Pockets of high Muslim and Christian presence and growth in Punjab
It is odd to mention Punjab in the
context of places of high Muslim presence or growth. Punjab, like the adjoining
Haryana and Delhi, faced the full fury of the communal Partition of India in
1947 and the extremely traumatic and violent transfer of populations that accompanied
it. Almost no Hindus or Sikhs survived in West Punjab and nearly all Muslims
had to leave East Punjab, which included the current States of Punjab and
Haryana and parts of Himachal Pradesh. The share of Muslims in East Punjab of
that time came down from 33.0 to 1.8 percent. Correspondingly, the share of
Sikhs and Hindus in West Pakistan declined from 22.6 percent to less than 0.2
percent.
Even amidst the holocaust that the Partition caused, there were two pockets in East Punjab, where the Muslims remained unharmed because of reasons of history. The population of Muslims in the then principality of Malerkotla, protected by the blessings of the tenth Guru, remained largely intact. And the Muslims of Mewat, who had fought along with first Shershah Suri and then Raja Hemu, against the invading Mughals, remained unmolested in their area that encompasses parts of Gurgaon in southern Haryana and the neighbouring Alwar and Bharatpur districts in Rajasthan.
Muslim populations in these pockets have flourished since Independence and Partition. In Malerkotla tahsil, the share of Muslims has increased from 15.2 percent in 1971 to 22.5 percent now; in the recently created Mewat district of Haryana, their share has risen even more sharply, from 66.3 percent in 1971 to 79.2 percent in 2011.
In Punjab, there is also a pocket of historically high Christian presence comprising parts of Gurdaspur district. Christians have a share of 7.1 percent in the district; their share in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur and Batala tahsils is 16.5, 11.2, 7.2 percent, respectively; during 2001-11, there has been a remarkable increase in their share in all three tahsils.
We present the data on the Malerkotla and Gurdaspur pockets of Punjab in this post; we shall take up Mewat of Haryana and Delhi in the next post.
Even amidst the holocaust that the Partition caused, there were two pockets in East Punjab, where the Muslims remained unharmed because of reasons of history. The population of Muslims in the then principality of Malerkotla, protected by the blessings of the tenth Guru, remained largely intact. And the Muslims of Mewat, who had fought along with first Shershah Suri and then Raja Hemu, against the invading Mughals, remained unmolested in their area that encompasses parts of Gurgaon in southern Haryana and the neighbouring Alwar and Bharatpur districts in Rajasthan.
Muslim populations in these pockets have flourished since Independence and Partition. In Malerkotla tahsil, the share of Muslims has increased from 15.2 percent in 1971 to 22.5 percent now; in the recently created Mewat district of Haryana, their share has risen even more sharply, from 66.3 percent in 1971 to 79.2 percent in 2011.
In Punjab, there is also a pocket of historically high Christian presence comprising parts of Gurdaspur district. Christians have a share of 7.1 percent in the district; their share in Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur and Batala tahsils is 16.5, 11.2, 7.2 percent, respectively; during 2001-11, there has been a remarkable increase in their share in all three tahsils.
We present the data on the Malerkotla and Gurdaspur pockets of Punjab in this post; we shall take up Mewat of Haryana and Delhi in the next post.
Religious Demography of Punjab
Sikhs
and Hindus dominate the population of Punjab
|
RDI Punjab, 2011
|
||
|
|
Population
|
%Share
|
|
Total
|
2,77,43,338
|
100.00
|
|
Hindu
|
1,06,78,138
|
38.49
|
|
Sikh
|
1,60,04,754
|
57.69
|
|
Muslim
|
5,35,489
|
1.93
|
|
Christian
|
3,48,230
|
1.26
|
|
Others
|
1,76,727
|
0.64
|
Sikhs and Hindus comprise an
overwhelming majority of Punjab. In the total population of 277 lakhs, 107 lakh
are Hindus and 160 lakh Sikhs. Among the remaining 10 lakhs, there are 5.35
lakh Muslims, 3.48 lakh Christians and 1.77 lakh ‘Others’; the last include
about 33 thousand Buddhists, 45 thousand Jains, 11 thousand ORPs, and 88
thousand in the category of ‘Religion Not Stated’. Muslims and Christians form
only 1.93 and 1.26 percent of the population, respectively; Indian Religionists
(IR) comprise the remaining 96.81 of the population. Punjab has the second highest
proportion of Indian Religionists in the country after Himachal Pradesh, where
the share of IR is 97.63 percent. Chhattisgarh has the third highest share of
IR at 96.06 percent.
