Rising Muslim presence in Maharashtra and Goa
In Goa, which geographically and culturally seems to form an extension
of the Konkan region, the share of Christians has been declining continuously
since 1910. Up to 1961, the gains accrued mostly to the share of Indian
Religionists. After 1961, the share of Muslims in Goa began to rise rapidly;
their share in the population has gone up from 1.9 to 8.3 percent in these five
decades.
Muslim presence in Maharashtra is fairly high with
their share in the population reaching 11.5 percent in Census 2011. They have
gained 4 percentage points in their share since 1961 and the accretion has been
the highest during the last two decades. The rise has been much more steep and
consistent in several regions and districts. In Greater Mumbai, their share has
increased from somewhat less than 13 percent in 1961 to nearly 21 percent now.
In Thane, there has been an even more spectacular rise from 4.3 percent in 1951
to 12.3 percent in 2011. During the same period, their share has risen from
10.5 to 16.6 percent in Akola (including Washim) and from 9.6 to 14.6 percent
in Amravati. In Nashik, the rise is from 6.3 to 11.4 percent; and, in
Aurangabad-Jalna-Prabhani-Hingoli part of Marathwada, their share has gone up
from 12.7 to 17.2 percent. Current Mumbai, Aurangabad and Akola district now
have the highest presence of Muslims at 25.1, 21.3 and 19.7 percent, respectively.
Muslims in Maharashtra are greatly concentrated in
urban areas; 73 percent of all Muslims in the State are urban. Their share in
the population in the cities and towns is generally higher than in the
underlying district; they form a majority in 20 of the 348 towns in the State
and have a share of between 40 and 50 percent in another 21. We have analysed
the growth of their share in these 41 towns. In nearly all of these, there has
been very high accretion to the share of Muslims in the last 3 or 4 decades. For
example, in the well-known Muslim-majority town of Malegaon, their share has
gone up from 67.4 percent in 1981 to 79.0 percent in 2011; and in Bhiwandi, it
has risen from 50.7 to 56.0 percent in the course of the last decade alone.
Another noteworthy place in this context is the newly developing Muslim
university town of Akkalkuwa in Nandurbar district, where Muslims form 74.7
percent of the population.
In seven of the 41 towns with Muslim presence of above
40 percent, not only the share but also the absolute number of Indian
Religionists has declined during the last decade. Karanja of Washim is one such
town; the share of Muslims here has increased from 40.4 to 49.8 percent during
2001-11 alone.
Christian presence is Maharashtra is not very high.
They form less than one percent of the population, and their share has been
slowly declining since 1961. They are also mostly concentrated in Greater
Mumbai-Thane region and in Pune. But the data also indicates improvement in
their share in several less well-endowed regions and districts.
Religious Demography of Maharashtra
Religious Demography of Maharashtra, 2001-11
|
|||||
Numbers
|
Percent Share
|
%GR
|
|||
2001
|
2011
|
2001
|
2011
|
2001-11
|
|
Total
|
9,68,78,627
|
11,23,74,333
|
100.00
|
100.00
|
15.99
|
Hindu
|
7,78,59,385
|
8,97,03,057
|
80.37
|
79.83
|
15.21
|
Muslim
|
1,02,70,485
|
1,29,71,152
|
10.60
|
11.54
|
26.30
|
Christian
|
10,58,313
|
10,80,073
|
1.09
|
0.96
|
2.06
|
Sikh
|
2,15,337
|
2,23,247
|
0.22
|
0.20
|
3.67
|
Buddhist
|
58,38,710
|
65,31,200
|
6.03
|
5.81
|
11.86
|
Jain
|
13,01,843
|
14,00,349
|
1.34
|
1.25
|
7.57
|
ORP
|
2,36,841
|
1,78,965
|
0.24
|
0.16
|
-24.44
|
RNS
|
97,713
|
2,86,290
|
0.10
|
0.25
|
192.99
|
Muslim presence in Maharashtra is quite high
As
seen in the Table above, Muslims form 11.5 percent of the population of Maharashtra.
This is the third highest share of Muslims, after Kerala and Karnataka, among
States lying to the south and west of the Ganga plains. Another notable aspect
of the Table above is the unusually high share of Buddhists in the population. This
is because in the first decade following Independence, large numbers converted
to Buddhism, responding to the call of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, raising the number
of Buddhists in Maharashtra from less than 25 lakh to around 2.8 crore and
their share in the population from 0.01 to 7.05 percent between 1951 and 1961.
Share of Buddhists has been slowly declining since then. We have analysed the
growth and decline of neo-Buddhism in different States of India, including
Maharashtra, in an earlier
note.
The share of Muslims has risen rapidly after 1961
IR
|
M
|
C
|
|
1951
|
91.03
|
7.61
|
1.35
|
1961
|
90.91
|
7.67
|
1.42
|
1971
|
90.18
|
8.40
|
1.42
|
1981
|
89.49
|
9.25
|
1.27
|
1991
|
89.21
|
9.67
|
1.12
|
2001
|
88.31
|
10.60
|
1.09
|
2011
|
87.50
|
11.54
|
0.96
|
The
share of Muslims in Maharashtra has been rising consistently since 1961. Between
1961 and 2011, their share has risen from 7.67 to 11.54 percent. This rise of
nearly 4 percentage points in five decades is unusually high. In each of the
last two decades, there has been an accretion of nearly one percentage point to
the share of Muslims. In many parts of the State, as we see below, the rise in
the proportion of Muslims has been much more abrupt than this average. The
share of Christians, on the other hand, has been declining slowly but
consistently since 1971. The phenomenon is similar to what we have seen in
Karnataka.
