Report on 'shrinking' Hindu population scary, says Union Minister Pralhad Joshi

Hubballi: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the report titled ‘Share of religious minorities: A cross-country analysis’ presents a ”scary” picture and that society and governments must take it seriously.

Stating that he has not received the report, he said he has only read about it in the media.

“A report has come regarding demographic change. Society and government should take it seriously. This is the only expectation because it has figured prominently in all the media, be it newspapers or news channels,” Joshi told reporters here.

“This report is scary. Governments must take this report seriously and think about alterative measures,” Joshi said.

When asked about the reasons, Joshi said it was difficult to say what the reasons are. ”There is a need to do a complete study,” he said.

The share of Hindus in the total population of the country has decreased by 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015, while that of Muslims increased by 43.15 per cent, suggesting that there is a conducive environment to foster diversity, said a recent working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

It, however, did not give absolute numbers. The last census in the country was done in 2011, and the one due in 2021 has not been conducted. It was also not clear how the EAC-PM arrived at the 2015 numbers.

The paper titled ‘Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)’ further said the share of Jains in the population of India decreased from 0.45 per cent in 1950 to 0.36 per cent in 2015.