Dhaka: Frustrated by the attacks and harassment on them, members of the minority Hindu community in Bangladesh have taken to the streets. Thousands of Hindu community members took out a rally and demanded the interim government to provide protection from a series of attacks and harassment and to drop sedition cases against community leaders. Around 30,000 Hindus raised slogans while rallying at a major intersection in the southeastern city of Chittagong. Protests were also reported elsewhere in the country. 

Thousands of attacks against Hindus 

Hindu groups say there have been thousands of attacks against Hindus since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's secular government in early August and she left the country. After the fall of Hasina's government, an interim government was formed under the leadership of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohammad Yunus. Sheikh Hasina left the country after the student movement turned violent. 

Hindus make up 8% of the total population

The population of Hindus in Bangladesh is around 1 crore 70 lakhs, which is eight percent of the total population, while 91 percent of the population is Muslim. The country's influential minority group 'Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council' has said that more than 2,000 attacks have taken place on Hindus since August 4. Hindus and other minority communities say that the interim government has not provided them adequate security and radical Islamists are becoming increasingly influential after Hasina's departure. A case was registered on Wednesday on charges of treason against 19 Hindu leaders, including prominent priest Chandan Kumar Dhar, over the October 25 rally in the city. A protest was organized against this in Chittagong on Friday. People of the Hindu community are angry with the arrest of two leaders. 

Rally will be taken out on Saturday too

It is alleged that a group of people involved in the October 25 rally allegedly placed a saffron flag on a pole above the Bangladesh flag. This was considered an insult to the national flag. Hindu community leaders say the cases are politically motivated and on Thursday they demanded that these cases be withdrawn within 72 hours. Members of the Hindu community have planned to hold another rally on Saturday.