(a) the names of the communities included in the category of minority communities in the country along with the population of these communities, community-wise;
(b) whether any assistance is being provided by the Government to these communities for the protection and development of their education and culture; and
(c) if so, the amount of such assistance and the names of the communities to which assistance has been provided during the last three years and the current year, State-wise?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI VINCENT H. PALA)
a): The name of the communities included in the category of minority communities in the country are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis (Zoroastrians). The community wise population of these five minority communities, as per Census 2001, is as below:
Sl No. Minority Communities Population
1 Muslims 13,81,88,240 2 Christians 2,40,80,016 3 Sikhs 1,92,15,730 4 Budhists 79,55,207 5 Parsis (Zoroastrians) 69,601