The debate over the Muslim population has begun again. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed that the Muslim population in Jharkhand is increasing due to illegal immigration. Sarma accused Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of supporting illegal immigration. He also claimed that Aadhaar cards were issued to infiltrators from madrassas.
Himanta claimed, “Not every Muslim is an infiltrator, but how does their population increase every five years? Does a family have 10-12 children? If it does not give birth to so many children, then these people must have come from From outside.
Not just Himanta, Union minister and BJP MP Giriraj Singh also issued a statement on the rising Muslim population. He said, “People like Owaisi are spreading rumors that Muslims cannot compete with Hindus even in 80 to 90 years. I would say don’t spread rumors among Hindus. In 1951, their population was 2.5 to 2.8 Crores, today the population is Rs. 1.7 Crores according to government data. Unpublished figures show that Hindus have tripled their population from 300 million to 90 million. The population increased sevenfold.
This is not the first time such accusations and claims have been made against the Muslim population. Things like this happen to the Muslim population every day. Faced with such a situation, are we really like this?
Is the Muslim population growing more than that of the Hindus?
According to the 2011 census, India’s population exceeds 1.21 billion. Among them, 966.3 million are Hindus and 17.22 billion Muslims. Of the total population of India, 79.8% are Hindus and 14.2% are Muslims. This was followed by Christians at Rs 278 crore (2.3%) and Sikhs at Rs 208 crore (1.7%). Less than 1% of the remaining population believes in Buddhism and Jainism.
Compared with 2001, India’s population increased by 17.7% in 2011. During this period, the Muslim population experienced the largest increase, by approximately 25%. The increase among Hindus was less than 17%. Likewise, the Christian population grew by 15.5%, Sikhs by 8.4%, Buddhists by 6.1% and Jains by 5.4%.
At the same time, if we compare 1951 to 2011, the Muslim population grew the most. It was 3.54 billion rupees in 1951 and increased by 386% to 17.22 million rupees in 2011. In 1951, the Hindu population was Rs 303.5 crore. By 2011, the Hindu population increased by 218% to reach Rs 96.62 crore. Likewise, the Sikh population increased by 235% and the Christian population by 232%.
In 1951, India’s Hindus accounted for 84%, Muslims accounted for 9%, Christians accounted for 2.2%, and Sikhs accounted for 1.7%. In 2011, Hindus accounted for 79.8% of the population, Muslims accounted for 14.2%, Christians accounted for 2.3%, and Sikhs accounted for 1.7%.
Who is leading the way in family planning?
Population growth is directly related to fertility rates. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), total fertility rate refers to the number of children a woman has or is able to have in her lifetime.
Central government data shows fertility rates have fallen in every community over 30 years. However, Muslim women are slightly ahead of Hindu women in family planning. The first National Family Health Survey (NFHS) was conducted in 1992-93. The fertility rate for Hindu women at that time was 3.3, while that for Muslim women was 4.4. That is, at that time, a Hindu woman had an average of 3 children in her lifetime, while the ratio for Muslim women was more than 4.
The NFHS 5 report was released in November 2022. According to this, the current fertility rate among Hindu women is 1.9 and that among Muslim women is 2.3. Even now, Muslim women have more children than Hindu women. But over 30 years, the fertility rate among Muslim women has dropped by more than 47%, while that among Hindu women has dropped by 42%.
India will be the country with the largest Muslim population by 2050
In 2015, a study by the American research company Pew Research Center came out. The study predicts that by 2050, India will have the largest Muslim population in the world.
The study projects that India’s Hindu population will reach 1.3 billion by 2050, while its Muslim population will exceed 310 million. In other words, India alone will account for 11% of the world’s Muslim population by then.
Currently, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world. But by 2050, India will have the largest Muslim population in the world. By 2050, India’s population is estimated to be around 1.66 billion.
If the Pew Research Center’s estimates are correct, India will be 78% Hindu and 18% Muslim by then.