Share
of Muslims has been rising
|
%Share
of Muslims
|
|
|
1961
|
0.80
|
|
1971
|
0.84
|
|
1981
|
1.00
|
|
1991
|
1.18
|
|
2001
|
1.57
|
|
2011
|
1.93
|
Though the share of Muslims in
the population of Punjab remains low, yet has been growing fairly rapidly in
the period following Independence and Partition. In 1961, the proportion of
Muslims in the population of the State was only 0.80 percent; it has grown to
1.93 percent in 2011. In the five decades since 1961, the number of Muslims in
Punjab has multiplied by six times while the total population has multiplied by
a factor of 2.5. As seen in the Table here, growth in the share of Muslims has
been much more pronounced during the last two decades. Muslims now form between
2 to 3 percent of the population in 6 of the 20 districts of Punjab; their
proportion in Sangrur, which includes Malerkotla tehsil, is now near 11
percent. At the beginning of this period, their share was negligibly small everywhere
except in Malerkotla, which we discuss in detail below.
Share
of Christians has begun to rise recently
|
%Share
of Christians
|
|
|
1961
|
1.25
|
|
1971
|
1.20
|
|
1981
|
1.10
|
|
1991
|
1.11
|
|
2001
|
1.20
|
|
2011
|
1.26
|
Share of Christians in the
population of Punjab was more than that of Muslims in 1961. However, up to
1991, their share had kept slowly declining, while that of Muslims kept rising.
By 1991, the Muslims had overtaken the Christians. In the last two decades, the
share of Christians has started rising and has now reached the level of 1961.
But, it remains considerably below the Muslims. Thus during the last two
decades, there has been a remarkable buoyancy in the growth of both Muslims and
Christians. Yet the share of Christian remains fairly low in most districts. It
is 2.18 percent in Amritsar, 1.19 percent in Jalandhar and near 1 percent in
Hoshiarpur and Firozpur districts; in all other districts, except Gurdaspur,
the Christian share is far less than 1 percent. Gurdaspur is, of course,
exceptional; Christians form nearly 8 percent of the population there. We
discuss this district in greater detail below.
The
Muslims of Malerkotla
Muslims
of Malerkotla remained secure at the time of Partition
Kotla, in Punjabi, means a
small fortress; the town of Malerkotla gets its name from the fortress of
Maler. Malerkotla indeed looks like a fortress of the Muslims, surrounded on
all sides by Sikhs and Hindus. Muslims have a share of one third in the
population of Malerkotla tahsil (sub-district) and they form a two-thirds
majority in the town. The town and its surrounding region remained an island of
peace during the great carnage that occurred in Punjab during the Partition of
1947. In those cataclysmic times, not only the Muslims of the town and the
surrounding region remained unmolested, but Malerkotla also became a place of temporary
refuge for Muslims from elsewhere. To understand this phenomenon, it is
necessary to have a quick look at the history.
They
were protected by the blessings of Guru Gobind Singh
Malerkotla State has its
origin in a Jagir granted by Behlol Lodhi in 1454 to a Sufi saint, Sheikh
Sadruddin Sadar-i-Jahan, locally known as Haider Sheikh. Behalol Lodhi also
gave his daughter, Taj Murassa Begum, in marriage to the Sheikh; the Jagir was
in the nature of a dowry. It acquired the trappings of a State only in 1657,
when Aurangzeb granted Bayzid Khan—who was in the sixth generation from Haider
Sheikh—the privilege to build the fort of Maler. This was the time when the
Sikhs in the Punjab had risen in rebellion against the Mughals; like other
Muslim States of the region, the rulers of Malerkotla also engaged in
continuous and bloody campaigns against the Sikhs on behalf of the Mughal
Emperor and later also on behalf of the Afghan marauder, Ahmad Shah Abdali. A
particularly bloody and cruel chapter in this history involved Wazir Khan, the
governor of Sirhind and a close relative of the rulers of neighbouring Malerkotla.
