No conquest in this division

Over the past several years, a tactic that has been employed by fringe groups to instil fear and widen communal distrust has been to play the Hindu-Muslim population card. In the backdrop of the recent controversy involving two leaders from the ruling party at the Centre stoking divisive flames with their rhetoric on Prophet Muhammad, an age-old ruse that has been going around for decades together seems to have caught the attention of the public.

The ruse in question involves a claim which purports that the population of the minority community, or Muslims in India is growing at an exponential rate and is threatening to unseat and overpower the population of the majority i.e. the Hindus, which could potentially reconfigure the identity of India as we know it.

If one had to go by reports released by the Census of India and private agencies like Pew Research and Lancet, it might seem like Hindus are nowhere in the vicinity of being outnumbered by Muslims. In 1951, India’s Hindu population stood at 304 mn while the Muslim population was 35 mn. Cut to 70 years later, the country’s Hindu population has risen to 1 bn or 100 crore Hindus in 2020, while the Muslim population stands at 207 mn.

Since 1951, as many as 1.14 crore Hindus have been added to India’s population on an annual basis, compared to the addition of 25 lakh Muslims annually. It’s essentially a 4.5 times increment as far as the majority is concerned. Interestingly, these additions are in spite of the Muslim population growth rate rising by 485% compared to the Hindu population growth rate of 259% over a span of seven decades.

Once also needs to account for fertility. As per recent records, the rate of fertility among Muslim women is at an all-time low, and tapering towards the fertility rate of Hindu women. Increased literacy and awareness of family planning among all communities have done their bit in levelling the numbers. The economic realities of the nation are also potent contributors in limiting the number of children being born on an annual basis. Which also brings us to the question of migration, a phenomenon that is not limited to one single community. Seeking greener pastures and better standard or quality of life, Indians formed the bulk of the international migrant community in 2017, as per an ADB report. India had a staggering 17 mn outward migrants, followed by China with 10 mn and Bangladesh with 7.5 mn outward migrants.

While most of India’s outward migrants might have left these shores on account of education or employment prospects or reuniting with their families settled abroad, we are not really out of the water. If the government keeps up with its attitude of turning a blind eye to the abuse of rights of minorities, disadvantaged communities, sexual minorities and historically oppressed populations, we might have to shamefully account for another category of outward migrants – those fleeing violence, persecution and conflicts, like we are witnessing in Ukraine right now.

As a nation, we have a responsibility to wean impressionable young minds away from this doctrine of hatefulness – starting from the homes, to schools, colleges, workplaces and more. This tendency to judge individuals by their crosses, their skull caps, turbans, hijabs, veils and vermilion must cease, if we are even remotely serious about maintaining our hard-earned reputation as one of the most multicultural, tolerant and pacifist nations globally.