The Population Foundation of India, a Delhi-based policy and advocacy organisation, has pointed to “misreporting” about the findings of a study by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and its “misleading” and “selective portrayal” to highlight the increase in the Muslim population in India.  

The non-profit said it was “deeply concerned” over media reports spreading “alarm” about the rise in the population of the Muslim community. “Such interpretations are not only inaccurate but also misleading and baseless”. 

The study, titled Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015), examined the changes in the population of majority and minority religious communities across 167 countries. In India, it said the Hindu community’s population decreased by 7.82 percent over 65 years, from 84.68 percent in 1950 to 78.06 percent in 2015. 

During the same time period, the share of Muslim population rose from 9.84 to 14.09 percent, the Christian population from 2.24 to 2.36 percent, and the Sikhs’ share from 1.24 to 1.85 percent over 65 years. The share of the Buddhist population also witnessed a rise, from 0.05 percent to 0.81 percent. The population of Jains and Parsis declined, with the latter witnessing an 85 percent dip. 

Many media reports, however, contrasted only changes in Muslim and Hindu populations without also looking at these changes in absolute numbers. Several journalists flagged issues with how the report was analysed in the media.

The sweeping claims made in these clickbaity headlines were also fact-checked by media outlets (see here and here).

In its statement, PFI noted the decline in the decadal growth rate of the Muslim population – from 32.9 percent in 1981-1991 to 24.6 percent in 2001-2011. It said that “successful family planning programmes in Muslim majority countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia have resulted in lower birth rates compared to India”.        

“Population Foundation of India urges the media to refrain from using demographic studies to create fear and division,” it said. “It is essential to present data accurately and contextually, highlighting the role of education, income and socioeconomic development in shaping demographic trends. We advocate for policies that promote inclusive development and gender equity to ensure a balanced and harmonious society.”

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made references to Muslims as those with “more children”. Similar lexicon and other false claims are used by right-wing groups to fuel the Hindutva conspiracy theory of “population jihad”.  But what is “population jihad” ? Is it fact or fiction? Senior journalist Sreenivasan Jain offers a complete answer in three minutes. Watch here.