Decadal growth of Muslims has remained consistently
higher
Decadal
growth of different communities, 1951-2011
|
||||||
1951
|
1961
|
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
|
-1961
|
-1971
|
-1981
|
-1991
|
-2001
|
-2011
|
|
T
|
23.60
|
27.45
|
24.54
|
25.73
|
22.73
|
15.99
|
IR
|
23.43
|
26.43
|
23.58
|
25.35
|
21.48
|
14.93
|
M
|
24.54
|
39.50
|
37.15
|
31.41
|
34.61
|
26.30
|
C
|
29.38
|
27.93
|
10.92
|
11.27
|
19.57
|
2.06
|
T: Toal, IR: Indian Religionist, M:
Muslim, C: Christian
|
||||||
Decadal
growth of Muslims in the State has been consistently above the other
communities. There has been a sharp decline in the growth of Indian Religionists
and Christians during 2001-2011; the growth of Muslims has also declined, but
the gap between their growth and that of Indian Religionists and Christians has
become only wider in relative terms. In 2001-11, the gap between the growth of
Muslims and Indian Religionists is of 75 percent; earlier the greatest gap has
been of only around 60 percent during 1991-2001 and 1971-981. It needs to be
noticed that decadal growth of both Muslims and Christians in 1991-2001 was
higher than the previous decade, while the Indian Religionists had registered a
considerable decline.
Distribution of Muslims across the State
Before
proceeding with an analysis of the growth in the share of Muslims, let us first
look at their current distribution across the State. As seen in the Map below, Muslim
presence is low in Gadchiroli, Gondiya, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Wardha falling
in Nagpur division of Vidarbha region, in Satara of Western Maharashtra and in
Sindhudurg of Konkan. The share of Muslims is below 5 percent in only these 7
districts.
The
share of Muslims is relatively high, at above 10 percent, in all districts of
Amravati division of Vidarbha except Yavatmal; in all districts of Marathwada;
in Jalgaon and Nashik of Northern Maharashtra; in Mumbai, Suburaban Mumbai,
Thane and Ratnagiri of Konkan; and in Solapur of Western Maharashtra.
Thus
Muslims have a relatively low presence in Nagpur division of Vidarbha, in almost
all of Western Maharashtra and in Nandurbar, Dhule and Ahmadnagar of Khandesh
and Northern Maharashtra. Their presence is considerable everywhere else in
Maharashtra. Their highest presence, however, is in Mumbai, Suburban Mumbai,
Aurangabad, Akola and Prabhani districts.
During
the last few decades, the share of Muslims has risen considerably in all
districts, even in those where their presence is not very high. But the rise
has been very sharp in some of the districts and regions that we discuss below.
Rise in the Muslim presence in parts of Maharashtra
Greater Mumbai-Thane Region
Share of
Muslims in percent
|
||
Mumbai*
|
Thane
|
|
1951
|
14.52
|
4.28
|
1961
|
12.97
|
5.10
|
1971
|
14.13
|
6.31
|
1981
|
14.80
|
8.38
|
1991
|
16.83
|
8.99
|
2001
|
18.56
|
10.83
|
2011
|
20.65
|
12.26
|
* Mumbai+Suburban Mumbai
|
||
The
sharpest rise in the share of Muslims has occurred in the Mumbai-Thane region.
As seen in the Table here, their share in the population of Greater Mumbai had
declined from 14.5 to 13.0 percent in the first decade after Independence. In
the five decades since then, it has increased by nearly eight percentage points
to reach 20.6 percent now. The share of Muslims in Thane is relatively lower,
but it has also increased by 8 percentage points since Independence, from 4.3
percent in 1951 to 12.3 percent in 2011. This is indeed a very high level of
increase. Mumbai-Thane region, thus, seems to have become a stronghold of
Muslims only in the period following Independence.
The
process of accretion to the Muslim share in this region is becoming only
stronger. During the last decade alone, there has been an accretion of more than
2 percentage points to their share in Greater Mumbai. Greater Mumbai is now
divided into Mumbai and Suburban Mumbai. Their rise has been even sharper in
Mumbai, where their share has increased from 22.0 to 25.1 percent in the course
of the last decade alone.
Akola-Amravati-Buldana Region
Share of
Muslims in percent
|
|||
Akola*
|
Amravati
|
Buldana
|
|
1951
|
10.49
|
9.55
|
9.29
|
1961
|
11.55
|
9.72
|
9.44
|
1971
|
12.44
|
10.56
|
10.67
|
1981
|
13.12
|
10.91
|
11.00
|
1991
|
14.35
|
12.32
|
11.68
|
2001
|
15.40
|
13.32
|
12.78
|
2011
|
16.60
|
14.59
|
13.70
|
*Includes current Akola and Washim
|
|||
After
Mumbai-Thane, the greatest rise in the Muslim share has taken place in Akola-Amravati-Buldana
region. The share of Muslims in undivided Akola, which included Washim, has
increased by 6 percentage points, from 10.5 percent in 1951 to 16.6 percent
now. Akola is now divided into Akola and Washim. The rise seems to be sharper
in Akola component; during the last decade share of Muslims in this component
has risen from 18.5 to 19.7 percent, in Washim the increase in this decade has
been from 11.0 to 11.9 percent. The current Akola district has the third
highest share of Muslims in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Aurangabad.
The
rise in Muslim share in the neighbouring Amravati has been somewhat lower, from
9.6 percent in 1951 to 14.6 percent in 2011. But, the share of Muslims here
began to rise only after 1961. In each of the last 3 decades, there has been an
accretion of more than 1 percentage point to their share in this district.
