Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that the rise in India’s Muslim population over the decades was not due to higher fertility rates but because of “infiltration” from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Speaking at an event in Delhi, Shah said that “infiltrators” were changing India’s demographics, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier Independence Day remarks.
“The Muslim population has increased by 24.6 per cent whereas the Hindu population has decreased by 4.5 per cent,” Shah said. “This hasn’t happened because of fertility rate but because of infiltration from Pakistan and Bangladesh.”
According to Shah, Hindus made up 84 per cent of India’s population in 1951 while Muslims were 9.8 per cent. By 2011, he said, the Hindu population had dropped to 79 per cent and the Muslim population had risen to 14.2 per cent.
His statement appeared to contradict the longstanding “population jihad” theory promoted by many in the Right-wing ecosystem, which claims that Muslims intentionally have more children to outnumber Hindus. In contrast, Shah suggested that migration, not fertility, was the reason behind the demographic change.
Shah said, “Who are the infiltrators? Those who have not faced religious persecution and want to come to India illegally, for economic or other reasons, are infiltrators. If anyone in the world who wants to come here is allowed, our country will become a dharamshala.”
He clarified that the government was not questioning the citizenship of Muslims who chose to stay in India after Partition. “But those who come here illegally will be treated as infiltrators,” he added.
Citing census data, Shah claimed that the Muslim population in Assam had grown by 29.6 per cent and that in some districts of West Bengal it had risen to 40 per cent, and even 70 per cent in certain border areas. “This is not possible without infiltration,” he asserted.
Responding to criticism from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has often accused the Centre of failing to stop infiltration, Shah said geographical challenges made it difficult to completely secure India’s borders. “It has become difficult to stop infiltration because of the riverine border and harsh terrain. The Centre cannot alone stop infiltration as it is supported by political parties who see it as a vote bank,” he said.
Shah accused the TMC of helping illegal migrants get documentation. “I want to ask the TMC where these infiltrators go first after crossing the border. Why does no district official report them to police? Who makes Aadhaar?” he asked.
He also defended the Election Commission’s ongoing revision of electoral rolls, saying it should not be seen through a political lens. “The Opposition is opposing the exercise because its vote banks are getting eroded. It is the EC’s constitutional responsibility to clean the voters’ list,” he said.
