Presence of Christians in the country is not quite as
widespread or intense as that of Muslims. The change in their share has also
been modest; between 1951 and 2011, their share in the population has remained
nearly unchanged at around 2.3 percent. It had risen to about 2.6 percent in
1971 and has since declined back to 2.3 percent.
Notwithstanding this modest share of Christians in the
total population of the country, their presence is quite intense in several
regions and pockets and in many of these their growth has also been quite high.
We have earlier discussed the Christian presence in a small pocket in Gurdaspur of Punjab and in Kerala. We have also discussed the great spurt in Christianity witnessed in Arunachal Pradesh during 2001-11. In this and the following notes, we
describe other regions of high Christian presence in the country.
We begin with the pockets of high Christian presence in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Of 2.78 crore Christians counted in 2011, 25.80 lakhs are in these three States; and, within these States, they are concentrated in a few districts forming three distinct pockets. The oldest and the largest of these pockets comprises much of the earlier undivided Ranchi district of Jharkhand, the adjoining Sundargarh district of Odisha and Jashpur component of the earlier undivided Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. There is another pocket centred on Gajpati and Kandhmal districts of Odisha. The third pocket comprises parts of the earlier undivided Santhal Pargana district of Jharkhand.
There are 14.8 lakh Christians in the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh pocket. Their share in this pocket, especially in the larger Ranchi component, stopped growing after 1951. But further rise in Christian influence in this part has been achieved by carving out Christian-dominated areas into separate districts and sub-districts. This process has led to the creation of Simdega as the first Christian-majority district outside the northeast. Notwithstanding the moderation of Christian growth in the pocket as a whole, they have recorded high growth in many of the newly created component districts.
The second pocket of high Christian presence in this
region comprises Gajapati and Kandhamal districts of Odisha, both of which have
been carved out of larger districts after 1991. Growth of Christianity in the
area corresponding to these two districts has been phenomenal. Their share in
Gajapati has increased from 11.8 percent in 1971 to 38 percent in 2011 and in
Kandhamal, from 9.4 percent in 1981 to 20.3 percent in 2011. There has been
similarly high growth of Christianity in the neighbouring Rayagada also.
The third pocket of high Christian presence in this
region comprises Godda, Sahibganj, Pakur and Dumka components of Santhal
Pargana. The share of Christians in this pocket has risen from 2 percent in
1971 to 6 percent in 2011.
Christians thus have acquired an area of very high influence in the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh pocket as well as in Gajapati-Kandhamal pocket. And their share is growing rapidly in many parts of Odisha and in much of Santhal Pargana in Jharkhand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christians Pockets of Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh
Christians have a significant presence in these three
States
Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh comprise one of the major regions of Christian presence in India. Of 2.78 crore Christians counted in India in 2011, 25.80 lakh are in these three States; they form 9.3 percent of all Christians in India.
Share of Growth of Christians in
Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh
|
|||||||
Number of Christians
|
% Share
|
% Growth
|
|||||
2001
|
2011
|
2001
|
2011
|
T
|
C
|
||
INDIA
|
2,40,80,016
|
2,78,19,588
|
2.34
|
2.30
|
17.72
|
15.53
|
|
Jharkhand
|
10,93,382
|
14,18,608
|
4.06
|
4.30
|
22.42
|
29.74
|
|
Odisha
|
8,97,861
|
11,61,708
|
2.44
|
2.77
|
14.05
|
29.39
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
4,01,035
|
4,90,542
|
1.92
|
1.92
|
22.61
|
22.32
|
|
Total
|
19,91,243
|
25,80,316
|
3.12
|
3.44
|
17.59
|
29.58
|
|
%
Share in India
|
8.27
|
9.28
|
|||||
Note: The last two
columns give decadal growth of the Total (T) and Christian (C) population in
2001-11. The last row gives percent share of Christians of this region in the
total Christian population of India.
| |||||||
Christians in this region have grown faster than the
total population during 2001-11
Unlike
in India as a whole, where the share of Christians in the population has slightly
declined during 2001-11, their share in this region has recorded some increase.
