The BJP on Thursday claimed that India would be “no country for Hindus” under the Congress, after a study conducted by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) showed a dip of nearly 8% in the share of Hindus in the overall population from 1950 to 2015, and an increase of 43% in the proportion of Muslims during the same period.

“Share of Hindus shrunk 7.8% and the Muslim population grew by 43%. This what decades of Congress rule did to us. Left to them, there would be no country for Hindus,” BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya wrote on X (previously Twitter).

Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, on the other hand, termed what he described as an “imbalance in population” as a “topic of concern.”

“This has happened because of the Congress’ Muslim appeasement. It worked like the Muslim League and therefore, the country witnessed this imbalance. That is why, we needs Uniform Civil Code (UCC),” Maurya remarked.

Citing various incidents, the ruling party has repeatedly accused its arch-rival of being “anti-Hindu” and indulging in “minority (Muslim) appeasement.” The Congress has rejected these allegations.

The Congress has been in power at the Centre more than any other party, followed by the BJP.

EAC-PM study

The study, a working paper, is authored by Shamika Ravi, Apurv Kumar Mishra, and Abraham Jose.

“The share of the majority Hindu population declined by 7.82% from 84.68% to 78.06% between 1950 and 2015 while that of the Muslim population rose by 43.15% to 14.09% from 9.84% during the period,” it said.

In 2011, as per that year’s census, India’s population stood at over 121 crore, with Hindus at more than 96 crore (79.80%) and Muslims at 17.22 crore (14.23%), among others. The next census, which was due in 2021, is yet to be carried out.

In April 2023, India surpassed neighbouring China as the world’s most populous nation.