Author: Our Staff Reporter
Publication: The Hindu
Date: April 21, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/04/21/stories/2003042103741100.htm
The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K.
Advani, today called for a rigorous and continuous observation and analysis
of the changing demography of different religious groups in various parts
of the country.
Addressing a select audience here
after releasing a book "Religious Demography of India", Mr. Advani said
such an analysis was of paramount importance to maintain the integrity
of "our borders" and peace, harmony and public order within the country.
Written by A.P. Joshi, M. D. Srinivas and J. K. Bajaj, the book has been
published by the Chennai-based Centre for Policy Studies in association
with the Indian Council of Social Science Research.
Referring to some findings of the
book regarding demographic changes of various religions in the past one
century, he said: "Politicians should not shy away from demographic changes
in India such as the North-East''. He termed the book as a landmark publication.
Giving some findings of the book,
Mr. Bajaj said that with the current trend of demographic changes in India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh, the percentage of Hindus (including Buddhists,
Jain and Sikhs, for which the three authors have given a common term of
Indian Religionists) would be reduced to minorities in the second half
of the century. The percentage of Indian religionists in the region had
dropped from 78 per cent to 67 per cent in a century. This, Mr. Bajaj,
said was a fairly large decline for a single religious community.
Commenting specifically on India,
Mr. Bajaj said 57 per cent of the population lived in two-thirds of the
country, where Hindus constituted more than 90 per cent of the population.
However, there were some pockets of Muslim- dominated areas and some Christian-dominated
ones.
On the Gangetic belt, comprising
19 per cent of the area and 38 per cent of the population, Mr. Bajaj said
the share of Indian religionists had come down by four per cent, which
he said could not be considered a normal phenomenon.
In the border districts of India,
the share of Indian religionists had come down by seven per cent, which
he said was very high, while those in Kerala had declined by 12 per cent.
Alarming was the condition of several
States of the Northeast, where the Christian population was increasing
very fast. Now there are only small pockets, which were dominated by Indian
religionists.
After Arunachal Pradesh became a
State, there had been a rise in the Christian population. The same was
the case with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where Christians now constituted
60 per cent of the population, while it was almost negligible before Independence.
