Is there any truth in theory that Muslims will overtake Hindus in Indian population? This is what former Chief Election Commissioner has to say

NEW DELHI: Haven't you heard theories that Muslims can soon overtake Hindus in India in terms of population numbers? Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has come up rubbishing these theories by lining up figures.

According to Quraishi, it is mere propaganda that Muslims can overtake Hindus in terms of population numbers. He also stated that Islam was not hostile to the concept of family planning. Quraishi made the remarks while taking part in a discussion on his book 'The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India.'

''Muslims have the lowest levels of family planning (FP)- only 45.3 percent. However, their total fertility rate (TFR) is 2.61 which is the highest. But the fact that Hindus are not far behind, with second-lowest FP at 54.4 per cent, and second-highest TFR of 2.13, is completely ignored,'' Quraishi said.

SY Quraishi also claimed that Muslims were adopting family planning faster than Hindus. Citing the mathematical model of Professors Dinesh Singh, former Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Ajay Kumar, Quraishi said that the Muslim population can never surpass the Hindu population.

Quraishi said that another myth circulating among the Indians was that the Muslim population growth was upsetting the demographic balance. "The demographic ratio of India shows an increase in Muslims from 9.8 per cent in 1951 to 14.2 per cent in 2011 and a decline in Hindus from 84.2 per cent to 79.8 per cent. However, this is an increase of 4.4 percentage points in 60 years," he added.