kashmir herald oct.2004 Indian Census and Muslim population growth Vinod Kumar
I, personally, was not at all surprised; alarmed, yes -- but surprised -- no, by the "revelations" of the Census 2001. The Muslim population growth in India at one and half times the rate of Hindu population growth rate is no "revelation" and given the Hindu mindset and priorities neither is the decline in the rate of growth of Hindu population.. The broad outlines have been there for centuries for anyone to see, if only one was willing to face the reality. In broad terms, the Muslim population in India has been growing in geometrical progression vis-?is Hindus who have been growing in arithmetical progression. And with the improvement of educational and economic level of the Hindus, the disparity has become even more pronounced. To put it in broader perspective, Muslim population has steadily grown from 13% in 1800 to 16% in 1850 to 20% in 1900 to 25% in 1947 and anywhere between 30 to 33% today taking into account the geographical area of pre-partitioned India. These statistics are available from various sources.
