Demographics of Punjab, India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Population Growth 
CensusPopulation %±
19519,161,000
—
196111,135,00121.5%
197113,551,00021.7%
198116,788,91523.9%
199120,281,96920.8%
200124,358,99920.1%
201127,743,33813.9%
source:Census of India [1][2]

According to the 2011 Census of India, Punjab, India has a population of around 27.7 million.

Caste population[]

As of September 2020, the caste population data for each upper caste citizen in Punjab collected in Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 has not been released to public by Government of India.[3][4] Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes form 63.2% of the total population of Punjab.[5]

Castes of Punjab (2011)

  Scheduled Castes (Dalits) (31.9%)
  Upper castes (UC) (30%)
  Other Backward Classes (OBC or BC) (31.3%)
  religious minorities (3.8%)
  Rai Sikhs (3%)
Caste Population data of Punjab
Constitutional categories Population (%) Castes
Other Backward Classes (OBC) 31.3%[6][7] includes Sainis[8] and Sikh Rajput,[9] (Sainis and Sikh Rajputs added to OBC list in 2016[10]), Sunar, Kamboj, Labana, Tarkhan/Ramgarhia, Rajputs, Kumhar/Prajapati, Arain, Gurjar, Teli, Banjara, Lohar, Bhat/Bhatt,[11] Others
Scheduled Castes (Dalits not including Rai Sikh statistics[12]) 31.9%[13] includes Mazhabi Sikh - 10%, Ramdasia Sikh/Ravidassia (Chamar)/Ad-Dharmi - 13.1%, Balmiki/Bhanghi - 3.5%, Bazigar - 1.05%, Others - 4%[14]
Others 33% includes Jat Sikh - 19%,[15] - 2%, Hindu Dvija castes (Brahman - 7%), Khatri -Arora-Sood, Bania, Kayastha[16]) - 5%[17]
religious minorities 3.8%[18] includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Jains

Languages spoken[]

Languages of Punjab (2011)[19][20]

  Punjabi (official) (89.82%)
  Hindi (7.85%)
  Others (2.83%)

The Punjabi language written in the Gurmukhi script is the official language of the state.[21] Muslims form a slight majority in the Malerkotla town and use Shahmukhi for communication.[22] Punjabi is the sole official language of Punjab and is spoken by the majority of the population numbering around 24,919,067 constituting (89.82%) of the population as of 2011 census report. Hindi is the second largest language, spoken by 2,177,853 constituting 7.85% of the population. And the remaining 646,418 spoke other Indian languages, comprising 2.83% in the Others category.[19]

Religion in Punjab[]

Religions in Punjab, India (2011)

  Sikhism (57.69%)
  Hinduism (38.49%)
  Islam (1.93%)
  Christianity (1.26%)
  Jainism (0.16%)
  Others/not stated (0.47%)

Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, practiced by 16 million people representing 57.69% of the population of Punjab population, making it the only Sikh-majority state in India. Around 38.49% of the population i.e. 10.67 million practice Hinduism, while Islam is followed by 5.35 lakhs comprising 1.93% of the state population.[23] Other micro-faiths include Buddhism, Christianity and Jainism.[24]

Religion in Punjab
Religion 2001[25] 2011[26]
Sikhism 14,592,387 16,004,754
Hinduism 8,997,942 10,678,138
Islam 382,045 535,489
Christianity 292,800 348,230
Jainism 39,276 45,040
Buddhism 41,487 33,237
Other 8,594 10,886
Not stated n/a 87,564
Total 24,358,999 27,743,338
Religion in Punjab (%)
Religion 2001[25] 2011[25]
Sikhism 59.90 57.69
Hinduism 36.94 38.49
Islam 1.57 1.93
Christianity 1.20 1.26
Jainism 0.16 0.16
Buddhism 0.17 0.12
Other 0.03 0.04
Not stated n/a 0.31

Religions in Punjab 1946 (before partition)[]

Religions in Punjab, India (1946)[27][28][29]

  Sikhism (50.65%)
  Islam (29.22%)
  Hinduism (17.53%)
  Christianity (2.04%)
  Buddhism (0.29%)
  Jainism (0.24%)
  Others/not stated (0.03%)

Note: It's includes only the present geographical area of Punjab i.e. after the 1966 part of geographical area.