On December 12, 1705, he got the captive sons of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada
Fateh Singh and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh, who were only 6 and 9 years old at
that time, bricked alive in a wall. The ruler of Malerkotla at that time was Sher
Mohammed Khan. He is said to have strongly remonstrated with Wazir Khan against
the cruelty. This act of Sher Mohammed Khan is gratefully remembered in Sikh
history. His remonstration is remembered among Sikhs as haa da naaraa, which is a Punjabi expression of disgust at gross
injustice, or a cry for justice. Guru Gobind Singh himself is said to have
blessed Malerkotla for the gracious act of raising such a cry.
Banda
Bahadur deferred to the blessings of the Guru and spared Malerkotla
Sikhs avenged the cruel act of
Wazir Khan within the decade. On May 12, 1710, the Muslim forces were
convincingly defeated, in the battle of Chhappar Chiri near Sirhind; the
severed head of Wazir Khan was widely exhibited on the point of a spear; and,
terrible vengeance was visited upon Sirhind. Banda Bahadur also conquered and
punished several other Muslim principalities in the region. But, in deference
to the blessings of the Guru, he spared Malerkotla, even though Sher Mohammad
Khan, the Nawab of Malerkotla had fought on the side of Wazir Khan at Chhappar Chiri
and was killed there. The State was similarly spared in 1947, when the Sikhs
and Hindus had to engage in another mortal and bloody conflict forced upon them
by the Partition of the country and consequent exchange of populations.
Blessings
of the Guru prevailed even after the massacre of the Kuka Sikhs at Malerkotla
In 1872, Namdhari Sikhs, also
known as the Kukas, attacked Malerkotla to avenge the killing of cows by the
Muslims and the British. The attack resulted in a few deaths and some guns were
looted. In retaliation, the British blew a large number of Kukas, with several women
and children among them, into smithereens, by placing them in the mouth of
cannons. The bloody massacre was carried out at Malerkotla over three days. The
number of Kukas killed is not known with certainty; the British officers who
ordered the killing had held no trial and kept no records. Different sources
put the number between 65 and 69. The days of the massacre are better known; it
happened on January 17, 18 and perhaps also January 19 of 1872. Notwithstanding
this great massacre of Kuka Sikhs that tainted the history of Malerkotla, the
Sikhs continued to respect the blessings of the tenth Guru and the Muslims
there remained unmolested in the most difficult of times.
Malerkotla
has flourished in Independent India
In Independent India, Muslims
of Malerkotla have indeed flourished. Iftikhar Ali Khan, the last Nawab of Malerkotla
before its accession to the Indian Union in 1948, served twice as a Member of
the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Punjab. His third wife, Yusuf Zaman Begum,
and his fifth wife, Sajida Begum, were also elected MLAs, the latter twice. In
the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Malerkotla has always been represented by a
Muslim, except once in 1957, when Chanda Singh of the Congress was elected to
the Assembly. Muslim MLAs of Malerkotla have often got the opportunity to serve
as Ministers in both the Akali and Congress governments. Notwithstanding the dignity,
security and prosperity that Malerkotla has provided to the Muslims since
Independence, most members of the royal family have left India to settle in
Lahore in Pakistan.
Share
of Muslims in the population of Malerkotla has been rising
Muslims dominate the politics
and economy of Malerkotla; and also, their demographic presence there has been
growing. In Malerkotla town, where they already formed two-thirds of the
population after Partition, the rise in their share has been less marked, but it
has risen spectacularly in the tahsil and the district in which the town is
located.
