Demographics

Demographics

[show]Population Growth

Girl selling flowers in Mumbai

As per the 2001 census, Maharashtra has a population of 96,752,247 inhabitants making it the second most populous state in India, and the second most populous country subdivision in existence, and third ever after the Russian SFSR of the former Soviet Union. The Marathi-speaking population of Maharashtra numbers 62,481,681 according to the 2001 census. This is a reflection of the cosmopolitan nature of the state. Only eleven countries of the world have a population greater than Maharashtra. Its density is 322.5 inhabitants per square kilometre. Males constitute 50.3 million and females, 46.4 million. Maharashtra's urban population stands at 42.4%. Its sex ratio is 922 females to 1000 males. 77.27% of its population is literate, broken into 86.2% males and 67.5% females. Its growth rate between 1991–2001 was pegged at 22.57%

Marathi is the official state language. In Mumbai and suburban areas, apart from the nativeMarathi and English, other languages are also spoken. In the northwest portion of Maharashtra, a dialect Ahirani is spoken by 2.5 million people. In south Konkan, a dialect known as Malvani is spoken by most of the people. In the Desh (inland) region of the Deccan, a dialect called Deshi is spoken^{[citation needed]}, while in Vidarbha, a dialect known as Varhadiis spoken by most of the people.

The Economic Survey of Maharashtra 2008-09, which was released on Wednesday, says the percentage of the state’s population that names Marathi as its mother tongue has declined to 68.8% from 76.5% over the past three decades.

Outlining migratory trends in the state, the survey highlights the sharp rise in the Hindi-speaking population in the same period. The number of people citing Hindi as their mother tongue rose to 11% from 5% in the same period^[41]

The Total Fertility Rate in 2001 was 2.23. Hindus - 2.09, Muslims - 2.49, Christians - 1.41, Jains - 1.41, Sikh - 1.57, Buddhist - 2.24, Others -2.25, Tribals - 3.14.^[42]

[edit]Religions

The majority of Marathi people are Hindus form 83.2% of total population and Hinduism plays important role in Maharashtrian people in there day-to-day life. Krishna in the form of Vithal is the most popular deity amongst Marathi Hindus, they also worship the Shiva Family deities such as Shankar & Parvati under various names and also Ganesh. The Warkari tradition holds strong grip on local Hindus of Maharastra. The public Ganesh festival started by Lokmanya Tilak in the late 19th century is very popular. Marathi Hindus also revere Bhakti saints of all castes, such as Dnyaneshwar (Deshastha Brahmin), Savata Mali (Mali), Tukaram (Moray Maratahi-Kunbi), Namdev(Shimpi-Artsian,Vaishya) and Chokhamela (Mahar). Jainists are a mayor group in Maharashtra. Jain community census for 2001 in Maharashtra area was 1,301,843. Cultural roots on Maharashtra for Jainism explain this numbers, as this more than 5,000 year old religion has some ancient temples in Maharashtra. Christians account for 31,049 of Maharashtra's population. Most of the Christians are Catholics whilst some adhere to Protestantism. There are also significant number of Goan, Mangalorean, Malayalam and Tamil Christians in the urban pockets of Mumbai and Pune. There are Two ethnic Christian Community in Maharashtra one is East Indians & concentrated in and around Mumbai, for example in Konkan districts of Thane and Raigad. Portuguese missionaries brought Catholicism to this area during 13th century. Second is Marathi Christians who are Protestants and found some Parts of Maharashtra, especially inAhmednagar & Solapur. Protestantism was brought to these areas by American and Anglican Missionaries during 18th century. Marathi Christian have largely retained their pre-Christian practices.

Most Marathi Buddhists are followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar and Buddhism accounts nearly 6% in Maharastra's total population.

Muslims belong mostly to the Sufi tradition. Visiting the tombs of Sufi saints is very important to this community. Hindus also visit these tombs in great numbers, especially during the annual Urs.

Zoroastrians also called Parsi, are mainly found in Mumbai. According to tradition, the present-day Parsis descend from a group of Iranian Zoroastrians who immigrated to Western India during 10th century AD, due to persecution by Muslims in Iran. The long presence in the region distinguishes the Parsis from the Iranis, who are more recent arrivals, and who represent the smaller of the two Indian-Zoroastrian communities.

There is also a 3,000 strong community of Marathi Jews, popularly known as Bene Israel Most of them have migrated to Israel. Before the migration this community numbered at least 90,000.

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