India to become world's largest Muslim country in..., population will cross..., Hindus will be...
India to become world's largest Muslim country in…, population will cross…, Hindus will be…
Hindu-Muslim Population of India: According to a study that was published in 2015 by the United States-based Pew Research Center, the Muslim population in India is expected to increase to such an extent that it will become the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Currently, Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims. However, India's rapidly growing population, combined with a high growth rate of the Muslim community, may change the scenario soon.
According to the report, by 2050 the total population of India will be 166 crores, in which the population of Hindus is expected to be 130 crores. The population of Muslims will be 31 crores by then. In 2050, the country's share in the total world's Muslim population will be 11 percent. This change will majorly impact demographics and consequently, social, cultural, and political discussions. How Many Hindus-Muslims Between 1951 And 2011?
From 1951 to 2011, in India, the trend of population growth has witnessed a drastic change on the basis of religion. As per Pew Research's data, the fastest growth has been recorded in the Muslims of the country. In 1951, the population of Muslims in India was 3 crore 54 lakh, which has increased to 17.20 crore in 2011. A jump of 386 percent was recorded in the population of Muslims during this period.
Between 1951 and 2011, the Hindu population grew from 300 million to 960 million, a 218% increase. This growth rate was significantly lower than that of the Muslim population. However, the Muslim population's rapid growth is tempered by a concurrently declining fertility rate. Over the same period, the Sikh and Christian populations increased by 235% and 232%, respectively. Decline In Fertility Rates
The Pew Research Report also revealed that there has been a clear decline in the fertility rate in both Muslim and Hindu communities, a positive sign towards population stabilisation.
If we look at the fertility rate among Muslims, the fertility rate of women was 4.4 percent in 1992-93, which recorded 2.3 in 2022. Meanwhile, a decline of 47 percent was recorded.
The fertility rate of Hindu women was 3.3 in 1992-93, which became 1.9 in 2022, with a decline of 42 percent. Is Population Growth A Matter Of Social Concern?
Analysis of religious population data reveals that the growth of the Muslim population in India is attributable to socioeconomic factors like access to education and wealth, rather than being a cause for political or social alarm. A consistent decline in fertility rates is observed across all religious groups. Consequently, India's population is projected to be multi-religious but increasingly socially homogenous by 2050.
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Hindustan Times
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Twist in UP politics: Swami Prasad Maurya launches bloc, names himself CM candidate
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The Print
an hour ago
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BJP slams Yunus govt ‘inaction' after Tagore mansion attacked in Bangladesh—'Islamists sending message'
On Tuesday, a mob reportedly vandalised the house, now a museum, in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, and assaulted the museum director, only two days after an altercation between a visitor and the museum staff over parking fees escalated into a local protest. The mob targeted the heritage site, including an auditorium, following which the authorities formed a three-member committee to investigate the matter. The police have reportedly booked 50 persons so far. At a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said, 'The behaviour of the Bangladesh interim government of Muhammad Yunus is not appropriate. It has taken no action so far. It could not protect such a significant international monument. A deplorable message goes out to the world. The BJP condemns this behaviour.' New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has attacked the Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladesh interim government for its 'inaction' after an attack on the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore on 10 June. The BJP criticised Yunus Thursday for failing to save the UNESCO-protected Rabindra Kachharibari from a 'pre-planned attack' by Islamists, with the incident turning into a diplomatic flashpoint. Sambit Patra, however, said that the members of Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam were suspected to be behind the attack. Calling the incident an ideological attack on the ideology of Tagore, Patra said, 'Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was no ordinary figure. He was not just a literary icon; he was a multifaceted individual who made a significant contribution to the world. He was a man with a personality that went beyond borders.' BJP leader and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, on the other hand, pointed fingers at Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Chhatra Shibir activists for the vandalism. 'The sacred legacy of our most precious Kobiguru Rabindranath Thakur was desecrated in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, where a mob led by BNP and Chhatra Shibir activists vandalized the historic Rabindra Kachari Bari,' Adhikari wrote in an X post. He also added political colour to his comments. Comparing the Mamata Banerjee-led government and the Yunus government and accusing both of giving space to radical forces, he warned, 'This is a wake-up call for the Hindus of West Bengal. When extremist forces gain ground, they spare no one; not even a figure revered worldwide like Tagore.' BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya wrote on X: 'The mob raised hateful slogans against Tagore, shattered windows, and destroyed furniture—an open assault on Bengal's cultural soul … Whether it is attacks on temples, disruption of Hindu livelihoods, or the suppression of age-old traditions—Bengal's civilisational core is under siege. Culture, identity, and faith—all are being targeted.' Pre-planned attack 'Today, the topic is Bangladesh. We are not intruding on the international domain. However, it is about Rabindranath Tagore, so the BJP takes it very seriously and sensitively. His ancestral house in Bangladesh was attacked and damaged,' Sambit Patra told the media, adding, 'His Kachharibari, built by his grandfather, was attacked.' Patra further alleged, 'We are getting to know that the people of Jamaat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam carried out this attack. It is coming to light that this was a pre-planned attack. For five days, they planned the attack on the house of Rabindranath Tagore, who was the foundation and pillar of our civilisation and culture of Bengal, so that they could send a big message to the world.' Since Yunus took the reins in Bangladesh after the fall of Awami League leader and ex-PM Sheikh Hasina, the New Delhi-Dhaka relations have deteriorated, with the former accusing Dhaka of failing to protect minorities or check anti-Hindu violence. Moreover, India and the external affairs minister have condemned Yunus for calling Northeast India 'landlocked' during his trip to China and did not take his meeting with the deputy speaker of Nepal in good faith. 