Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c12.115

c12.115

The demographic pattern of medieval India was different from the modern. Modern trends indicate a sustained growth of population. In the decade between 1951 (population about 356 million) and 1961 (population about 436 million), there was a rise of about 22%.⁷⁴ Between 1901 (population 235 million) and 1951 there was a gradual rise of 15.3%, except between 1911 and 1921 when there was a fall of about 1 million from 249 to 248 million.⁷⁵ Similarly the increase of population from 1881 to 1941 showed an average rise of about 15% per decade.⁷⁶ But sustained rise was not a phenomenon in medieval times. In view of the constantly shifting scene, it is not easy to determine exactly and precisely the percentage of rise or fall per decade in medieval Indian demography. However, during the eight centuries under review the population trend appears to have been in the following order.