TISS To Host Screening Of 'Demography Is Destiny' On 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day'

Mumbai: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Trombay, will organise a special screening of the film 'Demography is Destiny' on August 14 to mark 'Partition Horrors Remembrance Day'.

The film, directed by national award-winning filmmaker Kamakhya Narayan Singh and produced by Ravindra Sanghvi, explores India's demographic trends, the country's changing religious composition, and the socio-political consequences arising from these shifts.

Sunil Ambekar, Akhil Bharat Prachar Pramukh of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, will be the chief guest. The vice-chancellor of TISS, Badri Narayan Tiwari, will also be present at the screening organised jointly by Rashtriya Patrakarita Kalyan Nyas and TISS.

The film discusses trends in India's religious demography, beginning with the first organised census in 1881 when Hindus were 82% of the population. This proportion of Hindus declined to 70% by 1941. This was followed by partition and exchange of refugees. The 1951 census showed an increase in the number of Hindus to 84%, but by 2011, the figure had fallen again to approximately 79%. Projections suggest that over the next 120–130 years, the majority proportion could decline further to 67%.

The documentary spotlights significant demographic shifts across regions such as the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, Jammu, Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, and Assam where the Muslim population is reported to have risen from 14% to 42%, partly due to illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. Similar trends are observed in Meerut, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and other districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, the film has analysed.

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The documentary explores themes of infiltration, exodus, deceitful religious conversions, and the declining fertility rate among Hindus. Drawing global parallels, it examines demographic shifts in Europe and America, rising Islamic populations, and the cultural changes, delayed marriages, shrinking family sizes, shifting social values that contribute to falling birth rates both in the West and in india

Ultimately, Demography is Destiny contends that while fertility rates play a key role, demographic changes are equally driven by ideological, and political forces. It warns of deep, long-term consequences for the country's social and religious equilibrium and issues a strong call for urgent national reflection.