Religious Conversions in India

In India, nationalism has been increasingly tied to religious demography. However, in recent years, it has been observed that hysteria is being created that the Hindu population is going down and, by 2050, the Muslims will outnumber the Hindus. Its implication is that in a “one man, one vote” electoral system, the Muslims will capture power and Hindus will be reduced to a minority, thereby facing the threat of being treated as second-class citizens.

This demographic fear has existed since 1924 when it was articulated by Swami Shraddhanand in his book Hindu Sangathan: Saviour of the Dying Race. The differential growth rate of religious communities has been a contested issue for a long time. Usually, the following causative factors are cited: (i) fertility rate and birth control;
(ii) female education; (iii) sex ratio; (iv) consumption rate and the class phenomenon; (v) emigration and immigration; and (vi) conversions.