Arrange the distribution of religious minorities in India in a descending order of population:
(A) Jains
(B) Buddhist
(C) Sikhs
(D) Christians
(E) Muslims
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (E), (D), (C), (B), (A)
The Muslims are by far the largest religious minority in India – they numbered 172 millions and were 14.2% of the population in 2011.
Christians constitute around 2.3% of the population (27.8 million) and are scattered all over, with sizeable pockets in the north eastern and southern states. The three Christian-majority states are all in the North East – Nagaland (88%), Mizoram (87%) and Meghalaya (74%). Sizeable proportions of Christians are also found in Goa (25%) and Kerala (18.4%).
The Sikhs constitute 1.7% of the population (21 million) and although they are found scattered across the country, they are concentrated in Punjab where they are in a majority (58%).
Buddhists (8 million, 0.7%): The highest proportion of Buddhists is found in Sikkim (27%) and Arunachal Pradesh (12%), while among the larger states Maharashtra has the highest share of Buddhists at 6%.
Jains (4.5 million, 0.4%): The highest concentrations of Jains are found in Maharashtra (1.3%), Delhi and Gujarat nearly 1 per cent each.
‘Other Religions and Persuasions’ (under 8 million, 0.7%).