Hindu–muslim Fertility Differential in India: A Cohort Approach

Abstract

Hindus and Muslims together account for 94% of the population of India. The fertility differential between these two religious groups is a sensitive and hotly debated issue in political and academic circles. However, the debate is mostly based on a period approach to fertility change, and there have been some problems with the reliability of period fertility data. This study investigated cohort fertility patterns among Hindus and Muslims and the causes of the relatively higher level of fertility among Muslims. Data from the three National Family Health Surveys conducted in India since the early 1990s were analysed using a six-parameter special form of the Gompertz model and multiple linear regression models. The results show a gap of more than 1.3 children per woman between those Muslim and Hindu women who ended/will end their reproductive period in the calendar years 1993 to 2025. The socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of Muslims explain 31.2% of the gap in fertility between Muslims and Hindus, while the desire for more children among Muslims explains an additional 18.2% of the gap in fertility.

Actual and ideal fertility differential among natives, immigrants, and descendants of immigrants in a northeastern state of India

“…Although some literature demonstrates that a higher level of fertility among the Muslim population is not entirely due to religious affiliation (Westoff & Frejka, ), some others resolved that socioeconomic factors does not entirely explain the higher level of fertility among Muslims in India (Bhat, ; Bhat & Zavier, ; Dharmalingam & Morgan, ; Kulkarni & Alagarajan, ; Mishra, ; Morgan, Stash, Smith, & Mason, ). Our findings are consistent with previous studies conducted in India (Balasubramanian, ; Bhat & Zavier, ; Dharmalingam & Morgan, ; Pasupuleti, Pathak, & Jatrana, ), which repeatedly found Muslim women in India to have higher fertility than Hindu women, independent of socioeconomic condition. It has been said that although both Islam and Hinduism are pro‐natalist religions, their beliefs differ greatly with respect to marriage, reproductive behaviour, and fertility control, and this has different effects on the intermediate variables of fertility (Balasubramanian, ).…”

Maternal autonomy and birth registration in India: Who gets counted?

“…The public health literature in India which has examined the Hindu-Muslim differences in fertility planning may shed some light into this result. There are studies that indicate higher level of unmet need for family planning among Muslims [ 51 ]. Singh et.…”

“…al (2012) [ 52 ] also find that utilisation of safe delivery care was significantly lower among Muslim women than women from other religions in India. It has also been pointed out that mistrust of government family planning programs and clinics may prevent Muslims from availing themselves of family planning services [ 51 ]. In another context, Hussain et.…”

Reading the geography of India’s district-level fertility differentials: a spatial econometric approach

“…The female education level has been historically considered most crucial in causing fertility decline (United Nations, 1973;Coale & Watkins, 1987;Dreze & Murthi, 2001;Das & Mohanty, 2012), with better-educated women being more likely to join the workforce and transform their outlooks, aspirations and life-paths (Klasen & Launov, 2003;Jones, 2007;Malhotra & Riley, 2009;Aassve et al, 2012;Skirbekk & Samir, 2012), filling non-familial roles and gaining prestige (Ryder, 2010, cited in Ghosh, 2017, thereby facing higher opportunity costs of childbearing (Becker, 1960) or of staving off childbirth to meet career goals (Ghosh, 2017). Indian Muslims have historically exhibited higher fertility rates than non-Muslims/Hindus due to religious factors or differential socioeconomic status (Alagarajan, 2003;Bhagat & Praharaj, 2005;Alagarajan & Kulkarni, 2008;Haque & Patel, 2016;Pasupuleti et al, 2016;Ghosh, 2018), while Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) groups have outranked other caste groups (for review, see Davis, 1946;Nagdeve, 2012), with fertility attributes and adoption/diffusion of norms/behaviour being similar within such homogeneous entities (Attané & Courbage, 2000;Childs et al, 2005;Poston et al, 2006). The difference in socioeconomic status among such caste-based groups can also influence their access to health care and nutrition, consequently resulting in differing fertility rates (Planning Commission, 2008, based on NFHS-3 data of 2005-06).…”