In this decade, Christians in India have grown by 15.5 percent, while the total
population has grown by 17.7 percent. In Jharkhand-Odisha-Chhattisgarh region,
the growth of total population at 17.6 percent has been similar to the Indian
average, but Christians have grown by 29.6 percent. In Odisha, their growth has
been more than double that of the total population, in Jharkhand also their
growth has been distinctly higher. It is only in Chhattisgarh that the
Christians have grown at a rate marginally lower than that of the total
population. As a consequence, the share of Christians in Jharkhand and Odisha
has improved during 2001-11, while it has remained unchanged in Chhattisgarh.
Pockets of concentrated Christian presence within the
region
As
seen in Map XXII-1 and in XXII-Appendix below, within this larger region of the
three States, Christians are highly concentrated in three distinct pockets.
The most intense of these pockets of high Christian presence comprises the earlier undivided district of Ranchi in Jharkhand, the adjoining Sundargarh district in Odisha and Jashpur component of the earlier undivided Raigarh in Chhattisgarh. Christian influence in this pocket seems to have spread into several neighbouring districts also.
The second pocket of high Christian presence in this region comprises Gajapati and Kandhamal districts of Odisha. Christian influence in this pocket seems to have spread to the neighbouring districts of Rayagada, Koraput and Nabarangpur also.
The third such pocket comprises parts of the undivided Santhal Pargana district of Jharkhand. As we have seen in an earlier note, this pocket is also witnessing a very rapid rise in the share of Muslims along with the adjoining districts of Bihar and West Bengal. The Christian influence, however, does not extend to those areas.
High Christian presence has a somewhat longer history in the first of these pockets; but their presence in Santhal Pargana and Gajapati-Kandhamal pockets has risen to a high level only in the recent decades. We discuss each of these pockets in detail below.
Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh pocket
Number
and Share of Christians, 2001 and 2011
|
||||
Number of Christians
|
%Share
|
|||
2001
|
2011
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Ranchi
|
6,93,174
|
8,56,232
|
15.42
|
15.48
|
Sundargarh
|
3,08,476
|
3,85,011
|
16.85
|
18.39
|
Raigarh
|
2,05,707
|
2,37,241
|
10.24
|
10.11
|
Total
|
12,07,357
|
14,78,484
|
14.48
|
14.83
|
Ranchi had a significant Christian presence already in
1901
Ranchi
was an early centre of Christian proselytization in India. Undivided Ranchi
district, which is now split into six components, had 1.25 lakh Christians
already in 1901, when they formed 10.6 percent of the population. At that
stage, there were only a few other regions of the country where Christians had
achieved that kind of presence. These included, south Kerala, where Christians
formed nearly a quarter of the population; adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu,
particularly, Kanniyakumari and Tiruvnelveli in the south and Nilgiris in the
west; and, the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya.
Share of Christians in Ranchi kept rising up to 1951
and has declined since then
In the
pre-Independence period, the share of Christians in undivided Ranchi kept
rising consistently from decade to decade and reached 18.65 percent in 1951. After
that, their share began slowly declining to reach 15.42 percent in 2001; there
has been a marginal rise in their share during the last decade of 2001-11.
Percent Share of Christians in Ranchi,
Sundargarh and Raigarh
|
||||||||||||
1901
|
1911
|
1921
|
1931
|
1941
|
1951
|
1961
|
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Ranchi
|
10.61
|
12.90
|
14.90
|
16.90
|
17.27
|
18.65
|
17.71
|
17.69
|
16.57
|
15.71
|
15.42
|
15.48
|
Sundargarh
|
9.95
|
14.69
|
16.15
|
13.03
|
14.02
|
16.55
|
15.91
|
16.49
|
16.85
|
18.39
|
||
Raigarh
|
1.51
|
8.68
|
10.34
|
10.03
|
9.92
|
10.24
|
10.11
|
|||||
Note: The figures
refer to undivided Ranchi and Raigarh districts. Religious break-up for
Sundargarh is available from 1921 and for Raigarh from 1951 onwards. | ||||||||||||
Sundargarh of Odisha
Christianity
seems to have arrived relatively early in Sundargarh of Odisha also. We have
the earliest religious breakup of the population of this district for 1921; at
that stage there were nearly 10 percent Christians there already. In the course
of the next two decades, the share of Christians in this district rose sharply
to reach 14.7 percent in 1931 and 16.2 percent in 1941. After that, there were
erratic changes in the Christian presence, but from 1981 onwards, their share
has been rising consistently; and, the largest jump has been recorded in the
last decade of 2001-11.
