Hindu population below 80 per cent for 1st time

New Delhi: The NDA government on Tuesday released the data on population by religious communities from Census 2011 which showed the proportion of Muslims to the total population is growing marginally faster than that of other religions.

Critics questioned the timing of the release of the data just weeks ahead of polls in Bihar, where Muslims can influence the outcome in about 50 of the 243 assembly constituencies. According to an official statement, the proportion of Hindus in the total population has declined by 0.7 percentage point, Sikhs by 0.2 percentage points and Buddhists by 0.1 percentage points during 2001-2011.