Share of Hindus shrunk 7.8% between 1950 and 2015

EAC-PM study says barring Parsis and Jains, share of all other religious minorities surged; Muslim population grew 43%

- SHIVA RAJORA

The share of India's majority Hindu population declined by 7.81 per cent between 1950 and 2015, while that of the Muslim community surged 43.15 per cent in the corresponding period, according to a study published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).

In the study titled, "Share of religious minorities: A cross-country analysis," the share of the Hindu population in India declined by 7.8 per cent to 78.06 per cent in this period. In contrast, the share of the Muslim and Christian population increased by 43.15 per cent to 14.09 per cent, and by 5.4 per cent to 2.36 per cent respectively in the corresponding period.

Similarly, the share of the Sikh and Buddhist populations witnessed an increase to 1.85 per cent and 0.81 per cent respectively during the same period. However, the share of Jains and Parsis in the population mix declined and stood at 0.36 per cent and 0.004 per cent respectively in 2015.