Raigarh of Chhattisgarh
Christianity
seems to have arrived rather late in this district. In 1951, less than 14
thousand Christians were counted in the then undivided Raigarh (including
Jashpur) district, and they formed 1.5 percent of the population. At the end of
the next decade, however, their population had multiplied 6.5 times to reach 90
thousand and their share had reached 8.7 percent; there was another spurt in the
Christian population of the district in the following decade, which took their
share in 1971 to 10.3 percent. Since then, Christian presence in this district
has remained around 10 percent.
Christian presence is much more intense and rising
sharply in the component districts
The
share of Christians in this pocket works out to be less than 15 percent, if we
include the whole of the undivided districts of Ranchi and Raigarh. But, their
share in many of the current component districts, carved out from these larger
districts, is much higher, as can be seen in Map XXII-1 above.
Christians
in the central part of the Pocket
| ||||
Number
of Christians
|
%Share
|
|||
2001
|
2011
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Simdega
|
2,51,635
|
3,06,601
|
48.93
|
51.14
|
Khunti
|
1,02,886
|
1,36,438
|
23.66
|
25.65
|
Gumla
|
1,73,472
|
2,02,449
|
20.84
|
19.75
|
Jashpur
|
1,69,609
|
1,89,588
|
22.82
|
22.26
|
Sundargarh
|
3,08,476
|
3,85,011
|
16.85
|
18.39
|
Total
|
10,06,078
|
12,20,087
|
23.10
|
23.91
|
These
five component districts form the core of this pocket of high Christian
presence. Of 14.8 lakh Christians in the larger pocket comprising the undivided
districts, 12.2 lakh are in this core area. The share of Christians in this
smaller pocket of more intense Christian presence has risen from 23.1 percent
in 2001 to 23.9 percent in 2011. More importantly, while the share of
Christians in undivided Ranchi district increased marginally during 2001-11,
from 15.42 to 15.48 percent, it has registered a rise of more than two
percentage points in both of the new districts of Simdega and Khunti.
Christian presence is even more intense at the level
of the sub-districts
Christian
presence turns out to be even more intense when we look at the religious profile
at the sub-district level as given in Map XXII-2 below. As seen there,
Christians form a majority in 9 sub-districts of this pocket. Five of these
Christian-majority sub-districts are in Simdega, 2 in Gumla and 1 in
Sundargarh. In Thethaitangar of Simdega, the share of Christians is as high as
65 percent, and it is 62.2 percent in Raiboga of Sundargarh.
This high Christian presence has seeped into some
neighbouring sub-districts
Map
XXII-2 also shows the high Christian presence in the core part of this pocket
seeping into several sub-districts in the neighbourhood. There are another 9 sub-districts
in this region where the share of Christians is between 40 and 50 percent; two
of these are Mahuadanr in Latehar and Anandpur in Pashchimi Singhbhum of Jharkhand,
both of which are not part of undivided Ranchi. Among 13 sub-districts with Christian
presence of 30 to 40 percent, 7 are in Sundargarh, 2 in Gumla, one each in
Simdega, Khunti and Jashpur, but there is also Gudri of Pashchimi Singhbhum. There
are several sub-districts with Christian presence of more than 10 percent in
districts outside the main pocket, including in Garhwa of Jharkhand, Sambalpur
of Odisha and Surguja of Chhattisgarh.
