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar, son of Humayun. He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in near eastern India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country. During the 19th century many Afghans migrated to India. Prominent among them were the families of Nawab of Sardhana and the Qizilbashi Agha family of Srinagar, Kashmir. Both the families had martial lineage and belonged to the feudal aristocracy. Partition of India and the arrival of Afghan refugees Before and after the partition of India in 1947, a number of Afghans left their