A striking demographic shift has been observed in India’s religious population from 1950 to 2015, according to a report published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM). During this 65-year span, the Hindu population—India’s majority—saw a decrease of 7.82 percent from its original 84.68 percent stake to 78.06 percent of the total populace. On the contrary, the Muslim community experienced a significant surge in their numbers, with their share escalating from 9.84 percent in 1950 to 14.09 percent in 2015, marking a growth of 43.15 percent.
The changes in population shares have triggered political discourse, particularly from Amit Malviya, the in-charge of the Bhartiya Janta Party’s National Information and Technology Department. Malviya criticized the Congress party on social media, attributing these demographic changes to their prolonged governance. On his official handle, he tweeted, “Share of Hindus shrunk 7.8% between 1950 and 2015. The Muslim population grew by 43%. This is what decades of Congress rule did to us. Left to them, there would be no country for Hindus.”
The EAC-PM’s study encompassed other religious communities as well, shedding light on their population trends over the decades. The Christian population in India showed a modest increase from 2.24 percent to 2.36 percent, showcasing a growth of 5.38 percent between the specified years. Similarly, the Sikh community witnessed an upward trajectory with their numbers standing at 1.24 percent in 1950 and rising to 1.85 percent in 2015, amounting to a 6.58 percent increase in their population share.
Buddhists in India also saw an appreciable increase in their share, shooting up from a meager 0.05 percent in 1950 to 0.81 percent in 2015. However, not all minorities experienced growth; the Jain community underwent a decline in their share from 0.45 percent to 0.36 percent. Most notably, the Parsi population, which is already a small community in India, faced a staggering 85 percent downturn, plummeting from a 0.03 percent share in 1950 to a mere 0.004 percent in 2015.
These demographic patterns have not gone unnoticed by Indian politicians, particularly within the ranks of the ruling party. Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, also pointed fingers at the Congress, holding them accountable for what he considers a worrying demographic imbalance. In a conversation with ANI, Maurya expressed his concerns, stating, “This is a topic of concern and this imbalance in the population—rise in Muslim population and decline in Hindu population—has happened because of the Congress’ Muslim appeasement.”
The report thus lays bare the considerable shift in the religious landscape of India over the past six and a half decades. While there are various factors at play such as birth rates, conversion rates, and migration, the data has become a focal point for political commentary and debate. The findings have broad implications not just for the sociopolitical fabric of the country but also for policy formulation, as India continues to evolve as a diverse and populous nation. These demographics hold significance in the context of India’s electoral politics and have the potential to influence future governance and cultural discourses. The changes in the religious shares of the population reveal not only the dynamics of secular growth and decline but also the sensitive interplay between religion and politics in one of the world’s largest democracies.
