In 2021, over 30% of all detenues in Indian prisons were Muslims even though the community’s share in the population is only 14.2% (as of 2011). Indian jails host four types of prisoners — convicts (persons found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court), undertrials (currently on trial in a court of law), detenues (persons held lawfully in custody), and those who do not belong to any of these three categories and who comprise a small share of the total number of prisoners. Notably, in Assam, 61% of the convicts and 49% of the undertrials were Muslims, while the population share of the community in the State was 34%. Among States with a relatively high number of detainees, the share of Muslim detainees was notably disproportationate to the population share in Gujarat, U.P., Haryana and J&K U.T.
Share of Muslims
The chart shows the % of Muslims in the total population in India in 2011, the % of Muslim convicts, the % of Muslim undertrials and the % of Muslim detenues in Indian prisons as of 2021.
