IndiaPost.com - Is Muslim population in India increasing or decreasing?

It cannot be denied that Mus-lims in India are backward, poor and uneducated. Yet, even Muslims themselves are unwilling to accept that the Muslim population in India is decreasing.

The Sachar Committee has given credence to this baseless allegation. The Sachar committee report portrays the poor conditions of Muslims, a fact nobody can deny. People of all viewpoints concur that improvement in the conditions of Muslim population will contribute greatly to the progress of our nation.

But exaggerating one part at the expense of the whole is a recipe for confusion. Even as the Sachar Committee was unable to bring about any benefits for the Muslim community, a single statement by it has raised the specter of revolt throughout the country.

It has stated that the Muslim population is decreasing as a result of their substandard conditions in all spheres of life. This is an irresponsible and baseless statement. The report's far-reaching support of Muslims attracted reactions such as "A blind person seeing too deep in the darkness". Just before the report was to be presented in Parliament, there was a hue and cry, with doubts expressed about the basis on which the report came to the conclusion that the Muslim population in India was decreasing.

This lie has brought into question the very authenticity of this report. Not only did Shri Sachar's efforts and the government funds for this report go down the drain, but Muslims too were put in the dock. Far from doing any good for Muslims, all political parties and the nation's intelligentsia believed that this verbal exercise was performed merely to exploit the Muslim vote bank.

Even if it was a measure to exploit the vote bank, there is considerable doubt as to what has been really gained by the ruling and opposition parties and those relying on Muslim votes! The Manmohan Singh government is in a dilemma, since it cannot ascertain the basis on which this report by Sachar Committee is to be accepted.

A detailed report of the Census presented to the government in September 2004 shows that the growth rate for the Muslim population over the past 10 years is higher than that for the Hindu population. The issue caused uproar both within and outside Parliament.

When the chairman of a committee appointed by the ruling party himself makes a statement that the Muslim population is decreasing, which contradicts government statistics, the question arises: who is correct? Such erroneous statements represent an attempt to mislead Parliament and our country, and amounts to a breach of special rights.

This statement by Sachar is no ordinary matter. Either Sachar or the Census Bureau has misled the country. The Census report stated that the Muslim population grew at the rate of 36 percent from 1991 to 2001 while the growth rate of the Hindu population remained at 20.5 percent.

When questions were raised nationwide after publication of these statistics, the Census Bureau called another press conference on the third day and stated that the Muslim population was reported at a higher level due to an error in the census carried out in the Jammu-Kashmir region, and that in fact, the Muslim population has also decreased. But it did not specify the extent of decrease.

A decrease at the same rate as the Hindu population would still be tantamount to an increase. The Census Bureau failed to give any answer when the issue of Assam was raised. It is quite clear that a different picture was painted for political reasons; this did not solve the real problem.

Even if one were inclined not to look at these numbers, the growing population of Muslims is a fact of everyday experience. It can be noticed visually as well, because of the unique dress code this section of the population has always espoused in comparison to other sections of the society.

Before the actual census statistics of 2001 were published, some Muslim leaders claimed that the population of Muslims in India was around 17 crores, whereas the Shahi Imam said it was about 25 crores. Through the use of these numbers, they were attempting to corner reservations in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

They even alleged that the Census Bureau was purposely reporting a lower Muslim population. When the truth was revealed, they went on the defensive. Sachar too has had to go on the defensive. His statement that the Muslim population is decreasing is a hoax and an attempt to hoodwink the government and the people of this country.