According to the Population by Religious Communities 2011 Census released by the Centre on August 26, India is undergoing a fertility transition and there is irrefutable evidence that fertility has declined substantially across all major communities in the country.
The variation in fertility rate among religious groups is on account of the differences in the stage of their transition. While discussing religious differentials in India, it is important to note that fertility for a religion varies across states. Census data show that growth rate varies across states. Also, the process of fertility decline at the state level is not confined to a specific social group. This suggests there is no 'Hindu fertility', 'Muslim fertility' or 'Christian fertility' as such. Besides, even in any state, there is heterogeneity within a religion. The indicators used in comparisons are averages for the communities in the states and not the norms for the communities.
The concern with population should not be about numbers and definitely not based on religious differentials. Instead, the focus should be on people and on improving their health, education and well-being. It is time we stop counting people, and start counting on people.
Poonam Muttreja New Delhi
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