MANGALORE: Members of the local unit of Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti and Rashtriya Hindu Sena staged a silent protest in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday against the "continued attacks on Hindu religious and nationalistic feelings".

They urged the authorities concerned to take cognisance of the feelings of Hindus and take action. Referring to a recent fatwa issued by religious leaders against the singing of Vande Mataram in Hyderabad, they said this song inspired legions of freedom fighters in their quest for the nation's freedom.

The organisations expressed apprehension over the response shown by members of a certain community to developments at Vadodara in Gujarat and termed it unfortunate. The demolition of a Hindu temple in Lahore by the authorities there, the decision of the Bangladesh Government to relocate the Dakeshwari Kali Temple outside Dhaka owing to pressure from organisations there as well as the demolition of Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and an ISKCON Temple in a Communist state too were a major cause for concern, they said.

The organisations also criticised the reported attack on Hindus and their property by a section returning from weekly prayers at Tilak Nagar in Bangalore on June 9. The authorities concerned had still not taken any action against those who carried out these attacks on the Hindus. People in these areas were living in constant fear for their lives, they said.

The protestors, led by convenors of the samiti and sena, Shivananda Prabhu and Praveen Walke, respectively, submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister and the Governor through the Deputy Commissioner.

In the memorandum, they said that despite repeated complaints against artiste M.F. Husain for depicting Hindu deities in poor light, the authorities concerned had failed to take action.

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