In
Buldana, the share of Muslims has increased by more than 4 percentage points
since 1951. This rise is somewhat lower than Akola and Amravati, but during the
last two decades, there has been an accretion of nearly 2 percentage points in
this district.
Nashik
Share of Muslims
in Nashik
|
|
1951
|
6.26
|
1961
|
7.52
|
1971
|
8.82
|
1981
|
9.67
|
1991
|
10.18
|
2001
|
10.53
|
2011
|
11.35
|
Nashik
is another district where the share of Muslim has undergone an accretion of
more than 5 percentage points since 1951. They formed 6.3 percent of the
population in 1951; their share now is 11.3 percent. In this district, the rise
in the share of Muslims was relatively more rapid during the first two decades
of 1951-61 and 1961-71; in each of these decades there was an accretion of
about 1.3 percentage points. The rise became somewhat subdued during 1981-91
and 1991-2001; but during the last decade again, Muslims in the district have
seen an accretion of 0.9 percentage points.
Aurangabad-Jalna-Prabhani-Hingoli Region
Share of Muslims in
Aurangabad-Jalna-
Prabhani-Hingoli region
|
|
1951
|
12.72
|
1961
|
12.34
|
1971
|
13.28
|
1981
|
14.20
|
1991
|
14.82
|
2001
|
16.06
|
2011
|
17.23
|
In
this region, the share of Muslims has increased by 4.5 percentage points since
1951. Earlier this region comprised only Aurangabad and Prabhani districts. The
two have been split to create Jalna and Hingoli. The share of Muslims is
considerably higher in the current Aurangabad and Prabhani components, compared
to Jalna and Hingoli. The rise in the share of Muslims seems to have been much
sharper in Aurangabad; their share in the current Aurangabad district has risen
from 18.4 percent in 1991 to 19.7 percent in 2001 and 21.3 percent now, thus
marking an accretion of considerably above 1 percentage point in each decade.
We
have listed only the regions and districts that have registered higher accretion
in the share of Muslims than the average of nearly 4 percentage points that the
State has experienced as a whole since 1961. The share of Muslims has increased
by more than 2 percentage points in all districts excepting only Satara and
Sangli of Western Maharashtra and Bhandara, Gondiya, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and
Wardha of Vidarbha. In the remaining districts of Vidarbha and in most
districts of Marathwada, Konkan and Khandesh and Northern Maharashtra, the rise
in the share of Muslims has been between 3 and 4 percentage points.
Muslims in the Cities and Towns
Muslims
in Maharashtra are predominantly urban. Of 1.30 crore Muslims counted in 2011, nearly
95 lakh are in the cities and towns of the State. Thus, more than 73 percent of
the Muslims are urban, compared to 45 percent of the total population and less
than 40 percent of the Hindus. The share of Muslims in the urban population is
therefore higher at 18.64 percent compared to only 5.68 percent in the rural
and 11.54 percent in the total population.
The
share of Muslims in the population of the towns is generally higher than in the
total population of the underlying district. Among 348 towns of the State, there
are 20 where Muslims have a majority in the population; there are another 21 where
the share of Muslims is between 40 and 50 percent and 49 where their share is
between 30 and 40. As we have seen, there is only one district in the State
with Muslim presence of 25 percent and another three where they form around 20
percent; in all other districts their share in the total population is much
lower.
In the
Table below, we have listed all towns with Muslim presence of 40 percent or
more.
List of Towns with Muslim presence of above 40 percent
|
|||||
District
|
Town
|
Total
|
Muslim
|
%M
|
|
Nandurbar
|
Makranifali
(CT)
|
4,812
|
3,930
|
81.67
|
|
Nandurbar
|
Akkalkuwa
(CT)
|
17,840
|
13,327
|
74.70
|
|
Jalgaon
|
Yawal (M
Cl)
|
36,706
|
16,015
|
43.63
|
|
Jalgaon
|
Raver (M
Cl)
|
27,039
|
11,565
|
42.77
|
|
Jalgaon
|
Faizpur (M
Cl)
|
26,602
|
11,059
|
41.57
|
|
Buldana
|
Malkapur
(M Cl)
|
67,740
|
30,915
|
45.64
|
|
Akola
|
Balapur (M
Cl)
|
44,594
|
32,662
|
73.24
|
|
Akola
|
Patur (M
Cl)
|
21,095
|
11,909
|
56.45
|
|
Washim
|
Karanja (M
Cl)*
|
67,907
|
33,816
|
49.80
|
|
Washim
|
Mangrulpir
(M Cl)*
|
30,983
|
15,422
|
49.78
|
|
Amravati
|
Chandurbazar
(M Cl)*
|
18,759
|
8,046
|
42.89
|
|
Nagpur
|
Kamptee (M
Cl)*
|
86,793
|
37,473
|
43.18
|
|
Yavatmal
|
Yavatmal
(R) (CT)
|
14,766
|
11,040
|
74.77
|
|
Yavatmal
|
Darwha (M
Cl)*
|
25,791
|
11,956
|
46.36
|
|
Nanded
|
Wajegaon
(CT)
|
9,772
|
6,569
|
67.22
|
|
Hingoli
|
Kalamnuri
(M Cl)
|
24,784
|
11,276
|
45.50
|
|
Parbhani
|
Pathri (M
Cl)
|
36,853
|
19,105
|
51.84
|
|
Parbhani
|
Jintur (M
Cl)
|
44,291
|
22,679
|
51.20
|
|
Parbhani
|
Parbhani
(M Cl)
|
3,07,170
|
1,26,702
|
41.25
|
|
Jalna
|
Bhokardan
(M Cl)
|
24,416
|
10,530
|
43.13
|
|
Aurangabad
|
Khuldabad
(M Cl)
|
15,749
|
9,147
|
58.08
|
|
Aurangabad
|
Sillod (M
Cl)
|
58,230
|
27,501
|
47.23
|
|
Aurangabad
|
Kannad (M
Cl)
|
40,759
|
16,499
|
40.48
|
|
Nashik
|
Maldhe
(CT)
|
11,881
|
10,647
|
89.61
|
|
Nashik
|
Malegaon
(M Corp. + OG)
|
4,81,228
|
3,79,927
|
78.95
|
|
Nashik
|
Dyane (CT)
|
49,192
|
38,391
|
78.04
|
|
Thane
|
Borivali
Tarf Rahur (CT)
|
5,780
|
4,785
|
82.79
|
|
Thane
|
Mahapoli
(CT)
|
5,666
|
4,154
|
73.31
|
|
Thane
|
Khoni (CT)
|
26,016
|
18,313
|
70.39
|
|
Thane
|
Bhiwandi
Nizampur (M Corp.)