Present day India's Punjab have a population 9,238,810 as per 1946 statistics concerned, Sikhism is marginally the majority religion of the region practiced by 4,679,599, Islam being second largest religion practiced by 2,699,651, while 1,619,878 adheres to Hindu faith. Other minority religion community includes; Christians at 188,576, Buddhists at 27,290, Jains at 22,741, while 1,075 people follow other religions or not stated anyone.[27][28][29]

Sikhism in Punjab[]

Main articles: Sikhs and Sikhism in India
Sikh pilgrims at the causeway to the sanctum of the Harmandir Sahib, the holiest Sikh Gurdwara

Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of South Asia, which now falls into the present day states of India and Pakistan. The main religions of the area at the time were Hinduism and Islam.The Sikh faith began around 1500 CE, when Guru Nanak began teaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam. Nine Gurus followed Nanak and developed the Sikh faith and community over the next centuries.[30]

Decadal Sikh Population in Punjab, India
YearPop.±%
1951 5,553,918—    
1961 6,178,516+11.2%
1971 8,160,232+32.1%
1981 10,199,534+25.0%
1991 12,768,393+25.2%
2001 14,592,868+14.3%
2011 16,004,754+9.7%
Source: census of India,[31][32]

The Sikh population in India's Punjab have grown from 5.53 million in 1951 to 16 million in 2011 census (an increase of 10.47 million in last 60 years).

Percentage of Sikhism by decades[31][32]

Year Percent Increase
1951 60.62% -
1961 55.48% -5.14%
1971 60.22% +4.74%
1981 60.75% +0.53%
1991 62.95% +2.2%
2001 59.91% -3.04%
2011 57.69% -2.22%

While population that adheres to Sikh faith has increased, the percentage of Sikhs has declined from 60.62% in 1951 to 57.69% (a decline of 2.93% in last 60 years). Sikhs have been migrating to the west, Canada being prominent, steadily due to lack of opportunities in Punjab. Drugs have also become a problem amongst Sikh youth.

Hinduism in Punjab[]

Main article: Punjabi Hindus

Hinduism is the second largest and fastest growing religion in the Indian state of Punjab with around 38.5% followers as of 2011 census. Hinduism is the 2nd largest religion of Punjabi peoples. It was the largest religion in Punjab before the advent of Islam from the West and birth of Sikhism in Punjab region from the east.[33]

Percentage of Hinduism by decades[31][32][34]

Year Percent Increase
1951 37.66% -
1961 38.23% +0.57%
1971 37.54% -0.69%
1981 36.93% -0.61%
1991 34.46% -2.47%
2001 36.94% +2.48%
2011 38.49% +1.55%

The Hindu percentage remained stable for decades. The Hindu percentage have increased from 37.66% in 1951 to 38.49% in 2011.

Decadal Hindu Population in Punjab, India
YearPop.±%
1951 3,449,844—    
1961 4,256,936+23.4%
1971 5,087,067+19.5%
1981 6,200,146+21.9%
1991 6,989,166+12.7%
2001 8,998,214+28.7%
2011 10,678,410+18.7%
Source: census of India,[31][32][34]

The Hindu population have increased from 3.44 million in 1951 to 10.67 million in 2011 (a growth of 7.23 million in 6 decades).

Islam in Punjab[]

Main articles: Punjabi Muslims and Islam in Punjab, India
A photo of a mosque in Punjab, India
Trends in Muslim population of Punjab, India before and after Partition [35][36][34] [37]
Census year % of total population Increase
1946 (Before partition) 33% N/A
1947 (After partition) 0.5%

-32.5%

1951 0.63%

+0.13%

1961 0.82% +0.19%
1971 0.93% +0.11%
1981 1% +0.07%
1991 1.18% +0.18%
2001 1.57% +0.39%
2011 1.93% +0.36%

The Muslim population in Punjab have reduced from 33% in 1946 to 0.5% in 1947 as a result of Partition of Punjab riots which were caused during 1947 mainly in the various parts of East Punjab.

Muslim Population in Punjab,India after partition
YearPop.±%
1947 90,172—    
1951 110,160+22.2%
1961 181,234+64.5%
1971 252,688+39.4%
1981 321,287+27.1%
1991 390,077+21.4%
2001 382,045−2.1%
2011 535,489+40.2%
Source: Census of India

Before partition 2.7 million Muslims lived in what is now called today's political Punjab region of India. After partition of India most of them about 99% or say 2.67 million Muslims left the region permanently for Pakistan's Punjab.

