Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PM-EAC): During the 65-year period between 1950 and 2015, the share of the Hindu population in India declined by 7.82 percent. Meanwhile, the number of Muslims, Christians and Sikhs has increased, according to a new analysis by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee (PM-EAC). It also suggested a ‘conducive environment’ for increasing diversity in the country.
The Economic Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister has submitted a report titled ‘Share of Religious Minorities: A cross country analysis’. Also, they analyzed data on the religious composition of the population for 167 countries.
India’s declining majority population and increasing minority population were in line with global trends. It was also seen in Europe. But compared to India’s neighbors it stood out.
The analysis relied on the Religious Characteristics of States dataset 2017 to track religious composition across the country. The study focused only on countries with majority religions accounting for more than 50 percent of the total population in 1950.
The Hindu population decreased by 7.82 percent, while the Muslim population increased from 9.84 percent to 14.09 percent. The share of Christians increased from 2.24 percent to 2.36 percent, the share of Sikhs increased from 1.24 percent to 1.85 percent, and the share of Buddhists increased from 0.05 percent to 0.81 percent. The population of Jain and Parsi community has decreased. The share of Jains decreased from 0.45 per cent to 0.36 per cent and the share of Parsis declined by 85 per cent from 0.03 per cent to 0.0004 per cent.
The report cautioned that the analysis was agnostic to the causes behind demographic changes. However, it concluded that “the net effect of increasing minority participation, policy actions, political decisions and social processes has provided an environment conducive to increasing diversity in society”.
The study says that there are ‘loud’ news reports on atrocities against minorities in India and vice versa, “Minorities are not only protected, but flourished” in India, especially in Pakistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, where minority populations are shrinking in Bangladesh.
Shamika Ravi, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Committee (PM-EAC) and one of the authors of the report, said India’s experience is similar to most of the world’s high-income and liberal democracies, such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has seen a steep decline in the share of majority religion.
When The Indian Express contacted him, he said, “The change in the proportion of minorities as a share of the total population is a credible response to the condition of minorities in a country, fostered through policies including defining minorities, which is a proportional practice globally.”
Of the 35 OECD countries studied, 25 are from Europe. And the share of majority religious sects in these countries has decreased by 29 percent.
The Population Foundation of India, a non-profit organization that addresses population issues through research and advocacy, cautioned that the report of the Economic Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister should not be misinterpreted to incite fear or discrimination against any community.
Poonam Mudreja, executive director of a non-profit, said the media should not selectively portray data to highlight the rise of the Muslim population while misrepresenting broader demographic trends.
Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has been declining among all religious groups, with the largest decline in total fertility rate (TFR) from 2005-06 to 2019-21 among Muslims, with a 1 percentage point decline in their total fertility rate, while Hindus have seen a 0.7 percentage point decline.
