The Population Foundation of India reported that population growth is not tied to religion, and the total fertility rate (TFR) is decreasing among all religious groups, with the most significant decline observed in Muslims. Between 1950 and 2015, the Hindu population in India decreased by 7.82%, while the Muslim population increased by 43.15%. The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) report caused a stir among political parties, with the ruling BJP claiming that Congress's "appeasement politics" led to the rise in the Muslim population.
The Population Foundation of India expressed concern about the misrepresentation of the exercise findings in the media to raise fears about Muslim population growth. It emphasized that the study on changes in majority and minority religious groups over the past 65 years should not be used to incite discrimination.
Census data shows a declining decadal growth rate among Muslims in the last three decades, with a decrease from 32.9% in 1981–1991 to 24.6% in 2001–2011. Hindu growth rates also dropped from 22.7% to 16.8% during the same period. The organization highlighted that the census data from 1951 to 2011 aligns with actual figures, indicating no new numbers. Amid decreasing TFRs across all religious groups from 2005-06 to 2019-21, the largest decline was among Muslims by 1%, followed by Hindus by 0.7%.
This suggests a convergence of fertility rates among different religious communities. NGOs supporting gender-sensitive population, health, and development strategies criticized the inaccurate and baseless interpretations of the data. Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India, criticized the media's selective focus on Muslim population growth, ignoring broader demographic trends.