Malerkotla
Town
|
Muslims
in Malerkotla town
|
|||
|
|
T
|
M
|
%M
|
|
1971
|
48,859
|
31,740
|
64.96
|
|
1981
|
65,756
|
44,236
|
67.27
|
|
1991
|
88,600
|
59,928
|
67.64
|
|
2001
|
1,07,009
|
73,813
|
68.98
|
|
2011
|
1,35,424
|
92,765
|
68.50
|
|
T: Total, M: Muslim, %M: M Share
|
|||
As seen in the Table here,
Muslims formed 65% of the population of Malerkotla town in 1971; their share in
2011 is 68.5 percent, though there has been some decline in the last decade. In
the total population of 1.35 lakhs in 2011, 92.8 thousand are Muslims. Besides
them, there are 28 thousand Hindus and about 1.5 thousand Jains, the two
together account for 21.8 percent of the population. The Sikhs form a small
minority of 9.5 percent in the town; their numbers in 2011 add up to less than
13 thousand.
|
Muslims
in Malerkotla tahsil
|
|||
|
|
T
|
M
|
%M
|
|
2001
|
3,86,439
|
1,19,071
|
30.81
|
|
2011
|
4,29,754
|
1,42,945
|
33.26
|
|
T: Total, M: Muslim, %M: M Share
|
|||
Current
Malerkotla Sub-District
In the current Malerkotla tahsil,
Muslims have a share of 33.3 percent in 2011; their share in 2001 was 30.8
percent. Unlike in the town, Muslims in the tahsil have grown much faster than
others during 2001-11. Their rate of growth in this decade has been 20.1
percent compared to just 11.2 percent for the total population of the tahsil.
Malerkotla
(including Dhuri) Sub-District
|
Muslims
in Malerkotla plus Dhuri
|
|||
|
|
T
|
M
|
%M
|
|
1971
|
3,73,449
|
56,686
|
15.18
|
|
1981
|
4,47,670
|
76,598
|
17.11
|
|
1991
|
5,47,452
|
1,02,941
|
18.80
|
|
2001
|
6,26,519
|
1,29,279
|
20.63
|
|
2011
|
6,91,001
|
1,55,381
|
22.49
|
|
T: Total, M: Muslim, %M: M Share
|
|||
Longer time-series data is
available for a bigger territory that includes Dhuri, which was carved out of the
earlier Malerkotla tahsil after 1991. The share of Muslims in the earlier
tahsil has increased from 15.2 percent in 1971 to 22.5 percent in 2011. Muslims
in the tahsil have thus grown faster than others. In the four decades since
1971, their numbers have multiplied by 2.74 while the total population has
multiplied by 1.84.
Sangrur
District
Malerkotla is situated in
Sangur district. Share of Muslims in the population of the district has risen
from 7.23 percent in 1971 to 10.82 percent in 2011. Total population of the
district in this period has not quite doubled while that of Muslims has nearly
tripled.
Age-pyramids of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs of Sangrur
Higher growth of Muslims
compared to other communities can be discerned in the age pyramids above. All
three communities seem to have entered the phase of population stabilisation,
but the Hindus are far ahead of the Muslims along this trajectory and Sikhs are
even farther ahead of Hindus.
|
Sangrur
District, 2011
|
||
|
|
Ch/100
|
FL
|
|
Total
|
10.96
|
62.17
|
|
Muslims
|
12.93
|
56.19
|
|
Hindus
|
12.20
|
67.91
|
|
Sikhs
|
10.17
|
61.03
|
|
FL: Female Literacy Rate
|
||
Number of children of age 0-6
years among the Muslims of Sangrur is about 13 per hundred compared to 11 for
the total population; and female literacy among them is 56.2 percent compared
to 62.2 percent for the total population. Hindus in Sangrur have 12.2 children
per hundred of the population, which is not very different from the Muslims,
but female literacy among them is much higher at 67.9 percent. Sikhs, on the
other hand, have considerably lower children than both the Hindus and Muslims
at 10.2 per hundred, but female literacy among them is far below the Hindus at
61.0 percent.
