Hindu-Muslim Population of India: In a study published in 2015 by the US -based Pu Research Center, it is estimated that by the year 2050, the Muslim population in India will increase so much that it will become the largest Muslim population country in the world. Currently, this place is with Indonesia, but India’s rapid growing population and especially the high growth rate of the Muslim community can change it.
According to the report of the Pew Research Center, by the year 2050, India’s total population will be 166 crores, in which the population of Hindus is likely to be 130 crores and 31 crore of Muslims. By that time, India will be 11 percent in the total Muslim population of the world. This change will be not only the number of numbers but a demographic change with an important place in social, cultural and political discourse.
How many Hindu-Muslims between 1951 and 2011?
From 1951 to 2011, the trend of population growth in India has been quite diverse on religious grounds. The figures presented by Pew Research make it clear that the Muslim population has recorded the fastest growth. In the year 1951, the population of Muslims was 3 crore 54 lakh, which increased to 17 crore 20 lakhs in the year 2011. During this period, the population of Muslims recorded an increase of 386 percent.
At the same time, in 1951, the population of Hindus was 30 crores, which crossed 96 crores in 2011. During this period, an increase of 218 percent was seen, which is 168 percent less than Muslims. Apart from this, the population of Sikh and Christian has increased by 1951 to 2011 by 235 and 232 percent. The rate of Muslim population growth may have been fast, but one of the major aspects of this is that the fertility rate has been recorded over time.
Decline in fertility rate of Hindu and Muslim population
The Pew Research report states that there has been a clear decline in fertility rates in both Muslim and Hindu communities, which is a positive sign towards population stabilization. If you look at the fertility rate among Muslims, then in 1992-93, the fertility rate of Muslim women was 4.4 percent, which increased to 2.3 in 2022. Meanwhile, a decline of 47 percent was recorded. In the year 1992-93, the fertility rate of Hindu women was 3.3, which increased to 1.9 in the year 2022. Meanwhile, a decline of 42 percent was recorded. These figures suggest that there has been a sharp decline in fertility rate in Muslim women, which breaks the perception that the Muslim community is uncontrolled.
Is the population growth is a matter of social concern?
Religious population figures often become an emotional and controversial issue in political and social discourse, but the interpretation of real figures clearly makes it clear that the growth of Muslim population is based on factors such as natural and education/property access. The decline in reproductive rates is visible in all communities. By 2050, India is moving towards multi -religious but socially equal population structure.