Will India end up having a Muslim majority in the future? What will be the social, economical and political consequences if it happens?

The most reliable comparative data:
The most reliable comparative data with regards to this question can come only from those places that are most similar to us. Pre-1947, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh all formed one country, India. Then occurred the tragic partition; a human tragedy and an emotional tragedy. Millions were killed, raped and displaced. But also, our motherland was cut and split and given away like pieces of bread. Any study of what happened will reveal the reality of partition and the driving force behind it: the desire of Muslims to separate and form a separate Country as all Muslims were one Nation by virtue of being from the same religion.

As interesting as it might be, the persecution of the Hindus did not happen only in the areas hit by partition i.e Bengal and Punjab. It happened in many other places including Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir and Hyderabad. Today all three areas are classic examples of the failure of minority appeasement to check rabid fundamentalism. It should not be taken to mean that these were the only regions. Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala too have seen such extremism. No, I am not giving a bad name to all Muslims. I am merely pointing out what has been happening. No point negating it.

The point that I am trying to drive home is that in the Indian subcontinent, religious tensions between the Hindus and the Muslims have been ever-present and have been the driving force for much of the politics, rioting and loss of life and property. Even in a supposed secular country incidents of Love Jihad and Forced Conversions keep coming up regularly. To suggest that if Muslims come in majority the Hindus will be able to live and survive honorably or at all is just trying too hard to display secular credentials. Jihad is a real and persistent threat.

Cross-checking the quality of Islamic Secularism:

Much has been said about secularism in Islamic states. Any Indian, knows instantly that secularism written on a piece of paper and secularism practiced in reality are two very different things. This secularism, if based on Islam or Sharia, becomes all the more removed from the idea behind the word.

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam: This document is the response of the Islamic world to UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). It has been signed by 45 Islamic Nations. The list of signatories can be found at: Human Rights in Islam: Cairo Declaration. A cursory reading will clarify much of the romance associated with Islamic secularism in this context. Countries that have been often cited as being more tolerant are also signatories of this document. The common ground amongst all Muslim countries is Sharia and the CDHRI is just a step in that direction.

In short it is futile to hope that any time if Human values conflict with the Sharia, the Human values will be respected. Let us now examine minority persecution in Islamic countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Persecution of Non-Muslims
Persecution of Yazidis by the Islamic State
79 Hindu temples had been demolished by the Malaysian government since 1957
Freedom of religion in Malaysia
Pressure on multi-faith Malaysia
Malaysia ethnic Indians in uphill fight on religion
Turkey’s Alawites Cry Out Against Religious Oppression, Inequality – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East
60 Minutes Exposes Turkey’s Oppression of Minority Rights

It is not my aim to say that Islamic secularism is not possible. Perhaps it is. I however, would not be willing to test that in India keeping in mind the sorry state of affairs in Pakistan and Bangladesh or the history of Hyderabad or Kashmir. In fact these things and the aggressiveness with which conversions are done in India suggest that for Hindus to remain safe they will have to be in majority.Written 14 Sep 2014View Upvotes

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Yash Sharma
Yash Sharma, Indian, Programmer, Sophomore at IIIT Allahabad15.1k Views • Yash has 10+ answers in Politics of India.

According to the trends in history, Yes, India might become a Muslim majority country in future.

Lets look at some relevant history.

  1. Iran

    The land where present day Iran stands was previously called Persia. The local people or Persians were followers of Zoroastrianism until the Arab Islamic Empire attacked Persia and whole population was subjected to atrocities and were forcefully converted to Islam.

    So the Muslim Arabs started attacking the border towns and harassing the civilian Persian population. The people of the border areas along the Euphrates river petitioned the Persian king Yazdjurd (Yazdgard) to save them from the depredations of the Muslim Arabs.

    In 1378 Persia was fully converted to Iran and was under Islamic rule.
    Page on historyofjihad.org

  2. Afghanistan

    It was a Buddhist kingdom and was also a part of Ancient Bharatvarsha as there were a lot of cultural similarities.

    The Mauryans brought Buddhism from India and controlled the area south of the Hindu Kush until about 185 BCE when they were overthrown.[31] Their decline began 60 years after Ashoka‘s rule ended, leading to the Hellenisticreconquest of the region by the Greco-Bactrians. Much of it soon broke away from the Greco-Bactrians and became part of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greeks were defeated and expelled by the Indo-Scythians in the late 2nd century BCE.

    But it also soon became Muslim majority country.

    By the 11th century Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni had finally Islamized all of the remaining non-Muslim areas, with the exception of the Kafiristan region. The Ghaznavids were replaced by the Ghurids who expanded and advanced the already powerful empire. In 1219 AD, Genghis Khan and his Mongol army overran the region. His troops are said to have annihilated the Khorasanian cities of Herat and Balkh as well as Bamyan.[44].

  3. Pakistan

    It is a renowned fact that Pakistan was an Integral part of India, infact it is where the great Indus Valley Civilization thrived. Pillars marking the boundary of Ashoka’s great empire, have been found in Pakistan which clearly indicate that it was an integral part of Bharatvarsha and Hinduism & Buddhism thrived here.
    But as we all know at present 96.4% of Pakistanis are Muslims.
    Pakistan

  4. Bangladesh

    Bengal was a Hindu kingdom and later on it was Buddhist.

    The Mauryan Empire led by Ashoka the Great conquered Bengal in the second century BCE. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire, a local ruler named Shashanka rose to power and founded the impressive Gauda kingdom. After a period of anarchy, the Bengali BuddhistPala dynasty ruled the region for four hundred years, followed by the Hindu Sena Dynasty.

