Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, A.D. 1000–1800 c12.74

c12.74

The picture that emerges for the period 1600-1700 is like this. Europe including Russia had a population of 100 million in 1650.⁵³ From all accounts, estimates and impressions, it is obvious that India's density was evidently greater. "Such a conclusion would fit what has been said about the long history of thick settlements in India." In times of peace its population grew. High birth rate usually scored over high death rate. Warfare, banditry, famine and disease, confined to short spans of time and spaces of territory, did not usually affect the overall demographic structure; only when these grew in dimension, population was adversely affected.⁵⁵ The demographic recovery during the latter half of the sixteenth century was nearly 20 million. If the same rate of recovery was maintained in the seventeenth century also, the population about the year 1700 would probably have been 175 million or even a little more.