Christian share has increased in Surguja and Sambalpur
Percent
share of Christians in Surguja and Sambalpur, 1951-2011
|
|||||||
1951
|
1961
|
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Surguja
|
0.07
|
0.85
|
1.88
|
2.34
|
2.31
|
3.12
|
3.54
|
Sambalpur
|
0.70
|
0.79
|
1.48
|
1.63
|
2.03
|
2.24
|
2.56
|
Numbers here are for
composite Surguja and Sambalpur districts
before these were split into several components during 1991-2001. |
|||||||
In the
last few decades, there has been little increase in the share of Christians in
Ranchi or Raigarh parts of this pocket. Only Sundargarh has recorded a
significant rise, especially during 2001-11. The adjoining districts of Surguja
in Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur in Odisha also have witnessed significant
increase in the Christian presence in this period. Thus, there is a perceptible
seeping of the Christian influence into the neighbouring areas.
Carving out of Christian-majority districts and
sub-districts
With
the growth of Christianity having moderated within the core pocket, increase in
the Christian influence is being achieved by carving out smaller pockets with
relatively higher presence of Christians as separate districts and
sub-districts. This process is what has led to the creation of the Christian
majority district of Simdega and also several other districts and sub-districts
with very high Christian presence.
Gajapati-Kandhamal Pocket of high and growing Christian presence
Number
and Share of Christians, 2001 and 2011
| ||||
Number of Christians
|
%Share
|
|||
2001
|
2011
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Gajapati
|
1,73,663
|
2,19,482
|
33.47
|
37.98
|
Kandhamal
|
1,17,950
|
1,48,895
|
18.20
|
20.31
|
Rayagada
|
55,220
|
84,916
|
6.64
|
8.77
|
Nabarangapur
|
26,118
|
32,152
|
2.55
|
2.63
|
Koraput
|
51,323
|
68,550
|
4.35
|
4.97
|
Total
|
4,24,274
|
5,53,995
|
10.09
|
11.35
|
These districts of very high Christian presence have
been carved out of larger districts
As in
the case of Simdega, Khunti, Gumla in Jharkhand and Jashpur in Chhattisgarh,
Gajapati and Kandhamal have been carved out as pockets of high Christian
concentration from larger districts. The earlier undivided Ganjam district had
1.88 lakh Christians in 2001; of these, 1.74 lakh went to the newly created
Gajapati district and only about 14 thousand were left in the remaining much
larger Ganjam component. Share of Christians in undivided Ganjam was only 5.12
percent; in the new Gajapati district, they had a share of 33.5 percent.
Similarly, undivided Baudh-Kandhamal (Phulbani) district had 1.18 lakh
Christians in 2001; nearly all of them were in the newly created Kandhamal
district, while Baudh component was left with only 239 Christians. Share of
Christians in undivided Baudh-Kandhamal was 11.2 percent; in the newly created
Kandhamal district, they had a share of 18.2 percent and just 0.06 percent in
the remaining Baudh district.
Share of Christians has been rising rapidly in Gajapati
and Kandhamal
New
administrative units with very high Christian presence have been created recently
in this pocket as also in the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh pocket; but unlike in
the latter, the share of Christians in this pocket, and particularly in the
newly created districts, has been rising rapidly for several decades.
Fortunately, it is possible to construct a time series for both Gajapati and
Kandhmal district from 1971 onwards by adding the appropriate sub-districts,
even though these two districts have been created only during 1991-2001.
Number
and Share of Christians
|
||||
Gajapati
|
Kandhamal
|
|||
Year
|
Number
|
% C
|
Number
|
% C
|
1971
|
41,677
|
11.82
|
40,406
|
10.26
|
1981
|
74,052
|
18.24
|
42,152
|
9.39
|
1991
|
1,21,585
|
26.48
|
75,597
|
13.84
|
2001
|
1,73,663
|
33.47
|
1,17,950
|
18.20
|
2011
|
2,19,482
|
37.98
|
1,48,895
|
20.31
|
There were few Christians in this pocket prior to 1971
Christianity
began to acquire a foothold in this region only about a couple of decades prior
to 1971. There were only 17.5 thousand Christians in undivided Ganjam in 1961
and 12 thousand in 1951. In undivided Baudh-Kandhamal, their number was 16
thousand in 1961, 11 thousand in 1951 and only 281 in 1941. From those tentative
beginnings, Christianity indeed has grown to very high levels in this pocket.
