26, Aug 2015

Aug 26 2015 : Mirror (Mumbai)
Sobhana Nair in New Delhi mirrorfeedback TWEET @MumbaiMirror
Ahead of Bihar elections, the government on Tuesday released the data on Population by Religious Communities of Census 2011. The population growth rate in the decade 2001-2011 was found to be 17.7 percent At 96.63 crore (79.8%), Hinduism remains the choice for majority of Indians, while Muslims comprise 14.2% of the population (17.22 crore). While the census figure on religion was re leased on Tuesday, more than four years after compilation of the data, the caste data is yet to be made public.
Many see the timing of the release of this data as suspect. “There are elections in Bihar and obviously all these steps are being taken in view of that,“ said JD (U) spokesperson K C Tyagi.