|
7,09,665
|
3,97,497
|
56.01
|
|
Thane
|
Tarapur
(CT)*
|
6,962
|
2,906
|
41.74
|
|
Raigarh
|
Talode
Panchnad (CT)
|
14,318
|
9,699
|
67.74
|
|
Raigarh
|
Mhasla
(CT)*
|
9,679
|
5,834
|
60.27
|
|
Bid
|
Bid (M Cl)
|
1,46,709
|
59,607
|
40.63
|
|
Latur
|
Ausa (M
Cl)
|
36,118
|
16,335
|
45.23
|
|
Osmanabad
|
Paranda (M
Cl)
|
18,758
|
8,218
|
43.81
|
|
Osmanabad
|
Naldurg (M
Cl)
|
18,341
|
7,769
|
42.36
|
|
Ratnagiri
|
Karle (CT)
|
4,382
|
4,160
|
94.93
|
|
Ratnagiri
|
Zadgaon
(CT)
|
7,803
|
4,505
|
57.73
|
|
Ratnagiri
|
Dapoli
Camp (NP)
|
15,713
|
6,414
|
40.82
|
|
Kolhapur
|
Ajra (CT)
|
17,257
|
7,300
|
42.30
|
|
In nearly
all towns in this list, the share of Muslims has increased considerably during
the last few decades; in many of these towns, the increase has been
particularly high during the last decade. In 7 towns of this list, marked with
an asterix, even the absolute number of Indian Religionists has declined during
the last decade. Many of the towns in this list have an interesting history. Below
we look at the changes that have taken place in their religious demography over
the last few decades.
Nandurbar District
Akkalkuwa in the eponymous taluk of Nandurbar
district has 74.7 percent Muslims in its population of 17.8 thousand; Muslims
have an even higher share of 81.7 percent in Makranifali, the other town in this taluk. Urban Muslim population
of the taluk is thus 18 thousand and there are about 4 thousand rural Muslims.
There were only 4.9 thousand Muslims in the taluk in 1981, 6.9 thousand in 1991
and 13.1 thousand in 2001. The number of Muslims in the taluk has multiplied by
4.5 times since 1981 and by more than 3 times in the last two decades. Total
population of the taluk in these two decades has multiplied by only 1.8 times.
This
great rise in the number of Muslims has coincided with the establishment here of
a major Islamic university, Jamia Islamia
Ishaatul Uloom, in 1979. The university caters to a very large student
population spread all over the country; on its website, the university claims
to have current student strength of nearly 1.6 lakh and faculty of 3,625. The
university also runs numerous on-campus professional courses at different
levels. The town of Akkalkuwa, which was treated as a rural habitation until
the Census of 2001, seems to have developed as an important urban location around
this university.
Jalgaon District
Yawal, Raver and Faizpur, the
three towns of Jalgaon in this list, have all seen very rapid growth of the
share of Muslims during the last few decades. In Yawal, the proportion of
Muslims in 1971 was 32.6 percent; it rose to 40 percent in 2001 and has reached
43 percent now. The share of Muslims in Faizpur was only 26.2 percent in 1971;
it rose to 38.1 percent in 2001 and has further risen to 42.8 percent now.
Their share in Faizpur was 24.3 percent in 1971; it rose to 36 percent in 2001
and has risen by 5.6 percentage points in the last decade alone to reach 41.6
percent in 2011. Faizpur was the venue of the first rural session of the Indian National Congress held in 1937. Faizpur
was a rural habitation then; the Faizpur Session was the fiftieth session of
the INC.
Buldana District
In Malkapur of Buldana, the share of
Muslims has reached the current level of 45.6 percent from 41.7 percent in 2001
and only 33.4 percent in 1981. Malkapur is a historical town that is often referred
to as the gateway to Vidarbha.
Akola District
In Balapur of Akola, the share of Muslims
in 1971 was 61.6 percent; it rose to 69.4 percent in 2001 and has increased to
73.2 percent now. During the last decade, the absolute number of Indian
Religionists in this town has slightly declined while the number of Muslims has
increased by more than 5 thousand. Balapur is known for its Mughal fort and the
temple of Bala Devi from which it derives its name. In Patur, another historical town of Akola in the neighbourhood of
Balapur, the share of Muslims has reached the current level of 56.5 percent
from 47.6 percent in 1971.
