EAC report showing dip in share of Hindu population poses serious questions, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar; Amit Malviya blames Congress

The Economic Advisory Council to the PM report says that the share of the Hindu population decreased by 7.82% between 1950 and 2015 in India, while that of Muslims increased by 43.15%

Updated - May 09, 2024 04:47 pm IST

Published - May 09, 2024 03:59 pm IST - New Delhi/Hyderabad

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. File

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The recent report of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) said that in India, the share of the majority Hindu population decreased by 7.82% between 1950 and 2015 (from 84.68% to 78.06%), while the share of the Muslim population, which in 1950 was 9.84%, increased to 14.09% in 2015 — a 43.15% increase in their share.

According to the EAC report, the share of the Christian population rose from 2.24% to 2.36% — an increase of 5.38% between 1950 and 2015. The share of Sikh population increased from 1.24% in 1950 to 1.85% in 2015 — a 6.58% rise in their share.

Even the share of the Buddhist population witnessed a noticeable increase from 0.05% in 1950 to 0.81%. On the other hand, the share of Jains in the population of India decreased from 0.45% in 1950 to 0.36% in 2015. The share of the Parsi population in India witnessed a stark 85% decline, reducing from 0.03% share in 1950 to 0.004% in 2015.

Need serious answers: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that this is a very important report that poses questions that need serious answers. ”This is a very significant issue on which all Indians should seriously ask a few questions because if only the Muslim community has increased its population by such a significant number over the last several years. The questions to be asked need serious answers,” Mr. Chandrasekhar told ANI.

”How much of this growth has been because of illegal immigration and conversion? How much of this growth of the Muslim community alone, is crowding out the other minority communities like Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Christians from the benefits that minorities get from the Government of India and State Governments?” he added.

Further, the Union Minister targeted the Congress over the reservation and said that given this large and increasing population of Muslims, some political parties want to alter the Constitution and give religious-based reservations. ”Given this large increasing population of one minority religion, the Muslims, and on top of that, some political parties want to alter the Constitution and give religious-based reservations to the Muslim community. What will that deadly combination of growth in population and reservations have on other much more deprived communities like OBCs, SCs and STs?” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.

Report from WhatsApp university: Asaduddin Owaisi

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen {AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi responded to the report of the EAC-PM and called it a “report from WhatsApp University”.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. File | Photo Credit: PTI

Asked about the declining share of the Hindu population, Mr. Owaisi said, “Forward me the report then I will respond. Whose report is this? Who made this report? Report from WhatsApp University.”

Left to Congress, there will be no country for Hindus: BJP’s Amit Malviya

Amit Malviya, the BJP’s in-charge of the National Information and Technology Department on May 8 targeted the Congress party over the report and said that if the country is left to the Congress, then there would be no country for Hindus.

Taking to his official X handle, Amit Malviya 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.”

Congress party worked like Muslim League: Keshav Prasad Maurya

Meanwhile, Keshav Prasad Maurya, Uttar Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister also held the Congress responsible for the decrease in the Hindu population and claimed that the Muslim population due to the party’s Muslim appeasement politics.

Speaking with ANI, Mr. Maurya said, “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.”

Mr. Maurya added further, “[The] Congress party worked like the Muslim League and therefore, the country witnessed an imbalance in the population. That is why, the country needs Uniform Civil Code [UCC].. Just like Hindus, Muslims will only marry one person. ‘Ye nahi ki ham 5 aur hamare 25 ke formule se santulan bigde,’ and then the demand for another Pakistan rises in the country. To prevent such things from happening, Uniform Civil Code is important.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.