Religious Communities

The numerical strength of the various religious communities and sects in the district as returned by the Census of 11961 is as under : -

TABLE No. 13

POPULATION BY RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES – DISTRICT NAGPUR – 1961

 These include 54,388 (m, 27, 906; f, 26, 482) belonging to Scheduled Castes; no person has been returned as belonging tto scheduled Tribes, but 159 (m, 86; f, 73) are separately returned as Tribals.

In 1951, under the head of "other religions" were shown ‘Tribals’ and ‘ Non-Tribals’ the district had then no ‘Tribals’; the non-tribal religions included 38 (m, 25; f. 13) Khojas, 15 (m, 12; f, 3) Bohoras and 8(m. 8; f,-) Kabirpanthis.

 In 1951, there were only 149 (m, 63; f, 86) Buddhists but their number had increased to 234, 112 (m, 119, 057; f. 115, 055) in 1961. This sudden increase of the Buddhists is obviously due to the return of a large number from the ‘Scheduled Caste’, particularly from the Mahars. Of 1951 as Buddhists (Neo-Buddhists) in 1961. The ‘Scheduled Castes’, who numbered 223, 546 in 1951 have decreased by 189,158 in 1961. Many of them who might have been returned as Buddhists (Neo-Buddhists) are shown as forming a community separate from that of the Hindus.

Hindus

The Hindus, according to the enumeration of 1961 Census numbered 1, 164, 247 (m, 604,500; f. 559, 747) or 76.8 per cent of the population of the district. Of these 49.2 per cent of the people lived in the urban area, and the rest, i.e., 50.8 per cent in the rural area, and as such they formed 72.8 per cent of the urban population, and 81.4 per cent of the rural population. Their population of 660,970 in 1901 has increased by about 76.1 per cent within sixty years, the mean decennial rates of increase or decrease during the period being +9.2, -4.6, +21.8, +5.67, +22.6 and +1.7 respectively, for each decade.

 If the Buddhists are enumerated as Hindus for the year 1961 their combined population which number 1,398, 359 forms 92, 4 per cent of the district population. It shows an increase of 111.5 per cent over the Hindu population of 1901 and mean decennial growth growth rate of 19.9 per cent over the Hindu population of 1951.

TABLE NO. 14

GROWTH OF HINDU POPULATION –NAGPUR DISTRICT

 The trend of the growth of the Hindu population in the district during the last sixty years does not appears to be in consonance with that of the general population for the period. This may be shown as correlated with the fluctuations in the growth of the tribals or the Animists in the district during the time. The fact is well-known that Hinduism is rather a social system than a religious organisation; it is avowedly not a proselytising religion and conversion is achieved by absorption. And it can be seen from the following comparative table of the Hindus and the Animists or tribal population in the district that the Hindu community has grown at the expense of those who once followed tribal religions.

TABLE NO. 15

GROWTH OF THE HINDU AND THE TRIBAL POPULATIONS NAGPUR DISTRICT