People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

2001 Census: Communal Myths

THE announcement of the 2001 census figures based on religious classification has led to a predictable response from the BJP and the RSS.  The census has shown that Muslims constitute 13.4 per cent of the total population. The decadal rate of growth of the Muslim population is 36 per cent.  The rate of growth of the population of the Hindus is 20.5 per cent for the same period.  It is the publication of these figures which has led the BJP president to express concern about the “demographic imbalance” and he has gone to the extent of saying that it will impact on India’s “unity and integrity in the long term”. Going further, both the BJP and the RSS have insinuated that the “demographic invasion” by Bangladeshi infiltrators has caused the imbalance.

It is essential to refute and debunk the BJP/RSS combine’s effort to give a communal interpretation to the census figures. Firstly, the rate of growth of the Muslim population in 2001 is not comparable with the 1991 figures. In 1991, the census was not conducted in Jammu & Kashmir because of the disturbed conditions there. In the 2001 census, Jammu & Kashmir has been included. The Census Commissioner has issued a clarification regarding this.  If we deduct the Jammu & Kashmir figures to make it comparable to 1991, then the rate of growth comes down from 36 per cent to 29.3 per cent.

The religion-based data has to be correlated to the socio-economic factors.  One of these factors has been mentioned by the Census Commissioner which is the rate of female literacy which has a bearing on the size of the family. Muslim women have lower literacy rates than women of other communities. The Muslim women literacy rate is 3 per cent below the national female literacy rate of 53 per cent.  Further, Muslim women in rural areas have only 43 per cent literacy rate. Women who have completed high school, regardless of religion or caste, have a fertility rate of 2.0 compared to illiterate women who have a fertility rate of 3.5. There is a difference between the fertility rate in urban and rural areas which cuts across religious lines. Regardless of religious affiliation, the fertility rate is higher among poor and uneducated sections. 

It is worth noting that the rate of decline of population growth is higher among Muslims than among other groups. It is desirable to reduce the rate of population growth further but this can be accomplished only by improving the socio-economic conditions of Muslims and paying special attention to education for Muslim girls and improving female literacy. 

The census figures show that among all the religious groups, Muslims have the lowest literacy rate as compared to Hindus, Christians or Jains. 

What emerges from a study of the census correlated to the socio-economic factors is that the birth rate falls with an improvement in the socio-economic and educational standards among all communities. This is applicable to the Hindus and Muslims. The Hindus of better socio-economic and educational status have a low birth rate than their poorer rural counterparts. 

What is alarming in the census figures is the declining sex ratio, especially the child sex ratio. The ratio of women to men and the girl child to the boy child has declined over the decade. This is a direct result of female foeticide in various parts of the country particularly states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. This trend will have a very adverse repercussion for our society. 

The census figures, if studied scientifically, will underline the necessity to address social, economic and gender imbalances. It cannot be a plaything for communal politics.