Hyderabad: Dr SY Quraishi, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India, has firmly rejected claims suggesting that the Muslim population in India is rapidly increasing and may surpass that of Hindus in the future.
Speaking at the ‘Manthan Samvad-2024’ event held in Hyderabad, he emphasized that these narratives are unfounded and said that even in another thousand years, Muslims would not outnumber Hindus in the country.
Decline in birth rates
During his address, Dr Qureshi pointed out that the decline in birth rates across all communities is primarily due to an increase in marriage age.
He explained that with changing societal norms, families are having fewer children. He noted that currently, there are no circumstances where women can have more than two children due to these evolving dynamics.
Furthermore, he highlighted that Muslims are at the bottom of the list regarding family planning practices and that Hindus rank just above them.
Dr Qureshi provided statistical insights into population growth from 1921 to 2011, revealing that while the Muslim population increased by 13.6 crore during this period, the Hindu population saw a much larger increase of 67.7 crore.
He also mentioned that since 2011, there have been no official population counts conducted, making it difficult to assess current trends accurately. However, he asserted that Muslims are currently practising family planning more effectively than Hindus.
Muslim literacy, employment
In addition to discussing population statistics, Dr Qureshi addressed issues of literacy and employment among Muslims in India.
He stated that Muslims rank second lowest in literacy rates and are on par with Scheduled Castes (SCs) concerning access to jobs and basic infrastructure.
