Religious composition and Scheduled Tribes

Detail

Why religion matters in population study

• Religious composition means the share of a country's people who follow each religion. The Census counts this.
• Religion shapes nearly every part of cultural and political life. It affects festivals, food, dress, family customs, voting patterns and how people settle on the land.
• Census 2011 is the latest full count with religion data.
• Census 2027 is the next full count:
• It has two phases. Phase I is the Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO), held from April to September 2026, for 30 days in each State or UT [4][5].
• The reference date is the moment the Census "freezes" the population. It is 00:00 hours of 1 March 2027. For Ladakh and the snow-bound areas of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it is earlier: 00:00 hours of 1 October 2026 [4].
• Caste enumeration (counting people by caste) was added on 30 April 2025 by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. It will be done in the second phase [4].
• It is India's first digital Census, and people can count themselves online (self-enumeration) [5].

Table 1.3 — Religious groups of India (Census 2011)

Group	Share (2011)	Number (2011)	Where they mainly live
Hindus	79.8%	966.3 million	70–90% or more in most states
Muslims	14.2%	172.2 million	J&K, parts of West Bengal and Kerala, many UP districts, in and around Delhi, Lakshadweep
Christians	2.3%	—	West coast (Goa, Kerala), Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Chota Nagpur, Manipur hills
Sikhs	1.7%	—	Punjab, Haryana, Delhi
Buddhists	0.7%	—	Mostly Maharashtra; also the Himalayan and north-eastern areas
Jains	0.4%	—	Urban areas of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra
Other religions and persuasions	0.7%	—	Small pockets
Religion not stated	0.2%	—	—

• Order from largest to smallest: Hindus > Muslims > Christians > Sikhs > Buddhists > Jains.
• "Other religions" (0.7%) is the same share as Buddhists (0.7%). This is a common trap in MCQs.

Spatial distribution of each religion (Census 2011)

Hindus

• They are 70–90% or more of the population in most states and districts.
• Their share is lower in:
• districts along the India–Bangladesh and India–Pakistan borders
• Jammu and Kashmir
• the north-eastern hill states
• scattered areas of the Deccan Plateau and the Ganga plain

Muslims (the largest religious minority)

• They live in large numbers in:
• Jammu and Kashmir
• certain districts of West Bengal and Kerala
• many districts of Uttar Pradesh
• in and around Delhi

• Lakshadweep

• They are a majority in two places:

• the Kashmir valley
• Lakshadweep, a group of coral islands in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Kerala

Christians

• They live mostly in rural areas.
• Main areas:
• the west coast: Goa and Kerala
• the north-eastern hill states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland
• the Chota Nagpur region (mainly Jharkhand)
• the hills of Manipur

Sikhs

• They are concentrated in a fairly small area: Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

Jains

• They live mainly in urban areas, often working in trade and business.
• Main states: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra.

Buddhists

• Most live in Maharashtra.
• Other areas: Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Tripura and Lahul and Spiti (Himachal Pradesh). (NCERT: Buddhists form a majority in these areas.)

Others

• Zoroastrians (Parsis) and followers of tribal and indigenous faiths live in small pockets across the country.

Box: "Religion and Landscape"

• Religion leaves a visible mark on the land. This is called the religious imprint on the landscape.
• Visible signs include:
• shrines and temples (Hindu)
• masjids (Muslim)
• gurudwaras (Sikh)
• monasteries (Buddhist)
• churches and cemeteries (Christian)

• sacred groves: patches of forest that a village or tribe protects for religious reasons

• These buildings and protected places help geographers read the cultural landscape of a region.

Scheduled Tribes (STs)

• Scheduled Tribes are tribal communities that the President notifies under the Constitution for special protection. Each state has its own list. They usually live apart from the main society, have a separate culture and are economically backward.
• Size (Census 2011):
• About 10.4 crore people, which is 8.6% of India's population. PIB rounds the figure to 10.45 crore [6].
• They make up 11.3% of the rural population. This shows most STs live in villages [6].
• There are more than 705 distinct ST groups [6].

Where STs live

Region	States / areas	Key point
Central tribal belt	Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, plus Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra	Forested plateaus and hills (Chota Nagpur, Vindhya–Satpura, Eastern Ghats); this belt has the largest number of tribal people
North-East	Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya (and others)	Highest share of tribal people in the population: over 85% in Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya
Islands	Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep	Small numbers, but includes the most isolated groups
No notified STs	Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Puducherry	Remember this for "which of the following" questions

• Why they live in these areas:
• Their homes are thick forests, hills and plateaus that are hard to reach.
• Farming settlers and cities did not spread into these areas.

• So tribal groups kept their land, language and way of life there.

• How tribal areas are governed: the Fifth Schedule covers the central belt and the Sixth Schedule covers Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. These are taught in detail in Polity.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

• PVTGs are the most isolated and weakest tribal communities. They are a group within the STs.
• They are identified by four features:
• Pre-agricultural technology: they hunt, gather food or practise very simple shifting farming, using basic tools.
• Very low literacy.
• A population that is stagnant or falling.

