Religion is a very important characteristic of the Indian population and Indian masses are religious par excellent. Religion is a way of life in India and it affects the social, economic and political structure of society. Different religions followed by different people living in different areas of the country, have created diversity of culture and brought about changes in life style of the masses.
India is the birth place of four major religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The most dominant, religion, however, is Hinduism. Hindustan, the land of the Hindus, is one of the names by which India is known.
In addition to being the birth place of four major religions of the world, India has embraced other world religions also. For example, Christianity and Islam came to India from other lands. The entry of these two religions in India goes back to almost the first days of their prophets. Syrian Christians appeared on the West Coast of India in the very first century of the Christian Era. The Arab traders brought Islam to the West Coast of India much before the Muslim conquest of this country. The persecuted Jews and Zoroastrians (Parsis) found sanctuary on the Indian soil. Sikhism appeared on the religious scene of India only about five centuries ago.
There have been large scale changes in the religious composition of population due to conversions from one faith to another. Spatial pattern of distribution of different religious groups had undergone drastic changes due to large scale migrations as a result of partition of India in 1947. Before partition, Hindus accounted for 66.5 per cent of the population of the sub-continent and Muslim 23.7 per cent (census 1941). With partition, large number of Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan and Bangladesh and Hindus migrated to India from these countries. Consequently, the proportion of these two religious communities in the total population changed. The percentage of Hindus rose to 84.1 per cent and that of Muslims fell to 9.8 per cent (census 1951). Since then, the percentage of Hindu population has fallen marginally while that of Muslims has increased considerably. The percentage of Hindus had fallen from 84.1 per cent in 1951 to 83.09 per cent in 1981 and 82.41 per cent in 1991 while that of Muslims had increased from 9.8 per cent 1951 to 10.88 per cent in 1981 and 11.67 in 1991.
One heartening fact about religions composition of India is that different religious groups have coexisted for the last several centuries even during the troubled times when there have been clashes based on religion. India is the only country in the world where people belonging to different religious faiths are coexisting in peace and harmony.
The Hindus
As mentioned earlier, the Hindus are the preponderant majority in most of the states and union territories of India. According to 1991 census figures there were 687.6 million Hindus which accounted for 82.41 per cent of the total population of the country. The Hindus of India account for about 12 per cent of the world population ranking below those professing Christianity and about equal with the followers of Islam, but much above other religions. However, the percentage of Hindus to total population of India is decreasing gradually. This is largely because of comparatively lower growth rate of the Hindus and partly due to conversation of Hindus into other religious faiths. For example, the Hindus have registered a growth rate of 23.79 per cent (excluding Assam and J&K) during the decade between 1981-1991.
In terms of the absolute figures, Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state, has the largest number of 113.7 million Hindus (1991). This is followed by Bihar (71.19 million), Maharashtra (64.03 million), Madhya Pradesh (61.41 million), Andhra Pradesh (59.28 million), West Bengal (50.87 million) and Tamil Nadu (49.53 million). These seven states together account for 70 per cent of the total Hindu population of India.
The Hindus constitute the majority community in most of the states and union territories of India. While the Hindus comprised 82.41 per cent of the total population of India in 1991, they are 95.90 per cent in Himachal Pradesh, 95.48 per cent in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, 94.67 per cent in Orissa, 92.80 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 89.48 per cent in Gujarat, 89.21 per cent in Haryana, 89.14 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 89.08 per cent in Rajasthan and 88.67 per cent in Tamil Nadu. However, the Hindus are in minority in certain states and union territory of Lakshadweep, by Sikhs in Punjab, by Christians in Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and almost equaled by unspecified religions and persuasions in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Muslims
According to 1991 census figures the Muslims population numbered 101.59 million which worked out to be 11.67 per cent of the total population of India. These figures exclude the population of Jammu and Kashmir where 1991 census could not be held. Muslims constitute the second largest religious community and the largest minority community of India. The special feature of the Muslim population is that it has shown an overall growth rate of 32.76 per cent during 1981-91, which is much higher than the national average of 23.79 per cent and 22.78 per cent of the Hindus. In fact, the Muslims have grown faster than any other religious community except the Buddhists who have recorded 35.98 per cent growth rate during 1981-91. The rate of increase in Muslim population was abnormally high of 135 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh. The other states and union territories where exceptionally high rate of growth of the Muslim populationwas recorded include Mizoram (105.80%), Chandigarh (91.74%), Delhi (84.65%), Nagaland (74.84%), Dadra and Nagar Haveli (72.93%), Goa (48.74%), Meghalaya (48.34%), Haryana (45.89%), Pondicherry (44.20%), Punjab (42.42%), Tripura (41.84%) and Rajasthan (41.46%). Various reasons are assigned to this phenomenal growth of the Muslim population in India, the outstanding being the social, cultural and economic reasons.