Growth of Christianity in the adjoining districts
Christians in Rayagada
|
||
Year
|
Number
|
% C
|
1971
|
8,057
|
1.58
|
1981
|
13,903
|
2.28
|
1991
|
29,191
|
4.09
|
2001
|
55,220
|
6.64
|
2011
|
84,916
|
8.77
|
Christian presence in the sub-districts of this pocket
is much more intense
The highest share of Christians in this pocket is in Serango of Gajapati, where they form 83.6 percent of the population. Their share is near 80 percent in the adjoining Puttasing of Rayagada. It is above 70 percent in Adva of Gajapati and in the adjoining Brahmanigaon of Kandhamal. And, their share is 60.5 percent in Darangibari of Kandhamal that adjoins Brahmanigaon on the north. These five sub-districts, along with the remaining 3 Christian majority sub-districts of R. Udaygiri in Gajapati, Chandrapur in Rayagada and Kotagarh in Kandhamal form a contiguous belt of very high Christian presence running through the centre of this pocket. (Please refer to the Map below). This belt, except for the intervening district of Baudh, where there are almost no Christians, seems to join the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Jashpur pocket, making a distinct belt of high Christian presence running from south to north through the middle of Odisha.
Christians in Santhal Pargana Pocket
Number and Percent Share of Christians in Godda,
Sahibganj, Pakur and Dumka of Santhal Pargana
|
||||||||||
Number of Christians
|
Percent Share of Christians
|
|||||||||
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
2011
|
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
2011
|
|
Godda
|
6,572
|
7,705
|
6,583
|
21,645
|
37,795
|
1.09
|
1.08
|
0.76
|
2.07
|
2.88
|
Sahibganj
|
12,443
|
16,429
|
19,437
|
58,723
|
83,208
|
2.45
|
2.67
|
2.64
|
6.33
|
7.23
|
Pakur
|
9,174
|
12,249
|
15,832
|
41,099
|
75,865
|
2.28
|
2.64
|
2.81
|
5.86
|
8.43
|
Dumka
|
16,931
|
20,557
|
29,887
|
52,681
|
86,404
|
2.37
|
2.63
|
3.14
|
4.76
|
6.54
|
Total
|
45,120
|
56,940
|
71,739
|
1,74,148
|
2,83,272
|
2.03
|
2.21
|
2.30
|
4.60
|
6.05
|
This
is the third and the smallest of the three pockets of high Christian presence
and growth that we have been considering. We have discussed the high growth of
Muslims and Christians in this pocket earlier in Blog V. As
in Gajapati-Kandhamal region of Odisha, expansion of Christianity in this
region seems to be a phenomenon of the last two or three decades. In the Table above,
we have compiled the numbers and shares of Christians in four of the six
component districts into which Santhal Pargana has been divided. There are not
many Christians in the remaining two components, Deoghar and Jamtara. Of 2.94
lakh Christians counted in undivided Santhal Pargana in 2011, 2.83 lakh are in
Godda, Sahibganj, Pakur and Dumka and there are less than 10.5 thousand of them
in Deoghar and Jamtara.
The number and share of Christians in this pocket is
rising very rapidly
As
seen in the Table above, the number of Christians in these four component
districts of Santhal Pargana has multiplied 6.3 times in the four decades
between 1971 and 2011, rising from 45 thousand to 2.83 lakhs. Their share in
this pocket has consequently risen from 2.03 percent in 1971 to 6.05 percent in
2011. Their growth has been particularly rapid after 1991; they recorded
decadal growth of 143 percent during 1991-2001, and have grown again by 63
percent during the last decade of 2001-11.
Summing Up
Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh Pocket
1. There
are three distinct pockets of high Christian presence in Jharkhand, Odisha and
Chhattisgarh. The first, the largest and historically the oldest of these
comprises contiguous parts of the earlier undivided Ranchi district of
Jharkhand, Sundargarh of Odisha and undivided Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh.