Washim
Karanja is the second largest town of
Washim district. The town is known for the ancient temple of Sri Narasimha
Saraswati Maharaj, a revered saint of the fourteenth century, who is considered
an incarnation of Sri Dattatreya. The proportion of Muslims in this town has
suddenly increased from 40.4 percent in 2001 to 49.8 percent in 2011. The
absolute number of Indian Religionists during the decade has declined by about
1,800 while Muslims have grown by 9.5 thousand. In the neighbouring town of Mangrulpir also the absolute number of
Indian Religionists has slightly declined, while the share of Muslims has risen
to 49.8 percent, the same level as in Karanja, from 43.6 percent in 2001 and
40.8 percent in 1981.
Amravati District
Indian
Religionists have suffered a slight decline in their absolute numbers during
the last decade in Chandurbazar of
Amravati also. The share of Muslims in the population of the town has increased
to 42.9 percent in 2011 from 38.6 percent in 2001 and 29.6 percent in 1971.
Chandurbazar is known as a major cattle market of this region.
Nagpur District
Kamptee is a suburb of Nagpur. The absolute
number of Indian Religionists has declined in this town also, with the share of
Muslims rising to 43.2 percent from 39.6 percent in 2001 and 30.4 percent in
1981.
Yavatmal District
Yavatmal (R) in Yavatmal
district is a new town with the share of Muslims at 74.8 percent. Darwha is an older market town. The
absolute number of Indian Religionists here has declined since 1991, while the
share of Muslims has risen rapidly from 32.9 in 1991 to 40.7 in 2001 and to
46.4 percent now in 2011.
Nanded District
Share
of Muslims in the small Census town of Wajegaon
in Nanded has increased from 58.9 percent in 2001 to 67.2 percent in 2011. The
number of Indian Religionists in this town has remained nearly unchanged in
this decade, while that of Muslims has risen by 50 percent.
Hingoli District
In Kalamunri of Hingoli, the share of
Muslims has been varying between 43.8 and 45.5 percent between 1981 and 2011. Their
share in 2001 was 43.9 percent.
Prabhani District
Pathri and Jintur of Prabhani have turned Muslim-majority in the last decade;
the share of Muslims there in 2001 was 48.9 and 47.8 percent, respectively. In
the district town of Prabhani, the
share of Muslims has risen to 41.2 percent from 38.2 in 2001 and 36.0 percent
in 1991. During 2001-2011, Muslims in the town have grown by 28.1 percent while
the Indian Religionists have recorded decadal growth of 12.5 percent.
Jalna District
In Bhokardan of Jalna, the share of Muslims
has declined from 45.0 to 43.1 percent. There has been similar decline in the
share of Muslims in Ambad of this
district also, but their share has increased by more than 2 percentage points
in the district town of Jalna and in Partur. Bhokardan is said to be the site
of the ancient city of Bhogavardhana.
Aurangabad District
In Khuldabad of Aurangabad, the share of
Muslims has increased to the level of 58.1 percent from 53.9 percent in 2001
and 49.9 percent in 1981. In Sillod,
their share has increased to 47.2 percent in 2011 from 44.2 percent in 2001 and
42.4 percent in 1991. In Kannad, the
share of Muslims has been varying in the earlier decades; it was 38.6 percent
in 2001 compared to 40.5 percent now. Khuldabad and Kannad are in the near
vicinity of Ellora Caves. Sillod is in the vicinity of Ajanta Caves.
Nashik District
Maldhe in Nashik is a new census town with
Muslim presence of 89.6 percent. In Dyane, the share of Muslims has increased
precipitously from 59.7 percent in 2001 to 78.0 percent now. The number of
Muslims here has risen from 14.8 to 38.4 thousand in this decade. Dyane is an
industrial town on the outskirts of Malegaon;
Maldhe also seems to be an outgrowth of Malegaon.
Malegaon is, of course, one of the major
Muslim towns of India. Muslims from different parts have been migrating to this
town since the mid-eighteenth century. The population of the city has increased
substantially in the recent past from 2.45 lakh in 1981 to 4.81 lakh in 2011;
the share of Muslims in this period has risen from 67.4 to 79.0 percent. During
the last decade, the city has seen an accretion of 71.3 thousand Muslims to its
population while the number of Indian Religionists has increased by only 1,552.
Thane District
Borivali tarf Rahur, Mahapoli and Khoni of Thane, with Muslim presence of 82.8, 73.3 and 70.4
percent, respectively, were not counted as census towns in 2001. Tarapur, where one of the earliest
nuclear power plants of India is located, had Muslim presence of 38.7 percent
in 2001; it has increased to 41.7 percent now.
Total population of this town, as also of the Indian Religionists, has
slightly declined during 2001-2011, but that of Muslims has increased.
The
most important town of Thane in this list, and the largest of the
Muslim-majority towns in the State, is Bhiwandi.
The population of Bhiwandi has expanded very quickly during the last few
decades; the total population in 1971 was less than 80 thousand; it has risen
to 7.1 lakh in 2011. The share of Muslims in this town was slowly declining
since 1971; in 2001, there were 50.7 percent Muslims here compared to 55.0
percent in 1971. But there has been a rise of 5.3 percentage points in their
share during the last decade. They form 56.0 percent of the population now.
During 2001-11, Muslims in this town have grown by 31 percent, while the number
of Indian Religionists has risen by only 6.2 percent.
Raigarh District
Talode Panchnad of Raigarh is
part of Navi Mumbai; share of Muslims in this town has increased from 60.4
percent in 2001 to 67.7 percent in 2011. In Mhasla,
a census town in the south of the district, their share has risen from 55.2 to
60.3 percent in the last decade. This is another town where the absolute number
of Indian Religionists has declined, while that of Muslims has increased by
more than 20 percent.
