Hindu right-wing groups and leaders have often targeted the Muslim community in the country by saying that they have large families and a high population growth rate.
However, according to census carried out in 2011, the average Muslim family size fell down from 5.61 to 5.15 percent. Te data that was released on Friday stated that in Muslim households headed by men, the reduction in size was 11.1 percent, while for families headed by women it was 4.47 percents.
BJP parliamentarian Sakshi Maharaj and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) member Sadhvi Prachi had on separate occasions urged Hindu women to bear at least four children to counter the growth in Muslim population, reports Hindustan Times.
The report also showed that average size of a household was higher in male headed household than female headed households.
The highest percentage of female headed households is noticed in Christian community (17.4 per cent), followed by Buddhist (15.9 per cent). The lowest percentage of female headed households is in Jain community (11.5 per cent), according to a release issued by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
According to the census data, as many as 202.4 million households in the country belong to Hindus, 31.2 million are of Muslims and 6.3 million belong to Christians.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)