Bengaluru 06 May:

A fair look at Islamophobia in India shows that it wasn’t Islam that caused it, but a sense of political insecurity fuelled by exaggerated fears about the increase in Muslim population.

That firm assertion by former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi set the tone of the programme during the launch of the Kannada translation of his acclaimed book, 'The Population Myth: Islam, Family Planning and Politics in India' in the City on Tuesday. The translation is titled, 'Janasankhye Mithya'.

Organised by the Centre for Research and Communication, the event drew political veterans, scholars, and civil society voices seeking data-driven clarity amid rising misinformation.

Originally published in 2021, the book addresses the widespread belief that Muslims are driving India’s population growth.

"The claim that Muslims will outnumber Hindus or that a Muslim Prime Minister is imminent is not only false, but also dangerous," Quraishi said, pointing to government data. "Between 1951 and 2011, Hindu population rose by 67.6 crore, Muslims by 13.6 crore. Yet Muslims are adopting family planning methods faster today."

The 79-year-old retired IAS officer dismantled myths around polygamy as well, citing the landmark 1975 government report on the status of women which shows polygamy has existed in all communities. Interestingly, Muslims had the lowest rates, as far as polygamy was concerned.

Recalling a meeting with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Quraishi said he shared the government's 1975 report, which revealed that Muslims were the least polygamous among all communities, and pointed to the sex ratio of 943 women per 1,000 men to counter the myth of widespread Muslim polygamy. Bhagwat, he recalled, laughed at the data but took it seriously — and never spoke about Muslim polygamy again. "I respect him for that," Quraishi added.

Adding weight to his analysis was veteran Congress leader and former Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha K Rahman Khan, who recalled his time leading the Karnataka State Minorities Commission, said, "In our 1992–93 survey, we found Muslim family sizes matched those of Christians and Hindus. But facts often lose out to propaganda," he lamented. "Sadly, the politics of fear finds more takers than truth."

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerappa Moily, chief guest at the event, described the book as "essential reading in today’s climate of communal distortion." He added, "The Muslims who stayed back after Partition are nationalists. They should never be treated as second-class citizens. Those dividing the country on religious lines are chipping away at the roots of our democracy."

Moily ended on a contemplative note, quoting American theologist Reinhold Niebuhr's Serenity Prayer: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."