PM panel report brings back focus on changing nature of demography in Rajasthan cities

Jaipur, May 10 (IANS) A working paper released by the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister has again brought the focus back on the changing nature of religious demography in the desert state.

According to the working paper released recently, India's Hindu population decreased by 7.82 per cent between 1950 and 2015, from 84.68 per cent to 78.06 per cent, while the Muslim population went up from 9.84 per cent to 14.09 per cent during this period, marking a 43.15 per cent rise.

Vikrant Singh from the NGO Jansankhya Foundation told IANS that a few years back, the BSF released a report that flagged concerns over increasing radicalisation of Muslim population in the border district of Jaisalmer.

The report released in December 2018 found rising prevalence of "Arab customs" in the bordering villages, Singh said.

Now it’s not the border cities alone, but the demography is changing in almost all the cities in Rajasthan as one particular community can be seen residing in the older pockets of the cities and towns, he claimed.

Earlier, there used to be diversity in the older parts of the towns, which seems to be changing now with the Hindus migrating to the newer pockets in many cities in the state now, he said.

“This trend can be spotted in cities like Barmer, Jaisalmer, and Pokhran and other border areas," he told IANS.

The BSF report also found a high growth rate -- 22-25 per cent -- in Muslim population as compared to 8-10 per cent among other communities in the areas bordering Pakistan in the state.

Singh claimed it is a fact that extremism is rising and hence there is a need to implement policies on a secular basis and bring in popular control measures, irrespective of religion.

Rules such as those with more than two kids cant contest panchayat elections should be implemented through out the nation, he said.

Nimisha, a BJP leader in Jaipur, also told IANS that there is a lack of diversity in the pockets of the state where the two communities used to live together before.

However, Rajasthan Congress General Secretary Swarnim Chaturvedi argued that the figures released in the PM panel report are not based on population census.

He also questioned the intention of the government, saying it wants to benefit from polarisation and hence comes the report in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections.

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