Page:Provincial geographies of India (Volume 1).djvu/134

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CHAPTER X

THE PEOPLE (continued): RELIGIONS

Religions in N.W.F. Province.— In the N.W.F. Province an overwhelming majority of the population professes Islam. In 1911 there were 2,039,994 Musalmans as compared with 119,942 Hindus, 30,345 Sikhs, and 6585 Christians.

Religions in Kashmir.— In Kashmir the preponderance of Muhammadans is not so overwhelming. The figures are:

Muhammadans .. .. 2,398,320
Hindus .. .. .. 690,390
Buddhists .. .. .. 36,512
Sikhs .. .. .. 31.553

The Hindus belong mostly to the Jammu province, where nearly half of the population professes that faith. The people of Kashmir, Baltistan, Astor and Gilgit, Chilas and Hunza Nagar, are Musalmans. The Ladakhis are Buddhists.

Religions in Panjab.— The distribution by religions of the population of the Panjab and its native States in 1911 was:

Muhammadans .. .. .. 12,275,477 or 51 p.c.
Hindus .. .. .. .. 8,773,621 or 36 p.c.
Sikhs .. .. .. .. 2,883,729 or 12 p.c.
Others, chiefly Christian (199,751) 254,923 or 1 p.c.