Bid District
In the
district town of Bid, the share of
Muslims had remained unchanged at somewhat above 33 percent from 1971 to 1991.
It increased to 37 percent in 2001 and has increased again to 40.6 percent in
2011.
Latur District
In Ausa of Latur also, the share of Muslims
had remained stable around 39 percent up to 1991; it increased to 42.5 percent
in 2001 and has further increased to 45.2 percent now. Before Latur district
was created, Latur town was part of Ausa taluk.
Osmanabad District
The
share of Muslims in Paranda of
Osmanabad had remained fairly constant at around 42 percent since 1971; during
the last decade, it has increased somewhat unusually from 42.3 to 43.8 percent.
In Naldurg of this district, the
share of Muslim has been varying; during the last decade, it has increased from
38.4 to 42.4 percent. The town had seen a similarly high accretion to the
Muslim share during 1981-91. Paranda and Naldurg are both historical towns with
large and impressive forts; Naldurg is said to be named after the great king
Nala.
Ratnagiri District
Karle and Zadgaon of Ratnagiri have been counted as census towns for the
first time. The share of Muslims in Karle at 94.9 percent is the highest in the
State. Their share is high at 57.7 percent in Zadgaon also. Karle and Zadgaon
are on the outskirts of Ratnagiri town; the share of Muslims in the main town
is 31.2 percent, up from 27.6 percent in 2001 and 19.2 percent in 1971. In Dapoli Camp, the share of Muslims rose
slowly from around 20 percent in 1971 and 1981 to 25.1 percent in 2001; it has
now risen abruptly to 40.8 percent. The number of Muslims in the town has
multiplied by nearly two and half times in this decade, while the total
population has increased by about fifty percent. Dapoli was established as a
camp for the British soldiers because of its salubrious weather.
Kohlapur District
Ajra of Kohlapur began to be counted as
a census town from 2001; the share of Muslims in the town has increased from
40.5 to 42.3 percent during 2001-11. It is a picturesque town on the edge of
the Konkan region.
Christians in Maharashtra
Christian presence
in Maharashtra is small and declining
As we
have seen, Christians form less than one percent of the population of
Maharashtra. Their presence has declined to this level from around 1.4 percent
in 1971. During the last decade, they have registered decadal growth of only 2
percent compared to about 20 percent during 1991-2001. This sharp decline is
probably partly because their growth in the previous decade had gotten
overstated through transient conversions as in Nandurbar.
Two-thirds of the Christians are in Mumbai-Thane
region
Share of Christians
in percent
|
|||
Greater
|
|||
Mumbai*
|
Thane
|
Pune
|
|
1961
|
6.94
|
3.94
|
1.83
|
1971
|
6.29
|
3.88
|
1.90
|
1981
|
4.79
|
3.28
|
1.82
|
1991
|
4.45
|
3.10
|
1.68
|
2001
|
3.73
|
2.98
|
1.61
|
2011
|
3.27
|
2.54
|
1.42
|
*Mumbai+Suburban Mumbai
|
|||
Of 10.8
lakh Christians counted in Maharashtra in 2011, 6.9 lakh are in Mumbai-Thane
region. They have a share of 2.74 percent in the population of Mumbai, 3.45
percent in Mumbai (Suburban) and 2.54 percent in Thane. As seen in the Table
here, their share in the population of this region has been declining
consistently since 1961. The greatest decline has occurred in Greater Mumbai,
where they formed 6.94 percent of the population in 1961. After Mumbai-Thane,
their greatest share is in Pune, where 1.34 lakh Christians have been counted
in 2011. The district thus accommodates one-eighth of all Christians in the
State. Their share in this district had increased slightly between 1961 and
1971; since then, it has been consistently declining.
Christian share has increased marginally in a few
districts during 2001-11
Notwithstanding
the decline in the share of Christians in the State as a whole and in the
districts of their larger concentration, their share during the last decade has
improved marginally in several districts where their total numbers are not very
high. Such districts include six districts of Vidarbha, Buldana, Akola and
Washim in Amravati Division and Bhandara, Gondiya and Gadchiroli in Nagpur
Division. The share of Christians has increased marginally also in Hingoli,
Prabhani, Bid, Latur and Osmanabad of Marathwada. In addition, the list
includes Jalgaon of Khandesh, Satara of Western Maharashtra and Raigarh of
Konkan.
The
most significant change in this decade has taken place in Raigarh, where the
share of Christians has increased from 0.46 percent in 2001 to 0.66 percent in
2011. There was a similar increase in their share from 0.30 to 0.46 percent in
the previous decade also. The number of Christians in this district has risen
from 5.5 thousand in 1991 to 10.2 thousand in 2001 and 17.5 thousand in 2011.
There
was a significant increase in the presence of Christians in Dhule during
1991-2001, when their number in the undivided district rose from 12.8 to 22.9
thousand, and their share in the population from 0.50 to 0.76 percent. Much of
this rise was in Nandurbar component. During 2001-11, this rise of the previous
decade seems to have been reversed. The number of Christians in undivided Dhule
has dropped to 12.1 thousand, and their share to 0.33 percent. In Nandurbar
component, their number in 2001 was about 18 thousand; it has now dropped to
8.5 thousand. The share of Christians in Nandurbar now is 0.51 percent compared
to 1.4 percent of 2001. Interestingly, of about 18 thousand Christians counted
in Nandurbar, 16 thousand were from the Scheduled Tribes. Nandurbar is
dominated by the Scheduled Tribes; in 2001, in the total population of 13.1
lakh, 8.6 lakh was of the Scheduled Tribes. The religious breakup of the
Scheduled Tribes for 2011 at the district level has not yet been published.