• A subsistence economy: they grow or gather only enough to live on, with nothing left to sell.

• Numbers:

• There are 75 PVTGs in 18 States and 1 UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) [3][2].
• They live in 22,544 villages across 220 districts, with a population of about 28 lakh [2].
• Odisha has the most PVTGs (13).

PVTG examples and where they live

PVTG	State / UT	Note
Jarawa	Andaman and Nicobar	Live in South and Middle Andaman; protected by the Jarawa Policy, 2004 [7]
Onge	Andaman and Nicobar	Little Andaman
Sentinelese	Andaman and Nicobar	North Sentinel Island; have no contact with outsiders
Great Andamanese	Andaman and Nicobar	Very small population
Shompen	Andaman and Nicobar	Great Nicobar Island; protected by the Shompen Policy, 2015 [7]
Bondo	Odisha	Hills of Malkangiri
Dongria Kondh	Odisha	Niyamgiri hills
Baiga	Madhya Pradesh	Central tribal belt
Toda	Tamil Nadu	Nilgiris; pastoral people who herd buffaloes

PM-JANMAN (Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan)

• Launch: 15 November 2023, on Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, at Khunti, Jharkhand [2].
• Target: all 75 PVTGs in 18 States and 1 UT [2].
• How it is delivered: 11 interventions run by 9 ministries [2].
• Total budget: ₹24,104 crore [2].
• What it provides:
• safe houses, clean drinking water, education and health care
• road and telecom links, and electricity
• jobs and income, including Van Dhan Vikas Kendras: centres that help PVTGs collect, process and sell forest products [2]

Current pointer — Great Nicobar project and the Shompen

• The Great Nicobar Island Development Project is a large building project on India's southernmost island.
• Government position (2026):
• Neither the Shompen nor the Nicobarese will be displaced [7].
• The only tribal settlements inside the project area are at New Chingen and Rajiv Nagar, and no relocation is planned [7].
• The project follows the Shompen Policy, 2015 and the Jarawa Policy, 2004. Under these policies, PVTG welfare must come first in any large project [7].
• The MoEFCC has ordered an independent monitoring committee to watch over the Shompen and Nicobarese during construction and operation [7].

• The Anthropological Survey of India, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) were consulted [7].

• Why this is a concern: the Shompen are few in number and live by hunting and gathering. Even small changes to their forest or to their contact with outsiders can harm them.

Prelims Hooks

• Census 2011 order of religious groups: Hindus (79.8%) > Muslims (14.2%) > Christians (2.3%) > Sikhs (1.7%) > Buddhists (0.7%) > Jains (0.4%).
• Muslim-majority areas: the Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep.
• Christians: mostly rural. Jains: mostly urban. This contrast is a common MCQ trap.
• Buddhists: the largest number live in Maharashtra. Lahul and Spiti is in Himachal Pradesh.
• STs, Census 2011: 8.6% of the population, about 10.4 crore, more than 705 groups, and 11.3% of the rural population [6].
• No notified STs: Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and Puducherry.
• Over 85% tribal: Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya.
• PVTGs: 75 groups in 18 States and 1 UT. Odisha has the most (13).
• PVTG–place pairs: Toda–Nilgiris; Dongria Kondh–Niyamgiri (Odisha); Shompen–Great Nicobar; Onge–Little Andaman; Baiga–Madhya Pradesh.
• PM-JANMAN: launched 15 November 2023 at Khunti, Jharkhand; ₹24,104 crore; 11 interventions; 9 ministries [2].
• Census 2027 reference date: 1 March 2027. For snow-bound areas it is 1 October 2026. Caste enumeration is part of the count [4].

Mains Points

• Distribution pattern of religions:
• Hindus form the majority almost everywhere.
• Minorities live in clusters: Muslims along the borders, in the Kashmir valley and Lakshadweep; Christians in the North-East and the west coast; Sikhs in Punjab.
• The causes are history (trade routes, missionary work, the Partition), geography (isolated hills and islands) and migration.

• These clusters shape regional culture, the religious landscape and politics.

• Tribal concentration and backwardness:

• STs live mostly in forested, mineral-rich and hard-to-reach areas: the central belt and the North-East.
• Mining, dams and forest loss in these same areas cause displacement and loss of livelihood.

• So tribal welfare is closely linked to how land and resources are used (GS-I and GS-III).

• PVTGs need targeted help:

• Their population is stagnant, literacy is low and they live by subsistence.
• General schemes do not reach them, which is why habitation-level schemes like PM-JANMAN exist [2].

• Their survival is a test of inclusive development.

• Development versus protection:

• The Great Nicobar project shows the tension between strategic infrastructure and the rights of isolated PVTGs like the Shompen.
• The government says it relies on the Shompen Policy (2015), the Jarawa Policy (2004) and independent monitoring [7].
• Answers should weigh these safeguards against the risks to a very small and fragile population.