Muslims thus have done fairly
well in maintaining their political, economic and demographic dominance in
their niche at Malerkotla.
Muslims
of Malerkotla and the rest of Punjab
In 1971, there were 1.14 lakh
Muslims in Punjab, of whom 61.5 thousand were in the current Sangrur district,
in which Malerkotla is situated. In 2011, there are 5.35 lakh Muslims in
Punjab, of whom 1.79 lakh are in Sangrur. Thus, in these 4 decades, the number
of Muslims outside Sangrur has risen from 53 thousand to 3 lakh 56 thousand,
implying a multiplication factor of 6.73, while Muslims in the current Sangrur
district have multiplied by a factor of 2.91. Muslims in the Malerkotla region
have grown quite rapidly, leading to a considerable increase in their share of
the population, as we have seen above; but Muslims elsewhere in Punjab have
grown at a much faster rate. In fact, Muslims of Malerkotla are quite different
than those in other parts of Punjab. The former are Punjabi Muslims, who have
been settled there for several centuries. The latter are recent immigrants from
other parts of India, particularly from eastern India. The two are culturally
quite different, and Muslims of Malerkotla have little in common with the
Muslims in other parts of Punjab.
Muslim
pocket of Qadian
|
Muslims
in Qadian town
|
|||
|
|
T
|
M
|
%M
|
|
1971
|
13,607
|
601
|
4.42
|
|
1981
|
15,804
|
1,112
|
7.04
|
|
1991
|
18,867
|
1,370
|
7.26
|
|
2001
|
22,001
|
2,411
|
10.96
|
|
2011
|
23,632
|
3,065
|
12.97
|
|
T: Total, M: Muslim, %M: M Share
|
|||
There is another, though much
smaller, pocket of older Muslim concentration in the Punjab, comprising the
town of Qadian in Batala sub-district of Gurdaspur district. The population of
this town counted in 2011 is 23.6 thousand, of which more than 3 thousand,
forming 13 percent of the total, are Muslim. As seen in the Table here, their
share in the population of the town has increased to this level from 4.4 percent
in 1971. This rise could partly be because of the town expanding to incorporate
the Muslim localities in the neighbourhood. But, the proportion of Muslims in Batala
tahsil, within which Qadian is situated, has also risen from 0.34 to 0.83
percent in the same period; and, the number of Muslims in the tahsil has risen
from 1,554 to 6,185. These numbers for Batala include those of Dera Baba Nanak tahsil,
which has been carved out of Batala after 1991.
The Muslim concentration in
Qadian also has a historical context. The town is the birthplace of Mirza Gulam
Ahmed, who claimed to be the long awaited Messiah and Mahdi of Muslims, and founded
the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamat in 1889. Qadian remained the capital of the
Ahmadiyyas up to 1947. During Partition, the community migrated to Pakistan,
leaving behind a few men to guard their properties. The capital of the Jamat was
shifted to Rabwah in Pakistan; the town is on the banks of Chenab and it has
officially been renamed as Chenab Nagar. Ahmadiyyas in Pakistan have been
facing public violence and official persecution from the very beginning. In 1989,
the population of the whole population of Rabwah was booked for showing
disrespect to the Quran.
Qadian was a Muslim majority
town before Partition; it continues to retain the second largest concentration
of Muslims in Punjab, after Malerkotla; and, as we have seen, the share of
Muslims in the town has been growing rapidly. The town also continues to have grand
buildings of the Jamat, including Minaratul Masih, and hosts a grand annual
congregation (Jalsa Salana) of the Ahamadiyya Muslims.
