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.
The high rate of Muslim population is not unique to India alone. Barring the isolated case of Indonesia, Muslim population growth outpaces almost every other group in just about any country in the world.
Almost ten years ago, I had analyzed the 1961 and 1991 census. The growth disparity even in the two were almost identical to one between the 1991 and 2001. Between 1961 and 1991 Muslim population had grown by 133.66% as compared to Hindu growth of 89.24% -- the Muslim population growth being 150% of the Hindu population growth.
To bring it up to date -- Between 1961 and 2001, in absolute numbers, the Hindu population has grown from 366 million to 827 million - a growth of 126% while the Muslim population in the same period grew from 47 million to 138 million -- a growth of 193 per cent. The Muslim population growth was consistent at about 50 per cent higher than the Hindu population. What is more alarming is that Hindu population growth rate has declined from 25% in the previous decades to about 20% in the decade preceding the Census while the Muslim population growth , if not increased, as the initial data had indicated, it has almost remained constant, and if declined, only marginally so. It is still a high of around 30%. The hoopla caused by census 2001 release just goes to show the hypocrisy of politicians of all hues. The controversy regarding the lack of census in J&K and Assam in 1991 and 1981 respectively, while it may satisfy the appetite of the secularists
