Misreporting of EAC-PM Working Paper on Population Trends

The Population Foundation of India (PFI) has raised concerns about the misrepresentation of findings from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister’s (EAC-PM) working paper on religious minority populations. The PFI accused media outlets of distorting the data to create alarm regarding the growth of the Muslim population. The working paper, titled “Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)”, analyzed the population shares of religious communities in India and other countries.

It revealed that while the Muslim population in India increased by 43.15% between 1950 and 2015, the Hindu population decreased by 7.82%. However, the PFI criticized the methodology, stating that the percentages were misleading as they were calculated based on the population of each religious group in 1950. Moreover, the PFI emphasized that the decline in fertility rates among Muslims in India had been noted in successive censuses and National Family Health Surveys, urging for responsible reporting that considers broader demographic trends.