‘Large-scale infiltration behind Muslim population rise’: Amit Shah says Hindus from Pak, Bangladesh have rights on Indian soil

Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday stated that the increase in the country’s Muslim population could be attributed to large-scale infiltration.

The comments came during Shah’s address at Dainik Jagran’s Narendra Mohan Memorial Lecture on ‘Infiltration, Demographic Change, and Democracy’.

Pointing to the neighbouring countries Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the home minister said that “the decline in the Hindu population in these countries was not due to conversion; many of them have sought refuge in India”.

“On the other hand, the increase in the Muslim population in India is not due to the fertility rate but rather due to the large-scale infiltration of Muslim individuals into the country,” he said.

Shah further noted that Muslim population in the country has increased at a rate of 24.6 per cent, while the Hindu population has decreased by 4.5 per cent. He clarified that this decline is not due to the fertility rate but rather due to infiltration.

"Censuses were conducted in 1951, 1971, 1991, and 2011... In the 1951 census, Hindus constituted 84 per cent, while Muslims constituted 9.8 per cent. In 1971, Hindus constituted 82 per cent and the Muslim population was 11 per cent, while in 1991, Hindus constituted 81 per cent and the Muslim community accounted for 12.2 per cent. By 2011, the Hindu population had further declined to 79 per cent, and Muslims accounted for 14.2 per cent,” he explained.

Shah further said that the right of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Christians from Pakistan and Bangladesh to this country’s soil is equal to his own.

"Everyone does not have the right to come here. Those who have faced injustice are welcome... Hindus of Pakistan and Bangladesh have as much right over the soil of this country as I have over it.(Jitna mera adhikar iss desh ki mitti par hai, utna hi adhikar Pakistan aur Bangladesh ke Hinduon ka iss desh ki mitti par hai)," Shah said.