 Intercommunal violence resurfaced in 1935–36 and again in 1939 when many thousands of Sunni and Shias defied the ban on public demonstrations and took to the streets.Shia are estimated to be 21–35% of the Muslim population in South Asia, although the total number is difficult to estimate due to the intermingling between the two groups and practice of "taqiyya" by Shia.Sunni razzias which came to be known as "Taarajs" virtually devastated the community.