Religious taxonomy of states and districts in India (An analysis using a standardized index of diversity (SID) of religion)

Krishna Murthy Ponnapalli, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Ram Faujdar, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This study is an attempt to understand the religious convergence/divergence taking place in India, its states and districts, by means of analyzing the levels and trends in an index called standardized index of diversity (SID) constructed using the religious distribution of population observed in six major religions in India. An analysis of the 2001 census data by religion at the district level by means of this SID indicates that all the 593 districts in India can be neatly divided into few clusters or groups based on the concentration of the religious distribution of population. Results shows, there were 390 districts in India in the year 2001 where Hindus are predominant and there were 22 districts where Muslims are in majority, when compared to other religions prevailing in that district. Other minority group populations can be found in majority in the remaining districts which are at the peripheral areas of India.