The
data indicates that though the share of Christians is indeed declining in the
State and in their major concentrations, yet the efforts at proselytization and
conversion in other—especially in the tribal dominated—districts of the State continue
to be seriously pursued. The reversal of the Christian numbers in Nandurbar is
probably related to the extraordinary rise of the Muslims there.
GOA
Geographically,
and also culturally and linguistically, Goa is a continuation of the Konkan
region of Maharashtra. As can be seen in the map of the distribution of Muslims
at the beginning of this note, the two districts of Goa seem to merge with
Sindhudurg of Maharashtra on the north. On the south, Goa joins Uttar Kannada
of Karnataka. Population of Goa in 2011 is 14.6 lakhs, which is similar to that
of Uttar Kannada, and is only 60 percent of undivided Ratnagiri district that
included Sindhudurg.
Number and percent share of different communities in
Goa, 2011
|
||||||
Goa
|
North
Goa
|
South
Goa
|
Goa
|
N
Goa
|
S
Goa
|
|
Total
|
14,58,545
|
8,18,008
|
6,40,537
|
100.00
|
100.00
|
100.00
|
Hindu
|
9,63,877
|
6,22,213
|
3,41,664
|
66.08
|
76.06
|
53.34
|
Muslim
|
1,21,564
|
57,941
|
63,623
|
8.33
|
7.08
|
9.93
|
Christian
|
3,66,130
|
1,34,169
|
2,31,961
|
25.10
|
16.40
|
36.21
|
Others
|
6,974
|
3,685
|
3,289
|
0.48
|
0.45
|
0.51
|
Hindus form two-thirds of the population
Of
14.58 lakh persons counted in Goa in 2011, 66 percent are Hindus, 25 percent
Christians and somewhat more than 8 percent Muslims. Religious demography of
North and South Goa districts is quite different. Hindus form 76 percent of the
population in North Goa; of the rest 16.4 percent are Christians and 7 percent
Muslims. The proportion of Hindus in South Goa is much lower at 53.3 percent;
Christians have a much higher presence of 36.2 percent and Muslims form nearly
10 percent of the population.
The share of Indian Religionists has been rising
Goa is
perhaps the only State in India, though it is indeed a very small State, where
the share of Indian Religionists, who are nearly all Hindus, has been rising.
As seen in the Table below, the share of IRs in the State was only 44 percent
in 1900 and 1910; it began to rise after that and has reached 66.6 percent of
which 66.1 percent are Hindus. The rise was much more rapid up to 1961; between
1910 and 1961, there was an accretion of 16 percentage points to the share of
IR, while between 1961 and 2011, they have gained by less than 4 percentage
points.
Changes in the share of different communities,
1901-2011
|
||||
Year
|
Population
|
Indian R
|
Muslim
|
Christian
|
1900
|
4,75,513
|
44.22
|
0.94
|
54.84
|
1910
|
4,86,572
|
44.21
|
1.02
|
54.77
|
1921
|
4,69,494
|
46.53
|
1.17
|
52.30
|
1931
|
5,05,281
|
49.60
|
1.38
|
49.02
|
1941
|
5,40,925
|
53.03
|
1.52
|
45.45
|
1951
|
5,47,448
|
56.16
|
1.61
|
42.23
|
1961
|
5,89,997
|
60.04
|
1.89
|
38.07
|
1971
|
7,95,120
|
62.70
|
3.33
|
33.97
|
1981
|
10,07,749
|
64.55
|
4.10
|
31.35
|
1991
|
11,69,793
|
64.89
|
5.25
|
29.85
|
2001
|
13,47,668
|
66.48
|
6.84
|
26.68
|
2011
|
14,58,545
|
66.56
|
8.33
|
25.10
|
The share of Muslims has begun to rise after 1961
The
presence of Muslims was also rising, but very slowly, in the period prior to
1961. Between 1900 and 1961, their share in the population rose from 0.94 to
1.89 percent. After 1961, the rise has been much more rapid. They have gained
6.5 percentage points in their share in the five decades between 1961 and 2011.
The share of Christians has been declining continuously
Christians
formed nearly 55 percent of the population of Goa in 1900; their share has
declined to 25 percent now. The decline has been nearly consistent and
continuous from decade to decade throughout this period.
Changes in the Religious Demography are not because of
in-migration
While
looking at the changing religious demography of Goa, it should be kept in mind
that these changes are not because of any large-scale in-migration of people. In
the pre-Independence period, the total population of Goa had risen very slowly
from 4.8 lakh in 1900 to 5.9 lakh in 1961. After 1961, the population of Goa
has multiplied by about 2.47 times to reach 14.6 lakh in 2011. Population of
India in this period has multiplied by a larger factor of 2.76.
Distribution of Christians and Muslims in the
Sub-Districts of Goa
In the
Map below, we show the share of Muslims and Christians in the Sub-Districts
(Taluks) of Goa. Muslims have a presence of 7 percent or above in all Taluks,
except Prenem of North Goa and Canacona of South Goa; these two Taluks are at
the two extreme ends of the State. Muslims have their highest presence in
Mormugao and Salcete of South Goa. Their presence is relatively high in Tiswadi
of North Goa also.
Christians
form a majority in Salcete; their presence is relatively high in Quepem of
South Goa and Tiswadi and Bardez of North Goa. Their lowest presence is in
Bicholim, Satari and Ponda of North Goa; their presence is just above 10
percent in Pernem.