Religious population by districts[]

Religious population by district (2011)[24]
# District Sikh Hindu Muslim Christian Jain Buddhist Other religions Religion not stated
1 Amritsar 1,716,935 690,939 12,502 54,344 3,152 876 5,488 1,0864
2 Barnala 467,751 112,859 13,100 622 246 108 481 360
3 Bathinda 984,286 380,569 16,299 2,474 1,266 246 559 2,826
4 Faridkot 469,789 141,363 3,125 1,227 1,109 155 103 637
5 Fatehgarh Sahib 427,521 152,851 16,808 1,698 178 48 251 808
6 Firozpur 1,090,815 906,408 6,844 19,358 1,143 454 278 3,774
7 Gurdaspur 1,002,874 1,074,332 27,667 176,587 580 405 812 15,066
8 Hoshiarpur 538,208 1,000,743 23,089 14,968 2034 3,476 531 3,576
9 Jalandhar 718,363 1,394,329 30,233 26,016 4,011 11,385 805 8,448
10 Kapurthala 453,692 336,124 10,190 5,445 553 6,662 334 2,168
11 Ludhiana 1,863,408 1,502,403 77,713 16,517 19,620 2,007 1,254 15,817
12 Mansa 598,443 156,539 10,375 917 1,577 123 493 1,284
13 Moga 818,921 158,414 9,388 3,277 436 178 365 4,767
14 Muktsar 638,625 254,920 4,333 1,681 744 240 433 920
15 Patiala 1,059,944 783,306 40,043 5,683 1,914 245 1,410 3,141
16 Rupnagar 361,045 304,481 14,492 2,094 653 118 143 1,601
17 Mohali 478,908 476,276 29,488 5,342 1,257 257 239 2,861
18 Sangrur 1,077,438 389,410 179,116 2,406 3,222 268 1,038 2,271
19 Nawanshehar 192,885 401,368 6,829 1,479 695 5,885 266 2,903
20 Tarn Taran 1,044,903 60,504 3,855 6,095 650 101 47 3,472
Punjab (Total)
 16,004,754 10,678,138 535,489 348,230 45,040 33,237 10,886 87,564
Religious population proportion by district (2011)[24]
# District Sikh Hindu Muslim Christian Jain Buddhist Other religions Religion not stated
1 Amritsar 68.94% 27.74% 0.50% 2.18% 0.13% 0.04% 0.04% 0.44%
2 Barnala 78.54% 18.95% 2.20% 0.10% 0.04% 0.02% 0.08% 0.06%
3 Bathinda 70.89% 27.41% 1.17% 0.18% 0.09% 0.02% 0.04% 0.20%
4 Faridkot 76.08% 22.89% 0.51% 0.20% 0.18% 0.03% 0.02% 0.10%
5 Fatehgarh Sahib 71.23% 25.47% 2.80% 0.28% 0.03% 0.01% 0.04% 0.13%
6 Firozpur 53.76% 44.67% 0.34% 0.95% 0.06% 0.02% 0.01% 0.19%
7 Gurdaspur 43.64% 46.74% 1.20% 7.68% 0.03% 0.02% 0.04% 0.66%
8 Hoshiarpur 33.92% 63.07% 1.46% 0.94% 0.13% 0.22% 0.03% 0.23%
9 Jalandhar 32.75% 63.56% 1.38% 1.19% 0.18% 0.52% 0.04% 0.39%
10 Kapurthala 55.66% 41.23% 1.25% 0.67% 0.07% 0.82% 0.04% 0.27%
11 Ludhiana 53.26% 42.94% 2.22% 0.47% 0.56% 0.06% 0.04% 0.45%
12 Mansa 77.75% 20.34% 1.35% 0.12% 0.20% 0.02% 0.06% 0.17%
13 Moga 82.24% 15.91% 0.94% 0.33% 0.04% 0.02% 0.04% 0.48%
14 Muktsar 70.81% 28.26% 0.48% 0.19% 0.08% 0.03% 0.05% 0.10%
15 Patiala 55.91% 41.32% 2.11% 0.30% 0.10% 0.01% 0.07% 0.17%
16 Rupnagar 52.74% 44.47% 2.12% 0.31% 0.10% 0.02% 0.02% 0.23%
17 Mohali 48.15% 47.88% 2.96% 0.54% 0.13% 0.03% 0.02% 0.29%
18 Sangrur 65.10% 23.53% 10.82% 0.15% 0.19% 0.02% 0.06% 0.14%
19 Nawanshehar 31.50% 65.55% 1.12% 0.24% 0.11% 0.96% 0.04% 0.47%
20 Tarn Taran 93.33% 5.40% 0.34% 0.54% 0.06% 0.01% 0.00% 0.31%
Punjab (Total)
 57.69% 38.49% 1.93% 1.26% 0.16% 0.12% 0.04% 0.32%