In term of absolute figures, Uttar Pradesh (24.11 million), West Bengal (16.07 million), Bihar (12.79 million), Maharashtra (7.63 million), Kerala (6.79 million), Assam (6.37 million), Andhra Pradesh (5.92 million) and Karnataka (5.23 million) are the major states where Muslim population is mainly concentrated. Although 1991 census figures are not available with respect to Jammu and Kashmir, the state had 3.84 million Muslims in 1981. This is in the near vicinity of Gujarat (3.05 million).
The Christians
The Christians form the third largest religious community in India. According to 1991 census figures there are 18.89 million Christians living in India. Christians formed just 1.6 per cent of Indian population in 1941 but it rose to 2.3 per cent in 1951, perhaps due to partition of the sub-continent. In 1971, there were 2.6 per cent Christians in India which fell slightly to 2.4 per cent in 1981 and to 2.32 per cent in 1991.
The north-eastern states are predominantly inhabited by Christians. For example, Christians constitute 87.47 per cent of the total population in Nagaland, 85.73 per cent in Mizoram, 64.58 per cent in Meghalaya and 34.11 per cent in Manipur. Christians are in large proportion in Goa and Kerala also, where they form 29.86 and 19.32 per cent of the total population respectively. But speaking in absolute figures, Kerala has the largest number of Christians, amounting to about one-third of the total Christian population of India. The total number of Christians living in Kerala is 5.62 million (1991). In Kottayam and Ernakulam districts of Kerala, Christians account for over 40 percent of the total population. There are several other districts in this state where the Christian population ranges between 15 to 25 per cent. After Kerala the important states with Christian population are Tamil Nadu 3.18 million, Andhra Pradesh (1.22 million), Meghalaya (1.15 million), Nagaland (1.06 million), Maharashtra (0.88 million), Karnataka (0.86 million), Bihar (0.84 million).
The Sikhs
There were 16.26 million Sikhs in 1991. Sikhs constituted just 1.4 per cent of the total population of India in 1941. Their percentage increased to 1.7 in 1951 as a result of large scale migration of the Sikhs from Pakistan to India following partition of the country in 1947. Thereafter, the percentage of the Sikhs to total population of India has been increasing steadily. They constituted 1.96 per cent of the total population in 1981 which rose to 1.99 per cent in 1991. Needless to say that the Sikhs are an enterprising race and are scattered in almost all parts of the country. However, their largest concentration is in Punjab. According to 1991 census figures, 12.77 million Sikhs live in Punjab which is 62.95 per cent of the total population of the state. It is estimated that 78.6 per cent of the total Sikhs of the country live in Punjab alone. This is quite obvious because Sikhism took its roots in the soil of Punjab, where Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikhism preached his teachings. The Sikhs have an absolute majority in the districts of Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Bhatinda, Patiala, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib and Mansa. In the neighboring state of Haryana 9.56 lakh Sikhs are living according to 1991 census data. This amounts to 5.81 per cent of the total population of the state. Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Fatehabad and Sirsa are the main districts of the Sikh population. Minor pockets of the Sikh concentration are found in the Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh and Ganganagar, Alwar and Bharatpur districts of Rajasthan. In the union territory of Delhi 4.56 lakh Sikhs are living, which account for 4.84 per cent of its total population.
The Buddhists
India’s 6.39 million Buddhists constitute only 0.77 per cent of the total population of the country. However, the Buddhists have recorded exceptionally high growth rate of 35.98 per cent during the decade 1981-91, the highest growth rate recorded by any religious community. In some of the state/union territories, the growth rate of the Buddhists has been beyond imagination. For example, in Punjab there were only 799 Buddhists in 1981 and this figure rose to 24,930 in 1991 giving a growth rate of 3020.15 per cent in 1981-91. Similarly, Uttar Pradesh (305.99%), Tamil Nadu (189.52%), Madhya Pradesh (187.69%), Haryana (170.43%), Andaman and Nicobar Islands (153.54%) and Delhi (95.39%) recorded very high rates of growth during 1981-91.
The Buddhists are largely found in Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh and the Ladakh District of Jammu and Kashmir. They are also found to a lesser extent in Mizoram, Tripura and Himachal Pradesh. The concentration of Buddhists in the northern part of India is mainly because it is near that the Buddhism originated and spread over the Himalayas. In 1991, Maharashtra had the largest number of 5.04 million Buddhists which accounted for 79.72 per cent of the total Buddhist population of India, though it is only 6.39% of the total population of the state. The large population of Buddhists in Maharashtra is mostly due to the wholesale conversion of a community of Harijans, following the advice of their leader, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Sikkim’s 110,371, Buddhists, however, give this state the largest proportion of Buddhists in the country, 27.15% of its total population.
The Jains
3.35 million Jains of India are widely spread in the western parts of the country. Maharashtra (965,840), Rajasthan (562,806), Gujarat (491,331) and Karnataka (326,114) are important states. But nowhere they form more than 2 per cent of the population. Being a community of industrious people with great financial acumen, most people of the Jain community are engaged in business and live in urban areas.
The Parsis
About one million Parsis, Zoroastrians by religion, are the smallest religious group and form just 0.4 per cent of the population of India. About 90 per cent of this community is concentrated in the city of Mumbai and the southern coastal Gujarat, around Surat.
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