'We are the only guardians of the ocean,' Yunus also said during his China visit in March this year while inviting Chinese investment to Bangladesh. He went further, suggesting that the geographical placement of China offered a 'huge possibility', claiming the region could become 'an extension of the Chinese economy'. 'From Bangladesh, you can go anywhere you want. The ocean is our backyard,' Yunus declared. On Wednesday, Yunus also voiced his problem with India. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had brushed aside his request to prevent Sheikh Hasina from making political statements from Indian soil, where she had landed after waves of anti-quota protests drove her out of Bangladesh on 5 August 2024. (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: Bangladesh elections in April 2026, Yunus announces in televised address
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
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Chasing Dalit vote without addressing the social divide
At the 15th Convention of the Uttar Pradesh Scheduled Caste Federation held at the Ramlila ground in Agra on March 18, 1956, BR Ambedkar shared the reasoning behind his assertion that the Scheduled Castes (SC) were not Hindus. He said, 'If we had been Hindus, then we would not have been untouchables. Instead, we would have been pujaris (priests) in the temples.' Ambedkar's words continue to echo, given that untouchability, on a much-diminished scale though, remains a social reality seven decades after it was abolished and its practice in any form declared a punishable offence. Ironically, eradicating untouchability or social isolation of Dalits is no longer a major agenda of any political party though the scheduled castes are a much-wooed vote bloc. In March this year, Agra, where Ambedkar had installed a statue of Buddha (his ashes are kept near the statue), saw caste tensions escalate after the Rajasthan-based Karni Sena ransacked the house of Samajwadi Party MP and a Dalit, Ramji Lal Suman over his unwarranted remarks about a mediaeval-era Rajput ruler, Rana Sanga. Since then, reports of Dalit wedding processions in UP, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh being attacked or stopped in areas dominated by the upper castes have become frequent. The contradiction between Dalits being wooed in the electoral battlefield and rejected in the social space is not new. Dalits first emerged as a political constituency in northern India in the 1980s. The 1990s saw growing Dalit assertiveness under the leadership of the Bahujan Samaj Party, which even formed the government in Lucknow twice. At the same time, renting a house in UP on a non-Dalit street was a challenge for Dalits. In the mid-1990s, a Banaras Hindu University (BHU) professor had to hide his caste from the landlady to rent her premises in Varanasi. A Dalit intellectual, who had returned from the US to be with his aging parents, had to run from pillar to post to get decent accommodation in New Delhi. The scenario has not changed much. In 2025, a businessman in Agra failed to get a decent house, while a landlord in Prayagraj returned the advance payment after knowing the caste of the tenant. Ashok Bharti, chairman of National Confederation of Dalit and Adivasi Organisations, says, 'Being a Dalit in India means a life of challenges. Wherever, whichever direction Dalits go, caste is the monster that crosses their path. They can't buy or rent a house in a colony dominated by upper castes, Dalit children in schools can't get water or mid-day meals. In colleges, they are humiliated for accessing reservations and, in employment, their caste reaches before they join. However, the situation is improving. Dalit assertion is compelling and with the support of many progressive savarnas, they can now be seen in all places.' Untouchability infuriates Dalits, of course, but does it influence their political choices? The issue is absent in the poll agenda of even Dalit parties such as BSP, RPI, and Dalit Panthers even though they have been advocating social empowerment via political empowerment. But all political parties are pursuing the Dalit voter: Since the political preferences of major castes and communities are known, the scramble is for non-aligned Dalit voters. The success of the PDA (pichra or backward, Dalit, and alpsankhyak or minority) formula of the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general election has intensified the wooing. This has alarmed the Sangh Parivar which has been struggling to unite the Hindu population (80% of India's population) under the Hindutva banner. It is in this context that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat recently gave a call for social harmony — Bhagwat had been on a month-long tour of UP in April 2025. He reiterated the message in an RSS resolution — one temple, one well, and one cremation ground for all in villages to end untouchability. The 2017 resolution also noted that words and wishful thinking would not be enough. Pravin Togadia, then international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), had asked 'every non-Dalit Hindu to befriend at least one Dalit family.' But these statements have survived mostly as gestures. As RSS cadres and BJP functionaries fan out to the rural areas to explain their commitment to the constitutional rights of Dalits, the latter reiterate Ambedkar's words: 'If RSS really wants to abolish untouchability, they should appoint Dalit pujaris (priests) in temples and start inter-caste marriages (called roti-beti ka rishta in common parlance).' That said, there is a churn within the Dalit political community. Dalits worship Ambedkar and get protective about the Constitution, but the Dalit vote is neither a consolidated bloc nor is it the monopoly of any one party. With all political parties promising them the moon, the Dalit vote bloc has disintegrated. Welfare schemes of the Union government have attracted many to the BJP. Ambedkar had said Dalits don't worship Hindu idols, but some Dalit sub-castes are making a beeline for Ayodhya and Kashi. Jatavs, the largest chunk among the Dalits, are, however, embracing Buddhism. In this melee, younger Dalits are weighing their political options. They are restless, aggressive, and aware of their rights. On May 25, Dalits of a village in UP's Etah district sent a clear message to the authorities by refusing to allow a shobha yatra to pass through their village in retaliation to the district administration's alleged discriminatory act of not granting them permission for their procession on Ambedkar Jayanti in April. The message is clear: Do not take us for granted. It is this fault line the BJP will need to address if it wants to win over Dalits and defuse caste tensions in the states under the party. The views expressed are personal.
