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| Map showing Muslim concentration in districts* |
Times of India report says that US authorities believe that there are many more Muslims in India than are officially stated and there population could be substantially higher than the figure which is generally reported.
The census 2001 suggested that India had 138 million Muslims. But a wikileaks cable revealed that American government feels that this figure may not be accurate and the numbers of Muslim could have been under-reported.
The report further says that Muslim population could be around 180 million or 18 crores in India. But given the fact that the census 2011 report is nearing, the Indian Muslims could now be accounting well over 200 million, as a decade has passed since the last census.
The estimated Muslim population on the basis of around 30% decennial increase in the community in India, takes the figure to230-240 million (23-24 crore) right now, which means that Indian Muslims easily outnumber Pakistani Muslims, and could also be more numerous than Muslims in Indonesia.
This could turn India into the country with the largest Muslim population. It is just a view and an estimate. The real picture will be known when the Census 2011 figures for religions and religious adherents are released in the coming months.
*The darker the colour, the higher is the percentage of Muslims in the particular district.
