EAC PM Report: A study conducted by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) found that between 1950 and 2015, the population share of Hindus, who make up the majority religion in India, fell dramatically by 7.81 percent.
Shift in Demographics
In India, the proportion of minorities—including Buddhists, Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians—rose while the Hindu population declined. However, the proportion of Jains and Parsis in the mix decreased. In contrast, the study found that majority communities in many neighboring countries experienced a population increase.
According to the study, the proportion of Hindus in India’s population increased from 84.68 percent in 1950 to 78.06 percent in 2015, while the proportion of Muslims in the country decreased from 9.84 percent to 14.09 percent over the same 65-year period.
Comparative Decline in Majority Population
India’s majority population is declining at a rate that is second most significant among its immediate neighbors, after Myanmar’s 10% decline. The population of the majority Hindu community in Nepal also decreased by 3.6%. The study, which evaluated trends in 167 countries, was published in May 2024. India’s performance, according to the authors, is in line with broader global trends.
BJP officials reacted quickly to the report. “This is what decades of Congress rule did to us. Left to them, there would be no country for Hindus,” Amit Malviya posted on X (formerly Twitter). Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, BJP Vice President of Andhra Pradesh, stated that under Congress’ 50-year rule “Hindus were treated as eighth-class citizens in their own country.”
Concerns Raised by Union Minister
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar says “This is a very significant issue on which all Indian 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… 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, Christians from the benefits that minorities get from GoI and state govts?”
He added that, “Given this large increasing population of one minority religion, the Muslims, and on top of that, some political parties wanting to alter the Constitution and give religion based reservation to the muslim community, what will that deadly combination of growth in population and reservations, what will the effect of that be on other much more deprived communities like OBCs, SCs and STs?…”
Owaisi Disregards EAC-PM Report
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi gave a response to the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM) report on Thursday. As a “report from Whatsapp University,” he disregarded it.
When asked about the Hindu population’s declining share, Owaisi said he needed to see the report before answering. He questioned the report’s legitimacy and source, calling it a product of “WhatsApp University.”
Maurya Blames Congress for Population Trends
Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Keshav Prasad Maurya expressed similar views, holding the Congress accountable for the decrease in the Hindu population. He blamed the Congress’s appeasement of Muslims policy for the growth in the Muslim population.
He wrote on Twitter, “Hindu population in the country decreased by 7.8% in 65 years, Muslim population increased by 43% – the report is the result of wrong policies of Congress.”