Presented by- Tanwinder Singh Jeji Jyoti Puri 1

 1. Conceptual Definitions - Religion  Religious Census – India  Religious Census – Punjab  4. A Statistical Comparison – India and Punjab  5. Analysis of Punjab’s Religious Ratios- 2001to 2011  6. Findings 2

 Emile Durkheim, a noted sociologist defines religion as a, “… unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things”.  A specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.  Many believe that religion aids the journey of the soul and can be viewed as a path to attain God, Salvation or a pain-free afterlife. 3

 Religion is a universal phenomenon and it should allow and acknowledge different spiritual interpretations within the same faith.  Religion as a concept is widely misunderstood and thus mis-lived. A common man: (1) knows and practices a few rituals that defines his/her religious life. (2) doesn’t read the scriptures of one’s own religion (let alone of other faiths).  Main religions being practiced in India are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. 4

 Total Population of India - 121,08,54,977  Male Population - 62,32,70,258  Female Population - 58,75,84,719  Rural Population - 83,37,48,852  Urban Population - 37,71,06,125 5

 Total Population of Punjab - 2,77,43,338  Male Population - 1,46,39,465  Female Population - 1,31,03,873  Rural Population - 1,73,44,192  Urban Population - 1,03,99,146 6

 Hindus-96,62,57,353  Muslims-17,22,45,158  Christians- 2,78,19,588  Sikhs- 2,08,33,116  Buddhists- 84,42,972  Jains- 44,51,753  Other religions- 79,37,734  Religions not Stated- 28,67,303 7

 Sikhs- 1,60,04,754  Hindus- 1,06,78,138  Muslims- 5,35,489  Christians - 3,48,230  Buddhists- 33,237  Jains- 45,040  Other religions- 10,886  Religions not Stated- 87,564 8

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Communities in Punjab Sikhs1, 45,92,3871,60,04,754 Hindus89,97,9421,06,78,138 Muslims3, 82,0455,35,489 Christians2, 92,8003,48,230 Buddhists41,48733,237 Jains39,27645,040 10

 The Sikh Population in Punjab is 57.7% that constitutes as the highest proportion of population in Punjab.  77% of the Sikh population lives in the rural areas of Punjab and only 23% resides in the urban areas.  Gender Perspective within the Sikh Community – 52% is the male population and 48% is the female.  Comparative study – India has only 1.7% of Sikh Population, whereas the Sikhs are the majority group in Punjab. 11

 Hindu population in Punjab is on the second place with 38.5% population (rise in growth rate in Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar districts).  41% of the Hindu population lives in the rural areas of Punjab and 59% in the Urban areas.  Gender perspective –Among the Hindus 53% is the male population and 47% are females.  In Punjab, both Sikhs and Hindus constitute 96.2% of the total population. 12

A. Decline in the growth rate of the Sikh population in India from 1.9% to 1.7% ( ) B. Reasons quoted: 1. Migration from Punjab to the West. 2. Abandoning Sikhism and joining various deras in Punjab (discrimination against Dalits and poor Sikhs in Punjab). 3. Shrinking land holdings. 4. Awareness to have smaller families. 5. Impotence among boys due to rampant drug abuse in Punjab. 13

6. Inter religion marriages are resulting in children ending up being not Sikhs. C. 0.8% is the rise in the Muslim population in India (from % to 14.23%) D. 0.7% Marginal decline in the Hindu growth rate (from 80.5% to 79.8%) E. In spite of large scale conversions to Christianity they still constitute only 2.3% of the total Indian population. F. Despite demands from the experts caste based data has not been released.  14

1. Remarkable decline in the population growth rate of both majority as well as minority community(increasing acceptance of family planning). 2. Factors that affect the growth rate : education, financial status, health care, regional factors, fertility rates and views on birth control. 3. Hindus have a sex ratio of 939 females for 1000 males, the Muslim community has a healthier sex ratio of 951 females for 1000 males. 15

4. No religion specific data is available about public service recruitment. 5. Most social sector programmes do not identify beneficiaries by socio-religious categories. 16

1. Amish, “Different is the New Normal”. Comment. The Hindustan Times. Chandigarh. Sept. 5, pg.12. Print. 2. Ansari, M Hamid, “Must resist the efforts to isolate Muslims”. OPED, The Tribune. Chandigarh. Wed. Sept. 2, Print. 3. “Drop in Growth Rate: NRI Sikhs Blame Conversions, Drugs”. Indo-Asian News Service. The Hindustan Times. Chandigarh. Monday Aug.31,2015. pg.4. Print. 4. Mustafa, Faizan. “ Don’t turn census data into half truths”. Comment. The Hindustan Times. Chandigarh. Mon. Aug.31,2015. Print population crores-hindus-79-8-pc-muslims pc-census/ population crores-hindus-79-8-pc-muslims pc-census/

Thank You. 18