Christians
in Gurdaspur
Nearly
half of the Christians are in Gurdaspur District
|
Christians
in Gurdaspur District
|
|||
|
|
T
|
C
|
%C
|
|
1971
|
12,29,249
|
79,732
|
6.49
|
|
1981
|
15,13,435
|
99,637
|
6.58
|
|
1991
|
17,56,732
|
1,20,470
|
6.86
|
|
2001
|
21,04,011
|
1,48,981
|
7.08
|
|
2011
|
22,98,323
|
1,76,587
|
7.68
|
|
T: Total, C: Christians, %C: C Share
|
|||
Gurdaspur
district—particularly Batala and Dera Baba Nanak tahsils within it—is a pocket
of high concentration of Christians. Of 3.65 lakh Christians counted in Punjab
in 2011, 1.77 lakh are in Gurdaspur district alone. They form 7.68 percent of
the population of the district. Unlike the Muslims in Malerkotla, the share of Christians
in Gurdaspur has shown only a moderate rise, except during the last decade of
2001-11. In this decade, Christians have a registered a growth of 18.53
percent, which is twice the growth of 9.24 percent in the total population of
the district. In the previous decades, the rate of growth of Christians has
been near that of the total population.
They
are concentrated in Gurdaspur and Batala tahsils
|
Christians
in Gurdaspur and
Batala (composite) Tahsils |
||||
|
|
Population of C
|
%Share of C
|
||
|
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
|
2001
|
82,922
|
59,346
|
11.14
|
8.09
|
|
2011
|
97,775
|
71,520
|
11.90
|
8.94
|
|
1: Gurdaspur 2: Batala (composite)
|
||||
Within the district,
Christians are concentrated in Gurdaspur and Batala tahsils; the latter has
been divided into Batala and Dera Baba Nanak tahsils after 1991. The data in
the Table here is for the earlier Batala (including Dera Baba Nanak) tahsil. Of
1.77 lakh Christians in the district, 97.8 thousand are in Gurdaspur tahsil and
another 71.5 thousand in the composite Batala, leaving 7.3 thousand Christians
in the rest of Gurdaspur. In both tahsils, the share of Christians has
increased considerably during 2001-11. In this decade, Christians in Gurdaspur
tahsil have grown by 17.9 percent while the total population has grown by only
10.4 percent; in Batala (composite) tahsil, Christians have grown by 20.5
percent while the total population there has grown by 9.4 percent.
Christian
share is the highest in Dera Baba Nanak
|
Percent
Share of Christians
|
||
|
|
1
|
2
|
|
2001
|
6.52
|
16.46
|
|
2011
|
7.20
|
18.38
|
|
1. Batala, 2. Dera Baba Nanak
|
||
Of the two components into
which Batala tahsil has been divided after 1991, the Christian presence is much
higher in the Dera Baba Nanak component. Christians form 18.38 percent of the
population in Dera Baba Nanak and only 7.20 percent in the population of the
current Batala tahsil. During 2001-11, the share of Christians has increased
considerably in both tahsils, but the rise is much more in Dera Baba Nanak.
History
of Christianity in Gurdaspur
Christianity arrived in Gurdaspur
towards the end of nineteenth century. In the Church literature, the event is
celebrated as one of the several mass
movements in which whole communities and castes in different regions of
India converted to Christianity en masse.
The particular movement that led to a concentration of Christians in Gurdaspur
began in the neighbouring Sialkot district, now in Pakistan, with the
conversion of Ditt, a member of the Chuhra caste, by a Presbyterian missionary,
Samuel Martin, in 1873. The example and zeal of Ditt led to several persons—initially
from his family and immediate neighbourhood and later from his larger community—being
converted. It is said that by 1915 all but a few hundred members of his caste
in Sialkot district had converted to Christianity. The neighbouring Gurdaspur district
also became an early centre of the mass movement that began in Sialkot,
especially because another Presbyterian missionary, Andrew Gordon, lived there
from 1875 to 1885 and was very active in rendering the Church ritual and psalms
in a manner that would appeal to the Punjabis. The Christians of Gurdaspur are
largely the descendants of people who got converted to Christianity in what the
Church calls the ‘mighty Chuhra movement’ of the late nineteenth century. This
Christian community, like the Muslim community of Malerkotla, has flourished in
Independent India. Given their relatively small numbers, no Christian has been
elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly, but they do have an influence in
the elections of the representatives from Gurdaspur and also Amritsar
constituencies. A considerable number of Christians have been elected as Panchs
and Sarpanchs of their Panchayats. Their demographic share in the population
had remained relatively stable, but this also has begun to change in the last
decade of 2001-11.