Indian
Religionists have their highest presence of above 90 percent in Bicholim and
Satari; they form 89 percent of the population in Pernem also. Their share in
the population in South Goa is generally low. But they have a presence of near
80 percent in Sanguem and Canacona. The lowest presence of Indian Religionists
is in Salcete, where they form only 34.6 percent of the population. This is the
only Sub-District of Goa, where Indian Religionists are in a minority.
Summing Up
1. Muslim
presence in Maharashtra is fairly high with their share in the population
reaching 11.5 percent in Census 2011. This is the third largest—after Kerala
and Karnataka—of all States to the south and west of the Ganga plains.
2. The
share of Muslims in Maharashtra has increased by nearly 4 percentage points in
the five decades since 1961.
3. The
rise in the share of Muslims has been the most steep in Greater Mumbai-Thane
region. In Greater Mumbai, their share has increased from somewhat less than 13
percent in 1961 to nearly 21 percent now. In Thane, it has risen from a much
lower base of 4.3 percent in 1951 to 12.3 percent in 2011.
4.
After Mumbai-Thane, Buldana-Akola-Washim-Amravti region has seen the second
highest growth in Muslim share in the period following Independence. Between
1951 and 2011, their share has increased from 10.5 to 16.6 percent in undivided
Akola district that includes Washim and from 9.6 to 14.6 percent in Amravati.
In Buldana, the rise is comparatively modest, from 9.3 to 13.7 percent.
5.
Nashik of northern Maharashtra, adjoining Mumbai-Thane region on the south, has
also seen an accretion of 5 percentage points in the share of Muslims, from 6.3
percent in 1951 to 11.4 percent in 2011.
6. The
share of Muslims in Aurangabad-Jalna-Prabhani-Hingoli region as a whole has
increased by 4.5 percentage points, from 12.7 percent in 1951 to 17.2 percent
in 2011. But the rise has been much sharper in Aurangabad. The current
Aurangabad district has the second highest presence of Muslims at 21.3 percent
after the current Mumbai district, where they form 25.1 percent of the
population. Current Akola district has the third highest share of Muslims at 19.7
percent.
7.
Muslims are highly concentrated in urban areas. Of 1.30 crore Muslims in the
State, nearly 95 lakh are urban. Their share in the towns and cities is
therefore much higher than in the underlying districts. The growth in their
share in the urban areas of the districts also seems to have been more than the
average of the district.
8. Of
348 towns counted in the State in 2011, Muslims form a majority in 20 and have
a share of 40 to 50 percent in another 21 towns.
9. In
nearly all of these 41 towns, the accretion in the share of Muslims during the
last three or four decades has been much higher than what we have seen at the
level of the districts.
10. In
the well-known Muslim-majority town of Malegaon, for example, their share has
gone up from 67.4 percent in 1981 to 79.0 percent in 2011. And a couple of
Muslim-dominated towns have developed as outgrowths of Malegaon.
11. In
the other well-known Muslim-majority town of Bhiwandi, the share of Muslims has
risen from 50.7 to 56.0 percent in the course of the last decade; it was
showing a slight decline in the earlier decades.
12.
Dapoli Camp, situated in the Ratnagiri of Konkan where Muslim presence is
relatively low, the share of Muslims has suddenly risen from 25.1 to 40.8
percent during the last decade.
13. The
newly developing Muslim university town of Akkalkuwa in Nandurbar district is
another example of the rising Muslim presence in newer urban areas. Muslims
form 74.7 percent of the population here. It has been counted as a town for the
first time. But the Muslim population of the taluk in which it is situated has multiplied
4.5 times since 1981.
14. In
seven of the 41 towns with Muslim presence of above 40 percent, not only the
share but also the absolute number of Indian Religionists has declined during
the last decade.
15. Karanja
of Washim is one such town; the share of Muslims here has increased from 40.4
to 49.8 percent during 2001-11. During this decade, the number of Muslims here
has increased by 9.5 thousand while that of Indian Religionists has declined by
about 1,800.
16. There
are not many Christians in Maharashtra. They form less than one percent of the
population, and their share has been slowly declining since 1961.
17. Of
10.8 lakh Christians in Maharshtra counted in 2011, 6.8 lakhs are in Greater
Mumbai-Thane region and another 1.34 lakh in Pune. Their presence elsewhere is
low.
18.
But the share of Christians in many less well-endowed parts of Maharashtra is
indeed rising. During 2001-11, their share has increased in Buldana, Akola and
Washim in Amravati Division and Bhandara, Gondiya and Gadchiroli in Nagpur
Division of Vidarbha; in Hingoli, Prabhani, Bid, Latur and Osmanabad of
Marathwada; in Jalgaon of Khandesh, Satara of Western Maharashtra; and in
Raigarh of Konkan.
19.
The share of Christians had increased considerably in Nandurbar part of Dhule
during 1991-2001; their number there has shrunk during 2001-11. Almost all the
Christian converts counted in Nandurbar in 2001 were from the Scheduled Tribes.
This seems to indicate that notwithstanding the decline in the share of
Christians in the State as a whole, proselytization efforts amongst the relatively
deprived communities have continued.
20. In
Goa, which geographically and culturally seems to form an extension of the
Konkan region, the share of Christians has been declining continuously since
1910. Up to 1961, the gains accrued mostly to the share of Indian Religionists.
Since 1961, the share of Muslims in Goa began to rise rapidly; their share in
the population has gone up from 1.9 to 8.3 percent in these five decades.