2.
There are 14.8 lakh Christians in this compact pocket and they form 14.8 percent
of the population here.
3.
Rise in the share of Christians in this pocket seems to have now slowed down; in
Ranchi, the share of Christians has been declining since 1951, and in Raigarh,
it has been nearly stable since 1971. But in Ranchi, their share had increased
from 10.6 percent in 1901 to 18.6 percent in 1951 and in Raigarh it had
suddenly spurted form less than 2 percent in 1951 to more than 10 percent in
1971.
4. In
Sundargarh, the share of Christians had risen from less than 10 percent in 1921
to nearly 16.6 percent in 1971. This was followed by three decades of slow growth;
but there has been a sudden spurt in their share during the last decade.
5.
Though growth of Christianity has slowed down in parts of this pocket,
especially in Ranchi, yet further rise in Christian influence is being achieved
by carving out smaller regions of high Christian presence as separate districts
and sub-districts.
6.
During 2001-11, two new districts, Simdega and Khunti, have been created within
the earlier undivided Ranchi district. The share of Christians in Simdega now
is 51.1 percent, making it the only Christian-majority district in India
outside the northeast. The share of Christians in Khunti at 25.6 percent is the
second highest in Jharkhand.
7.
Though the share of Christians in undivided Ranchi has somewhat declined during
2001-11, it has risen by more than two percentage points in these two new
districts.
8. In
Chhattisgarh, the Christian dominated parts of Raigarh have been carved out as
the separate Jashpur district during 1991-2001. The share of Christians there
is 22.3 percent. Growth of Christianity in this part also seems to have slowed
down; during 2001-11, there has been some decline in the share of Christians in
Jashpur.
9. In
Sundargarh, however, the share of Christians has increased from 16.8 to 18.4
percent during 2001-11. This rise is a reflection of the robust spread of
Christianity in different parts of Odisha during the last two or three decades.
10.
There has been some spread of Christianity from the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh
pocket to the neighbouring districts of Latehar and Garhwa in Jharkhand,
Surguja in Chhattisgarh and undivided Sambalpur and its component districts in
Odisha.
Gajapati-Kandhamal Pocket
11. Gajapati and Kandhamal districts comprise the second pocket of high Christian presence in this region. This pocket has developed as a consequence of the very rapid rise of Christianity in these districts in the recent past, mostly after 1981.
12.
Both Gajapati and Kandhamal have been carved out of larger districts of Ganjam
and Baudh-Kandhamal, respectively. Christian presence in the larger districts
was not very significant.
13.
The share of Christians in the parts that now form Gajapati district has risen
from 11.8 percent in 1971 to 38 percent in 2011; in Kandhamal, it has increased
from 9.4 percent in 1981 to 20.3 percent in 2011.
14.
There is a similarly rapid rise in the share of Christians in the adjoining
districts of Rayagada, Nabarangapura and Koraput; especially in Rayagada, where
the share of Christians has risen from 1.6 percent in 1971 to 8.8 percent in
2011.
15.
The rise of Christianity in this part of Odisha thus seems very rapid.
Santhal Pargana Pocket
16. There has been very distinct increase in the share of Muslims in Santhal Pargana and the neighbouring regions of Purnia in Bihar and Dinajpur-Murshidabad in West Bengal. This we have discussed earlier in Blog V.
17.
But there also has been very rapid rise of Christianity in a pocket formed by
Godda, Sahibganj, Pakur and Dumka components of Santhal Pargana. The share of
Christians in these four districts together has risen from 2.03 percent in 1971
to 6.05 percent now. The share has increased from 4.60 to 6.05 percent during
the last decade alone, indicating that the process of rise of Christianity in
this pocket is becoming stronger.
Sub-districts of very high Christian presence
18. Within the Ranchi-Sundargarh-Raigarh and Gajapati-Kandhamal pockets of high Christian influence, there are several sub-districts where Christian form a majority; and some of them are becoming exclusively Christian, with their share touching 80 percent and above in at least two of them and near or above 60 percent in another six.
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