The Muslim population grew by 24.6% between 2001 and the 2011 Census

New Delhi: The Muslim share in India’s population has grown faster than the rest between 2001 and 2011, the census on religious groups released by the Central government has revealed.The data, collected four years ago, has also shown the proportion of Hindu population to the total population has declined 0.66 per cent as against the rise of the proportion of Muslim population by 0.79 per cent.
The proportion of the Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain population also saw a fall in the numbers during this period.

In 2011, of the total population of 121 crore, the Hindus numbered 96.62 crore while the Muslims had a population of 17.22 crore. In 2001, on the other hand, the Hindus and the Muslims numbered 82.75 crore and 13.81 crore, respectively (total population was 102 crore). The Hindus grew at 16.8 per cent during this time as against the Muslims’ growth by 24.6 per cent.

In 2011, the Christians accounted for 2.78 crore, Sikhs 2.08 crore, Buddhists 84 lakh, Jains 45 lakh, other religions and persuasions 75 lakh and religions not stated 29 lakh. That year, the Christians saw a decline from 2.34 per cent to 2.29 per cent, Sikhs from 1.87 per cent to 1.72 per cent, Buddhists from 0.77 per cent to 0.69 per cent and Jains from 0.41 per cent to 0.36 per cent.

The data showed only Muslims saw a rise in their proportion to the total population, from 13.43 per cent in 2001 to 14.22 per cent in 2011. The Muslim population grew by 24.6% between 2001 and the 2011 Census, against the 16.8% decadal growth rate of Hindus in the same period.Though the all-India decadal growth of Muslims was less than 29.3% between 1991 and 2001, their statewise decadal growth rate, as reflected in the 2011 Census, is higher than Hindus in all 35 states and UTs.The 2001-11 growth rate of total population was 17.7%.Christians, during this period, grew by 15.5%, Sikhs by 8.4%, Jains by 5.4% and Buddhists by 6.1%. Those stating other religions and persuasions grew by 19.6% in



the 10 years preceding 2011.Significantly, the number who didn't state their religion went up by 294% between 2001 and 2011.States and UTs where the Hindu decadal growth was higher than their averages are Punjab, Karnataka, Goa, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.Muslims, on the other hand, rose across states, bettering their national average in Mizoram (46.9%), Haryana (45.7%), Chandigarh (44.7%), Punjab (40.2%), Nagaland (39.9%), Uttarakhand (39%) and the NCT of Delhi (33%), Rajasthan (29.8%), Assam (29.6%), Bihar (28%) and Gujarat (27.3%). Kerala returned interesting results with a 12.8% rise in Muslim population between 2001 and 2011, far higher than the corresponding figures for Hindus (2.2%) and Christians (1.4%).The decadal growth rate for Christians (2001-11) was higher than 100% in Bihar and Arunachal, but the community recorded a negative growth in five states, including Nagaland (-2.8%), Andhra (-4.4%), Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.Sikhs recorded a high decadal growth in Odisha (25.7%), Gujarat (27.8%), Andhra (29.8%), Kerala (38.1%) and TN (53%), among others. The community showed negative growth in eight states UTs.Jains have shown a 5.4% decadal growth across the country. While Himachal shows a notable growth rate for the community between 2001 and 2011 (28.2%), as many as 8 states recorded a negative growth rate. The state UT figures for decadal growth between 2001 and 2011 show a notable rise in the Hindu population of UP (24.6%), Jharkhand (21.1%), Rajasthan (20.9%), MP (20%), Puducherry (28.9%) and NCT of Delhi (20.7%). States that show a Hindu decadal growth less than the national average are Kerala (2.2%), Arunachal (5.8%), Bengal (10.8%), Assam (10.9%), Andhra (10.3%), Himachal (12.6%), Odisha (13.2%), Chhattisgarh (13.2%), TN (14.9%), Maharasthra (15.2%), Karnataka (15.8%) and Haryana (16%), among others. Lakshadweep and Mizoram recorded a negative decadal growth at -19.5% and -4.5%. This could be due to their low population base.