    Bangladesh
    But at present 90.4% population is Islamic.
    Bangladesh

  5. Kashmir

    It was the hub of Vedic Education and a Pandit’s education was not complete until he spent some part of his life in Kashmir. Kashmir valley was full of Hindu Pandits, Sikhs and Buddhists. But now Kashmir is Muslim majority area where in 1980s-90s almost all Hindus and Sikhs were wiped out of the valley.

    The Kashmiri Pandits had stably constituted approximately 14 to 15 per cent of the population of the valley during Dogra rule (1846–1947). 20 per cent of them had left the Kashmir valley as a consequence of the 1948 Muslim riots and 1950 land reforms,[16] By 1981 the Pandit population amounted to 5 per cent of the total

    Kashmiri Pandit

  6. Kerela

    Kerela was predominantly Hindu culture but many parts of Kerela are Muslim Majority now where Hindus have to face troubles in practicing their religion. Look at this What is it like for a Hindu to live in a Muslim dominated area?

  7. Uttar Pradesh

    UP is kind of synonym for North India but Muslim population has been increasing rapidly in recent years.

    Demographers have put forward several factors behind high birthrates among Muslims in India. Sociologists point out that religious factors can explain high Muslim birthrates. Surveys indicate that Muslims in India have been relatively far less willing to adopt family planning measures and that Muslim girls get married at a much younger age compared to other Indian girls

    Muslim population growth

  8. Lebanon

    Lebanon was built as a safe heaven for the Middle eastern Christians by France in the Sykes Picot agreement. They included a patch of land which had a minority of Shia Muslims. As Muslims stayed in a minority, things were great. Beirut war also known as the Paris of the east. It had a vibrant Nightlife till the 1970’s.

    Meanwhile the Palestinians were Pushed out of Jordan after Black September civil war. The Palestinians guerrillas and their Populations came in mass hoardes to Lebanon to claim Refugee status.

    The majority status enjoyed by the Christians ended in the Mid 80′Page on s.as their numbers swelled, there started a civil war mainly between Christians and Muslims. The now settled Muslim population demanded to turn Lebanon into an Islamic Republic.

    The Civil war went on till a decade. After much negotiations peace has been restored through International mediation. Right now,the whole of Lebanon is controlled by The Iranian Proxy Hezobollah. Lebanese army is powerless infront of them.

Thanks Abhishek Pattnaik for LebanonUpdated 23 OctView Upvotes

Thanks Abhishek Pattnaik for LebanonUpdated 23 OctView Upvotes

Anonymous
Anonymous12.9k Views • Upvoted by Kushal Kulshreshtha, Hindustani, Bhartiya and Indian

Hindus have already started suffering in some parts of Bengal with significant muslim population

Crimes against Hindus in Bengal

a US cable dated December 16, 2005, quoting Inspector General of Police Dilip Mitra, who had pointed out this phenomenon. “On the Indian side of the border in West Bengal, there has been an escalation of violence against Hindus and fatwas threatening moderate voices. Authorities reported an increase in rape cases of Hindu women by Muslim men which they believe is part of the long-term strategy by radical Islamists to gain influence and numbers on the Indian side of the border

2010 Deganga riots
Armed Muslim mobs ransacked over 100 Hindu establishments. They torched trucks and a police jeep, and desecrated two temples.
Reason :dispute over a puja pandal on a plot adjacent to a Muslim cemetery and a Hindu shrine,that is enough to start burning hindu homes and destroying temples

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2013 Canning riots
More than 200 Hindu homes torched and looted in four villages — Naliakhali, Herobhanga, Gopalpur and Goladogra, in the Canning police station area, from the wee hours of February 19. Almost two dozen Hindu shops were fully damaged and looted in Joynagar police station area; many shopkeepers have fled and members of the besieged community have begun to send their womenfolk away.
Reason :Murder of Maulvi,no one knew at that time who killed him,he was carring 11.5 lakhs according to newspaper,maybe he was killed for the cash,but muslim was killed is enough of a reason for them,mobs came in trucks and started burning Hindu homes

2008 Murshidabad beheading

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A 30-year-old was beheaded after a kangaroo court in a Murshidabad village decided he must die because he had married a girl from another community and the couple had hidden his religion from her family.
His beheaded body was found in a jute field outside the village

Hindus denied Cremation rights in West Bengal.muslims are hurling bombs and even police are afraid to take action against them

West Bengal is becoming another Kashmir
Communal clashes soar in Bengal
Curfew in parts of Malda as murders trigger communal tension
Secret tunnel found under madrassa – The Times of India
More blasts in new terror hub Bengal
’58 terror cells active in West Bengal’ says National Investigation Agency

The Indian media while still busy in 2002 riots and roti issues has turned a blind eye to suffering of Hindus at the hands of muslimsWritten 8 Nov 2014View Upvotes

Faraz Nomani
Faraz Nomani, Empathy Is The Key !5.2k Views

Edit: The original question was changed so the answer is somewhat out of context.

That’s the beauty of it, India can become whatever you want it to be.
It’s a Hindu nation for a Hindu.
A Islamic one for a Muslim.
It is one nation for all.

And its our responsibility to be all for one nation.

Countries are not defined by their religion, they are by their people.

So it may never happen (India becoming Islamic nation) or it has already happened (depending upoun who you are) because India is as free a nation for all religion persons as any non secular nation would have been.Updated 29 SepView Upvotes

Aditya Khanna
Aditya Khanna, I am banned from editing, so cannot answer A2As or reply to comments.15k Views

No.

Around the world, history tells us that Muslims scream for secularism as long as they are in minority. When they are in majority, secularism gets tossed into the dustbin, and then Sharia and oppression of minorities become the norm.

[this is an excellent question, & I was wondering why no one had answered it yet. Maybe because intellectual in India means minority loving and Hindu bashing.]

Edit: Someone asked for evidence. Here :

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