The Vedic culture developed in India in 1500 BCE and 500 BCE.[6] After this period, the Vedic religion merged with local traditions and the renouncer traditions, resulting in the emergence of Hinduism,[7] which has had a profound impact on India's history, culture and philosophy. The name India itself is derived from SanskritSindhu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River.[8]
India saw the rule of both Hindu and Muslim rulers from c. 1200 CE to 1750 CE.[9] The fall of Vijayanagara Empire to Muslim sultans had marked the end of Hindu dominance in the Deccan. Hinduism once again rose to political prestige, under the Maratha Empire.[10][11]
The 1947 Partition of India gave rise to bloody rioting and indiscriminate inter-communal killing of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs across the Indian subcontinent, specially in Punjab region. An estimated 7.3 million Hindus and Sikhs moved to India and 7.2 million Muslims moved to Pakistan permanently, leading to demographic change of both the nations to a certain extent. As a result of this, India's Hindu population have increased exponentially from 74.8% in 1941 to 84.1% in 1951 Census respectively.[12][13]
"I find no parallel in history for a body of converts and their descendants claiming to be a nation apart from the parent stock."
— Mahatma Gandhi, opposing the division of India on the basis of religion in 1944.[14]
Hindu population decline in South Asia
Hinduism dropped from 72% in British Raj of 1891[15] to 69% in 1921.[16] In 1941 British census, Hindus comprised 69.5% of Undivided India.[17] It further declined to just 66% in Undivided India since Muslims would make up 32% of Undivided India's population in 2024, if not partitioned, respectively.[18]
Demographics
The Hindu population has tripled from 303,675,084 in 1951 to 966,257,353 in 2011, but the Hindu percentage share of total population has declined from 84.1% in 1951 to 79.8% in 2011.[19][20][21] When India achieved independence in 1947, Hindus formed roughly 85% of the total population and pre-Partition British India had about 73% of Hindus.[22]
According to a report by the Pew Research Center (PRC), the Hindu population in India is projected to reach almost 1.3 billion by 2050, within a total population nearing 1.7 billion. Despite this growth, the community proportion within the nation's population is anticipated to decrease by 2.8 percent, declining from 79.5 percent in 2010 to 76.7 percent in 2050, owing to low fertility rate, high mortality rate and emigration, respectively.[23]
Fertility rates
The latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted from 2019-2021, has shown a notable change in fertility trends in India. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR), which measures the average number of children per woman, has dropped below the replacement level of 2.1 respectively. Specifically, among Hindus, the TFR stands at 1.9, indicating that on average, each Hindu woman is having fewer than two children in her reproductive lifespan. This trend suggests a significant shift towards smaller family sizes within the Hindu community, reflecting broader demographic changes in the country.[24]
Emigration
A report published in a major Pakistani newspaper indicates that over 5,000 Pakistani Hindus migrate to India annually as refugees.[25]Dr. Abul Barkat, a highly esteemed academic figure affiliated with Dhaka University, has provided insights indicating that an estimated 230,000 Bangladeshi Hindus undertake migration to India annually, with the primary motive of seeking asylum and ensuring personal safety. This migration pattern underscores a notable trend contributing to a substantial influx of refugees from Bangladesh to India.[26]
Although the Constitution of India has declared the nation as a secular state with no state religion, it has been argued several times that the Indian state privileges Hinduism as state sponsored religion constitutionally, legislatively and culturally.[27][28]
The original copy of the Indian constitution has an illustration of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana in Part III on Fundamental Rights and Rama has been considered as the true guardian of people's rights.[29]
Article 343 (1) of the Indian Constitution also states that, "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script".[30]
Also, Article 48 of Indian constitution prohibits the slaughter of cows or calves (a sacred animal in Hinduism) and it is a criminal offense in most of the states of India.[31][32]
Some right-wing Hindu organisations like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad etc. have demanded that India should be declared a Hindu nation by constitution to safeguard the rights and life of Hindus in this largest democracy.[33][34][35] As of 28 July 2020, there were pleas going on Supreme Court of India to remove the words secular and socialist from the Preamble to the Constitution of India.[36] As far as citizens are concerned, only 7 out of 20 Indian Hindus are in favor of making India a Hindu Nation.[37] Nearly two-thirds of Indian Hindus, constituting 64% of the population, believe that it is very important to be Hindu to be considered truly Indian or a citizen of India respectively.[38]
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 is a law passed in India in December 2019. Under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, it provides a fast-track to Indian citizenship for undocumented immigrants from neighbouring countries, namely Hindus and five other specific communities: Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains, who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. The law has reduced the residency requirement for undocumented immigrants from select religious minorities, including Hindus, from 11 years to 5 years for acquiring Indian citizenship through naturalization. This provision aims to expedite the citizenship process for these specific persecuted minority groups of neighbouring nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.[39]
