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Jainas as a Minority in Indian Society and History
Jagadish Prasad Sharma
Jainas are the sixth most numerous religious group today after the Hindus (82.72%), Muslims (11.21%), Christians (2.60%), Sikhs (1.89%), and the Buddhists (0.70%). The Jainas (0.47%) along with the Buddhists, Parsis and Jews, each account for less than 1% of India's total population separately. (India 1974: 13) In terms of numbers alone, therefore, the Jainas constitute a very small minority. (Census of India 1961, Vol. XV, Uttar Pradesh, Pt. I-A(ii): 115; India 1974: 12)
Scholars have long raised questions regarding the accuracy of census figures but it is generally accepted that more than any other group the Jainas have been very much at fault in misrepresenting their religious affiliation (for whatever reason) to census takers. This was noticed even in 1915 (Stevenson: 20) and continued until recently (Sangave 1959 1). Many thousands of Jainas still register themselves as Hindus. Thus, it would seem that the actual number of Jainas is somewhat larger than the census figures would indicate; still it would not substantially alter their status as an extremely small minority. The 1971 census reports that there were only 2,604,646 (i.e., 0.47%) Jainas out of India's total population of 547,949,809. Even allowing for misrepresentations, their population in India would not amount to more than three million at the most.
If we consider the Jaina population figures in the record of the last ten censuses, we notice that the Jainas constituted only 0.49% of the total population in 1891 (the highest ever since census figures began to be collected in 1881) and merely 0.36% (the lowest ever) in 1931.1
1 Percentage of Jainas in India's total population:
1881.
1891..
1901.
0.48 per ecnt ..0.49 per cent 0.45 per cent ..0.40 per cent .0.37 per cent ..0.36 per cent
1911.
..0.37 per cent
..0.45 per cent (Sangave, 1959:434)
..0.46 per cent
...0.47 per cent (India 1974:13)
1921.
1931
1941
1951
1961 1971.
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