"Growth rates have declined for all of India’s major religious groups, but the slowdown has been more pronounced among religious minorities, who outpaced Hindus in earlier decades. Between 1951 and 1961, the Muslim population expanded by 32.7%, 11 percentage points more than India’s overall rate of 21.6%. But this gap has narrowed. From 2001 to 2011, the difference in growth between Muslims (24.7%) and Indians overall (17.7%) was 7 percentage points. India’s Christian population grew at the slowest pace of the three largest groups in the most recent census decade – gaining 15.7% between 2001 and 2011, a far lower growth rate than the one recorded in the decade following Partition (29.0%).

In absolute numbers, all of the country’s largest religious groups are still gaining millions (tens of lakhs) of adherents. In the most recent decade between censuses, Hindus added 138 million (13.8 crore) people, while Muslims grew by 34 million (3.4 crore). India’s total population increased by nearly 200 million (2o crore) in that time, from about 1 billion (100 crore) in 2001 to 1.2 billion (120 crore) in 2011."

"Pakistan being a Muslim majority state promises equal rights to non-Muslims. Right after independence, Mr. Jinnah set the direction for ensuring and provision of basic rights and securities to the minorities living in Pakistan. “You are free, you are free to go to your temples, and you are free to go to your mosques or any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the State,” uttered by Jinnah in his first speech to the Constituent Assembly in August 1947.

However, these words remain in the annals of the country’s history bereft of practical meaning and substance.

The focus of this piece of writing is on the Hindu minority albeit their condition can provide the context to assess the situation of other religious minorities.

Hindus constitute the largest non-Muslim group in the country. But today the number of this minority in Pakistan is decreasing and they are fleeing to other countries where their rights are better protected.

Hindus form 1.6% of the total population of Pakistan. Hindu population is living all around in Pakistan but their majority is concentrated in Sindh and the region of South Punjab.

Minorities in Pakistan face numerous problems. The social structure of the Hindus is very different from what the Muslim practice in their daily life. There is division and discrimination within the Hindus that makes their intercaste interaction less, resulting in a division within division and class within class. This adds to their plight because if a community is reluctant to interact within, their problems and issues might go unresolved. Lack of unity exposes them to the excesses of the majority communities.
The study and observation of the Hindu population in Sindh and South Punjab reveal stark dissimilarities. As a majority of the Hindu population is concentrated in the province of Sindh, there they have more resources in terms of education and employment as compare to the Hindus living in South Punjab.

Regarding the employment opportunities, the Hindu population in Sindh is gaining strength in terms of the economic resources for they are having more and better opportunities for employment.
However, the Punjab government has not been able to address the issues of the Hindu community in the South Punjab as effectively as ensured by its counterpart in Sindh.
One of the main causes of the Hindus concern is that forces conversion of their girls. The girls escape from house as a result of kidnapping, when they are found; they are forcefully married to some Muslim boy and converted to Islam. The judicial procedure has not been able to establish the truth of the conversion is the girl is with her new in-laws and there is pressure on her to give the public statement in accordance with what they say.

Sindh government has been more responsive towards protecting the right of the Hindus in their province. The declaration of the public holiday on Holi, the first province to pass the marriage bill regarding Hindu and other non-Muslim marriages and the clauses related to the conversion of Hindus are great step forward
The Hindu population forms a sizable minority in Sindh as they are in form of the clusters but the size of the Hindu population in the South Punjab is less and scattered ,which is one of the main reason of their being neglected at various levels.

The Hindus of South Punjab live in vulnerable precincts encircled by religious and sectarian zealots who exercise subtle pressure and domination on them. On the contrary, the Hindus living in Sindh have sizable population centres which provide them safety net against exploitation although the situation is not enviable for them. This is only in comparison with the Hindu minority living in other parts of the country.
Even at the political level, it is the Hindu representatives from Sindh who are able to make it to the corridors of power whereas the South Punjabi Hindu community remains under-represented due to the electoral map of the province.

South Punjab itself finds at odds with the rest of Punjab hence being treated as minority sub-provincial unit within Punjab. This deals a double blow to the Hindus living in the almost ghettoised clusters.
In Sindh, the Hindu minority is well-knit and closely tied to the majority communities in terms of facing problems and seeking their resolution.
What comes out of this comparison is that the Hindu community of South Punjab should learn from their brethren in Sindh about extracting favourable treatment from the government through affirmative action.
On its part, the Punjab provincial government needs to learn from the approach and actions of the Sindh government to bring the Hindus and other minorities at par with the rest of the citizenry.

The present state of affairs on this count is well described by an analyst Iqbal Mustafa in his book “Dysfunctional Democracy in Pakistan” “we have ignored the long term for so long that even now short term looks difficult”.
All is not yet lost, the provincial and central governments can take the right step in right direction to alleviate the situation for the minorities. The passage of the Hindu Marriage Bill by the Senate after the National Assembly is an encouraging development. Its enforcement in letter and spirit would be the litmus test of the authorities and a positive development for all the Minorities in general and Hindus in particular."

"At the time of partition in 1947, almost 23 percent of Pakistan’s population was comprised of non-Muslim citizens. Today, the proportion of non-Muslims has declined to approximately 3 percent. The distinctions among Muslim denominations have also become far more accentuated over the years. Muslim groups such as the Shias who account for approximately 20-25 percent of Pakistan’s Muslim population, Ahmadis who have been declared non-Muslim by the writ of the state, and non-Muslim minorities such as Christians, Hindus and Sikhs have been the targets of suicide bomb attacks on their neighborhoods, had community members converted to Islam against their will, and had their houses of worship attacked and bombed even while they were inhabited by worshipers.

Even the graveyards of Christians and Ahmadis have not been spared. Regular reports of graves being excavated and vandalized appear in the press and via community reports. In Sindh and Balochistan provinces, well-to-do Hindus have been the primary targets of the ransom kidnappings. The numbers of minority Muslims and non-Muslims subjected to these purposeful attacks have increased significantly and the crimes committed have become more heinous. Those accused of “blasphemy” have sometimes been burnt alive outside police stations with no culprits identified or punished."

"Name and Territory of the Union
(1) India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.

(2) The States and the territories thereof shall be as specified in the First Schedule.

(3) The territory of India shall comprise —

(a) the territories of the States;

(b) the Union territories specified in the First Schedule; and

(c) such other territories as may be acquired."

"As per latest census, Hindu are majority in Assam state. Hinduism constitutes 61.47% of Assam population. In all Hindu form majority religion in 18 out of 27 districts of Assam state. The data for 2025 & 2026 is under process and will be updated in few weeks.

Muslim Population in Assam is 1.07 Crore (34.22 percent) of total 3.12 Crore. Christian Population in Assam is 11.66 Lakhs (3.74 percent) of total 3.12 Crore.
Muslims plays important role in electoral of Assam state forming significant 34.22% of total population. Islam is followed with majority in 9 out of 27 districts."