Hindu population falls 7.8%, Muslims up 43%

NEW DELHI: The share of Hindus in total population of the country has decreased by 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015, while that of Muslims increased by 43.15 per cent, suggesting there is a conducive environment to foster diversity, said a recent working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

It, however, did not give absolute numbers. The last census in the country was done in 2011, and the one due in 2021 has not been conducted. It was also not clear how the EAC-PM arrived at the 2015 numbers.

The paper titled ‘Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)’ further said the share of

Jains in the population of India decreased from 0.45 per cent in 1950 to 0.36 per cent in 2015.

“... The share of the majority Hindu population decreased by 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015 (from 84.68 per cent to 78.06 per cent). The share of the Muslim population in 1950 was 9.84 per cent and increased to 14.09 per cent in 2015 -- a 43.15 per cent increase in their share,” said the paper prepared by a team led by Shamika Ravi, member, EAC-PM.

According to the paper, the share of the Christian population rose from

2.24 per cent to 2.36 per cent -- a rise of 5.38 per cent between 1950 and 2015.

While the share of the Sikh population increased from 1.24 per cent in 1950 to 1.85 per cent in 2015 - a 6.58 per cent rise in their share, the share of the Parsi population in India witnessed a stark 85 per cent decline, reducing from 0.03 per cent share in 1950 to 0.004 per cent in 2015.

The data indicates “there is a conducive environment to foster diversity in the society,” the paper said, adding it is not possible to promote better life outcomes for the disadvantaged sections of society without providing a nurturing environment and societal support through a bottom-up approach.