Demography Watch: Two-Thirds Of Karnataka’s Muslims Are Urban

The Centre For Policy Studies (CPS) recently published its demographic findings on Muslim and Christian minorities in Karnataka, based on the religion data of Census 2011, on its official blog.

Among the southern states, Karnataka has the second-highest Muslim population after Kerala. The share of Muslims in the state’s population has increased from 9.87 percent in 1961 to 12.92 percent in 2011.

Barring some southern areas, Muslims have a significant presence in all other parts of the state. The most significant pocket is formed by the coastal Dakshin Kannada and Kodagu districts, where the share of Muslims of the total population is 24 percent and 16 percent respectively. While the undivided Dakshin Kannada district, which includes Udupi, has seen a jump of nine percentage points in the Muslim population, the Kodagu district has seen a rise of six percent.

In the north, Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur districts have a sizeable Muslim population. Bidar and Gulbarga district boast of 20 percent Muslims in their total population. Bijapur has a 17 percent share.

In central Karnataka, Dharwad and Haveri districts form a pocket of high Muslim presence with their shares rising to 21 percent in the former and 19 percent in the latter. The share of Muslims in this pocket has seen an increase of nearly four percentage points in the last five decades.

In Bengaluru-Kolar region, the proportion of Muslims has risen from around 9.6 percent in 1961 to around 12.5 percent in 2011.

The most interesting thing to note from the findings is that almost two-thirds of the Muslims of Karnataka are urban.

Brief summary of CPS’ demographic analysis

1) The share and growth of Muslims in Karnataka is the second highest in peninsular India after Kerala; it is also the highest for any state, except Kerala, lying to the south and west of the Ganga plains.

2) Muslims form 12.92 percent of the population of the state. Their share had increased from 9.87 percent in 1961 and 8.64 percent in 1911.

3) Muslims have a significant presence in all parts of the state, excepting a few southern districts. They have an above-average concentration in several pockets. One such pocket comprises the northern districts of Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur. The share of Muslims is nearly 20 percent in the former two and about 17 percent in the last.

Bidar and Gulbarga were under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad before India’s Independence. There was a considerable rise in the share of Muslims in these districts during that period, but their share has remained more or less unchanged since Independence. Bijapur was then under the British Bombay Presidency. There was little change in the share of Muslims in Bijapur before 1951, but it has seen some accretion ever since.

4) Dharwad and Haveri comprise another pocket of high Muslim presence. The share of Muslims in Dharwad is around 21 percent and in Haveri about 19 percent. Muslim presence has risen in this region, particularly since 1981. In undivided Dharwad (which includes Haveri and Gadag), the share of Muslims in 1981 was 15.3 percent, and in 2001 was 18.4 percent.

5) Bellary, Chitradurga, Shimoga and Davangere districts that surround Dharwad-Haveri have a somewhat lower presence of Muslims, but their share in this region has been rising consistently since 1961. In the region as a whole, Muslims formed 8.8 percent of the population in 1981; their share in 2011 is 12.2 percent.

6) Dakshin Kannada and Kodagu comprise a pocket of the highest and fastest growing Muslim presence. Muslims form 24 percent of the population in the former and nearly 16 percent in the latter. The share of Muslims in undivided Dakshin Kannada (including Udupi) has risen from 9.7 percent in 1951 to 18.3 percent in 2011; and in Kodagu, it has risen from 10 percent to 15.7 percent in this period. Much of the change in Dakshin Kannada has happened after 1961, though there was a considerable accretion to the Muslim share in the British period also. In Kodagu, the rise in the Muslim share has been continuing uninterrupted since at least 1911.

7) The Bengaluru-Kolar region, comprising a total of five districts, now forms another pocket of high and rising Muslim presence. The share of Muslims in both undivided Bengaluru and undivided Kolar has risen from about 9.6 percent in 1961 to 12.5 percent in 2011.

8) Muslim presence is even higher in urban areas. Nearly two-thirds of the Muslims of Karnataka are in the towns and cities of the state.

9) Among the 248 towns of Karnataka, Muslims have a majority in 22, and their share is between 40 and 50 percent in 19 others.

10) Among the Muslim majority towns, there are seven where they form more than 70 percent of the population. The town of Bhatkal of Uttar Kannada is one such, with a Muslim presence of 74 percent.

Read the full note and analysis here.