ABSTRACT
India, in the twenty-first century, is home to the third largest Muslim population in the world. According to the Census 2001 figures released by the Government of India, there are about 130 million Muslims who reside in India, and they constitute about 12–13 per cent of the total population. More than half the Muslims in India live in the states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Delhi, and there are sizable numbers of Muslims living in other parts of the country. In Uttar Pradesh, Muslims consist of almost 22 per cent of the total population, in West Bengal, Muslims make up 25 per cent of the population, and in Bihar they constitute 17 per cent of the total. Muslims form a majority of the local population in Jammu and Kashmir, and in the Lakshadweep Islands (Joshi et al., 2005).
