Karachi [Pakistan], March 31 : An group of Dalits in Pakistan took out a rally from the Karachi Press Club to the Sindh Assembly building to draw attention to a number of problems the community is facing, including alleged forced conversion and the suspension of the Thar Express, Dawn reported.
As part of the demonstration, taken out on Thursday, hundreds of members from various scheduled caste Hindu groups, such as the Kolhi, Bheel, Meghwar, Oad, and Bagri held a sit-in outside the provincial legislature under the banner of the Pakistan Darawer Ittehad.
The protesters waved signs that read, "We want protection," "Why minority girls are seen as sex slaves by radicals," and "No one stands for minority communities."
As per Dawn, Shiva Kutchi, Narain Das Jaipal, Sardar Khemchand Bheel, Nirmal Kumar Meghwar, Parkho Mal Bheel, Amreshi Kutchi, Mansangh Thakur, Narain Das Lakh, Molchand Parmar, Bhimar Lal Karn and others leading the rally, said although the forced conversion was a "serious issue" in Sindh, the Sindh Assembly had been debating a draft law to this effect for the previous eight years.
The leaders accused that neither the government nor the political parties had taken any significant action to address the issue of the "forced" conversion of young Hindu girls.
They threatened to orgse a sit-in outside Bilawal House and Chief Minister House if their demands about the kidnapping and forced conversion of Hindu girls and others were unmet.
Throughout the demonstration, the protesters also handed out a 15-point charter of demands. It stated that a law needed to be passed because Hindu females were kidnapped, forced to convert, and married.
They emphasised the need for the child marriage ban. They requested that the scheduled caste Hindus, who made up the majority of Hindus, be represented in the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies.
According to the charter of demands, the Thar Express should be restarted immediately so that Hindu pilgrims can make their pilgrimage, and scheduled caste quotas should be implemented.
Another point was that the illegal occupation of Hindu lands, temples, plots and other places should be ended.
The protesters also expressed "concerns" about the ongoing digital census, claiming that poor Hindus from the scheduled castes were not being counted correctly and that their concerns were not being addressed, Dawn reported.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor