Baha’is Population in INDIA
The official Indian Baha’i site is actually misleading its visitors. They claim to be a 2.2 million strong community in India alone, which is obviously bogus and false.
There are some real problems with the calculation of Baha'i population. I had my own doubts and questions about the reported numbers and wondered to what extent the teachings of the Faith had any real impact upon people in rural areas who had reportedly become Baha'is in such large numbers.
One when looks at the Baha’i census of India whom Baha’i claims have largest number of Baha’is, immediately one will understand that there are THREE TYPES OF BAHA’I CENSUS. All official.
TYPE -I
1-Bahai Census projected by Baha’i Administration through their websites. They project about 2.2 million Baha’is in India.
Official Website of Bahais Of India
“India has been associated with the Bahá’à Faith right from its inception in 1844. Today, about 2.2 million Baha'is live in different parts of India in over 10,000 localities. Bahá’u’lláh, the prophet Founder of the Bahá’à Faith, speaks of religion as the most potent force for civilizing human character and for the establishment of order, peace and justice in society. The Baha'is of India are actively engaged in a process of individual and social transformation involving men, women, children and youth of the larger society in a collective learning enterprise. The guidance and resources for all these activities are channeled through local, regional and national governing councils. There are seventeen regional and about 700 local councils functioning harmoniously in a spirit of non-adversarial consultation under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, which is the apex body looking after the affairs of the Baha'i community in India. Through these efforts and in collaboration with a number of like minded organisations, the Baha'is are learning to address the challenges of caste and class prejudice, gender inequality, communal disharmony, lack of education, violence, poverty, corruption and moral degradation, in order to generate communities that are governed by the principles of love, justice, equality and rectitude of conduct.”
TYPE-II
2-Bahai Census projected by Baha’i Administration in their newsletters and Annual Report. Here they are of the opinion that there are hundred thousand Baha’is.
[Ref: (2) Annual Report Ridvan 165 B.E. 2007-2008 ]
TYPE-III
3-Bahai Census given by Government of India in their official census report.
However, the official census of Government of India has something else to offer.
Official census of The Government of India
A-Census of 1991
The official Census of Government of India taken in 1991 puts Baha’i population as 5,575 (2,966 men and 2,609 women)
[Ref: (3) Indian Census Returns, 1991, for the Baha'is of India.]
B-Census of 2001
The official Census of Government of India taken in 2001 puts Baha’i population as 11,324 (6,138 men and 5,186 women)
[Ref: (4) Census of India, 2001]
Census of India, 2001
Directorate of census operation
Website www.censuindia.net
Bahai Census of India
Religion
code
|
Other Religions in
main table C-1
|
Total/
Rural/
Urban
|
Persons
|
Males
|
Females
| |
308
|
702009
|
Bahais
|
Total
|
11324
|
6138
|
5186
|
309
|
Bahais
|
Rural
|
9230
|
5032
|
4198
| |
310
|
Bahais
|
Urban
|
2094
|
1106
|
988
| |
C - 1 APPENDIX - Details of religious communities shown under
Baha’is are quick to point out that the official census is false and full of prejudice, as most of the census officers are Hindu and they do not carry out their work honestly. They are however slow in their observation that all Baha’i census are carried out by overzealous Baha’i officers and that no person should question their integrity!
It is not a hidden fact that the census conducted by the Government of India is carried out very meticulously by sincere and dedicated officers going door to door covering every household. Even if we give a 5% advantage it will not exceed 12,000. Furthermore, in questioning leading Baha'i administrators and other knowledgeable Baha'is asking them about the Baha’i population in India they have said somewhere between 13000, to 14,000. There was ready acknowledgement of the occurrence of what Juan called "fraudulent" teaching in his post.
Out of these 11,324 Baha’is,
1-Most of them are Persian
2-Some are those who have signed the card thinking that Baha’i Faith is a social organization.
3-Some of them have signed due to deception.
4-In Pune it was reported that Persian Baha’is have gone to the villages and they have asked illiterate villagers to sign the card offering the temptation that signees would receive some scholarship.
5-In Madhya Pradesh, Baha’i speakers have gathered masses giving some lectures and the speaker asking the question. Is there any one amongst you who does not believe in God? The audience responded ‘No’. The speaker then exhorted them to sign the card.
6-One of the Bahai official who visited India in 1984 claimed in his speech at the Baha’i Centre that he would have easily collected 200 addresses of people saying they are Baha’is although they gathered there under the name of a Medical Camp.
7-Many false addresses were given to acquire number of delegates especially in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Why should the Baha’i authorities wish to project an image more than its reality?
1-It is in order to present an inaccurate picture to the world (as well as to individuals considering conversion) and to make the Faith seem much more successful and influential than it really is.
2-These addresses are recorded as "Bahais" to show to the Government of India as the number of Baha’is to gain minority status by deception and to avail all the facilities and privileges given by Government of India to its minorities.
Conclusion
It was fairly apparent that declaring oneself a Baha'i did not mean that an individual was being put in the position of having to “leave” his own religious tradition (which in this case was primarily Hindu). The declared Baha’i for the most part continued to practice traditional behavioral idioms. Moreover there was little indication that they had abandoned the Hindu “world view”.
It originated from Iran the most of the high ranking officers are Persian with head quarter in Israel.
They have incorporations of Assemblies, cluster growth reflection meetings, administrative sanctions, deprivation of voting rights, elected arms appointed arms, elections at local state and national assemblies, counselors, auxiliary board members etc to fit requirements of an NGO and not a divine religion. Surely these are far from the conditions satisfying the requirements of major religions of the world.
My own conclusion was that the Baha'i Faith better fits the category of an NGO and not one of the eight major religions of the world as is claimed by the Baha’is.
My Iranian friends should not be made to believe that the world is full of fools. Rather they are living in a fool’s paradise. By simple repetition a lie cannot and will not become the truth. The Baha’i population India is not more than 13,000 and in the world by any means they are not more than one hundred thousand. For a religion to progress and propagate, sincere service is required to attract the masses and not lip service to attract the masses and then believing that they have abandoned the religion of their ancestors. They cannot increase their numbers by Ruhi books or by simply parroting Ana’s presentation.
While recently released (2016) "Data on Religion" by the Census Department of Government of India states the Baha'i population as 4,573.
While recently released (2016) "Data on Religion" by the Census Department of Government of India states the Baha'i population as 4,573.
Reference: bahaicensusindia.blogspot.com