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Census Population" (PDF). Census of India. Ministry of Finance India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  2. ^ "Raw caste data collected in 2011 given to social justice ministry, govt tells Rajya Sabha". ThePrint. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  3. ^ "'Caste Census-2011 not yet released'". The Hindu. Special Correspondent. 27 June 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 30 July 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. ^ Ganesan, Rajeshwari (20 September 2021). "Eye on AAP? Congress bets big on Dalit Sikhs, bid to please Jats too". Times Now. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  5. ^ Jagga, Raakhi (20 September 2021). "31.3 per cent are other backward classes (OBCs)". The Indian Express. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Quota will have little impact in Punjab". The Tribune. 11 January 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Castes Under BC". welfarepunjab.gov.in. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  8. ^ "List of Backward classes/other backward classes – Punjab Govt. Notification". punjabxp.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Saini, Swarnkar/Sunar communities to be backward classes in Punjab". The Indian Express. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  10. ^ "CENTRAL LIST OF OBCs FOR THE STATE OF PUNJAB" (PDF). ncbc.nic.in.
  11. ^ "Punjab's many Dalit Sikhs – Ramdasia, Ravidasia, Mazhabis, Ranghretas, Rai, Sansi". ThePrint. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  12. ^ "SCs, STs form 25% of population, says Census 2011 data". The Indian Express. 1 May 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2018. The highest SC population, 31.9 per cent of the state's total number, is in Punjab
  13. ^ "PUNJAB DATA HIGHLIGHTS: THE SCHEDULED CASTES" (PDF). Censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  14. ^ "The Jats in Punjab comprise 21 per cent population - India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  15. ^ "History - Khatri Sabha NCR". khatrisabhancr.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  16. ^ Rajmeet Singh (25 October 2021). "Now, Punjab parties shift focus on OBC, Hindu voters". The Tribune. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  17. ^ "Census Reference Tables, C-Series Population by religious communities". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Language – India, States and Union Territories" (PDF). Census of India 2011. Office of the Registrar General. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  19. ^ "C-16 Population By Mother Tongue - Punjab". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  20. ^ Singh, Roopinder (9 June 2019). "Punjabi fading in 'Punjabi Suba'". The Tribune. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  21. ^ India, Tribune (17 June 2020). "Waqf Board divided over use of Punjabi in recruitment". The Tribune. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Although the OBC share in the country's population is about 41 per cent, in states like Punjab, the concentration of the OBC population is less than 25 per cent". Hindustantimes.com. 3 September 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  23. ^ a b c "Population by religious community: Punjab". 2011 Census of India. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  24. ^ a b c "Total population by religious communities". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  25. ^ "Indian Census 2011". Census Department, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  26. ^ a b punjab.global.ucsb.edu › filesPDF Demography of the Punjab (1849-1947)
  27. ^ a b http://www.jstor.org › stable The Sikh Princes and the East Punjab Massacres of 1947 - JStor
  28. ^ a b http://www.asiaportal.info › ethnic-cleansi... Ethnic cleansing and genocidal massacres 65 years ago by ...
  29. ^ "BBC - Religions - Sikhism: Origins of Sikhism".
  30. ^ a b c d http://www.epw.in › files › pdf › re...PDF Web results Religious Composition of Punjab's Population - Economic and ...
  31. ^ a b c d http://www.cpsindia.org › Blog8PDF The Declining share of Sikhs in the population of India
  32. ^ "Sikhs Dominate Punjab : Hindus: A Forgotten Minority". Los Angeles Times. 31 July 1985.
  33. ^ a b c https://www.researchgate.net/publication/312619811_Demographic_Dynamism_of_Punjab_1971-2011
  34. ^ "Muslims are dotting Punjab Landscape once again".
  35. ^ http://punenvis.nic.in/index3.aspx?sslid=2277&subsublinkid=1527&langid=1&mid=1
  36. ^ https://www.newslaundry.com/2015/01/09/the-vanishing-hindus-of-pakistan-a-demographic-study-2
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