Christians
outside Gurdaspur
There were 1.62 lakh
Christians in Punjab in 1971, of which about 80 thousand were in Gurdaspur
district. In 2011, of 3.48 lakh Christians in Punjab, 1.77 lakh are in
Gurdaspur. Thus, Christians in Gurdaspur and elsewhere in Punjab seem to have
grown at nearly the same rate. In these 40 years, their number has multiplied
by 2.21 in Gurdaspur and by 2.08 in the rest of Punjab; the total population of
Punjab in this period has multiplied by 2.05.
Summing
Up
1. There is a pocket of Muslim
concentration in the Sangrur district of Punjab. During the Partition of 1947,
and the violent transfer of populations between the West and East Punjab, Sikhs
of the area respected the blessings that the Muslims of Malerkotla had received
from the tenth Guru and let the Muslims here remain unmolested.
2. In Independent India,
Muslims of this small pocket have flourished; they have dominated the economy
and politics of the town of Malerkotla; they have had a significant place in
the politics of the State; and, their population has increased much faster than
others. Their share in the population of Malerkotla tahsil has risen from 15.2
percent in 1971 to 22.5 percent in 2011.
3. Notwithstanding the
dignity, prosperity and fertility that the Muslims have experienced in
Malerkotla, most of the members of the royal family of this erstwhile
principality have relocated to Lahore of Pakistan.
4. Qadian town in Gurdaspur
district of Punjab forms another, but much smaller, pocket of considerable
Muslim presence and growth. Muslims have a share of 13 percent in the
population of Qadian town; it was only 4.4 percent in 1971.
5. Qadian is the birthplace of
Mirza Gulam Ahmed, who founded the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamat in 1889. After
Partition, the Ahmadiyyas shifted their capital from Qadian to Rabwah in
Pakistan, where they have faced continuous violence and persecution. The few
Ahmadiyyas, who were left behind in Qadian to protect and guard the properties,
have flourished and their numbers have considerably increased. They continue to
hold their annual international convention, Jalsa Salana, at Qadian. The last
convention held in December 2015 attracted Ahmadiyya delegates from 44
countries. Incidentally, in Pakistan, public expression of the Ahmadiyya faith
is legally prohibited.
6. There is also a pocket of
high Christian presence in Gurdapur district, where Christians now form 7.7
percent of the population. The share of Christians has been slowly rising in
Gurdaspur, and also the rest of Punjab. But the rise in their share during
2001-11 has been rather high.
7. Christians of Gurdaspur are
the descendants of what the Church describes as the “mighty Chuhra movement” of
Sialkot; the movement that occurred towards the end of the nineteenth century in
Sialkot and the neighbouring Gurdaspur led to a significant majority of the
members of an untouchable caste of Punjab converting to Christianity en masse.
8. The stories of Malerkotla,
Qadian and Gurdaspur are of course emblematic of the secular spirit of India in
which different religions and sects continue to flourish and find dignity,
security and prosperity, even in very tense times.
9. These stories also remind
us that in India since Independence, minority communities have invariably grown
faster than the majority. The Sikh majority of Punjab is indeed growing much
slower than all others. The rapid decline in the share of Sikhs is of course
the main issue concerning the religious demography of Punjab, and also of India.
We have discussed this in detail in our eighth
and ninth posts on the Religion Data
of Census 2011.
10. The stories of Malerkotla,
Qadian and Gurdaspur also tell us that almost every part of India has a long
history of its own. This absorbing history, and also rich geography, of every
village, town and tahsil of India adds to the sanctity of India; this is what
makes India sacred. We need to once again learn to study, appreciate and enjoy
the sacred histories and geographies of different parts of India. That is the
path to the restoration of the greatness and sanctity of India.
Appendix
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