Religion in Lahore

It is estimated that the city of Lahore, Pakistan, has a Muslim majority with 94.7% and Christian minority constitute 5.1% of the population and rest Sikhs and Hindus constitute the remaining 0.2%. There is also a small but longstanding Zoroastrian community.[1]

Religion in Lahore City 2017[2]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 94.7%
Christianity
 
 5.14%
Hinduism
 
 0.02%
Sikhism
 
 0.02%
Others
 
 0.1%

Before Partition
Religion in Lahore District (1941)[3]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 60.62%
Sikhism
 
 18.32%
Hinduism
 
 16.79%
Christianity
 
 3.99%
Others
 
 0.28%
Religion in Lahore City (1941)
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 64.49%
Hinduism
 
 26.71%
Sikhism
 
 5.07%
Christianity
 
 3.20%

Prior to the partition of India in 1947, a third of Lahore district's population was Hindu and Sikh. Hindus and Sikhs used to reside in 'distinct enclaves'. The city's Hindu and Sikh population left en masse during the partition and shifted to East Punjab and Delhi in India. In the process, Lahore lost its entire Hindu and Sikh population. The emigrants were replaced by Muslim refugees from India. Muslim refugees and locals competed for ownership over abandoned Hindu and Sikh property.[4]

Religious groups in Lahore City (1891−2017)[lower-alpha 1]
Religious
group		 1891[6]: 68  1901[7]: 44  1911[8]: 20  1921[9]: 23  1931[10]: 26  1941[5]: 32  2017[11]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 102,280 57.83% 119,601 58.93% 129,801 56.76% 149,044 52.89% 249,315 58.01% 433,170 64.49% 10,530,816 94.7%
Hinduism 62,077 35.1% 70,196 34.59% 77,267 33.79% 107,783 38.25% 139,125[lower-alpha 2] 32.37% 179,422[lower-alpha 2] 26.71% 2,670 0.02%
Sikhism 7,306 4.13% 7,023 3.46% 12,877 5.63% 12,833 4.55% 23,477 5.46% 34,021 5.07% — —
Christianity 4,697 2.66% 5,558 2.74% 8,436 3.69% 11,287 4.01% 16,875 3.93% 21,495 3.2% 571,365 5.14%
Jainism 339 0.19% 420 0.21% 467 0.2% 474 0.17% 791 0.18% 1,094 0.16% — —
Zoroastrianism 132 0.02% 166 0.08% 198 0.09% 177 0.06% 150 0.03% — — — —
Judaism 14 0% — — 13 0.01% 13 0% 0 0% — — — —
Buddhism 0 0% 0 0% 128 0.06% 170 0.06% 14 0% — — — —
Ahmadiyya — — — — — — — — — — — — 13,433 0.12%
Others 9 0.01% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 2,457 0.37% 1,701 0.02%
Total population 176,854 100% 202,964 100% 228,687 100% 281,781 100% 429,747 100% 671,659 100% 11,119,985 100%

Religious heritage

According to a Hindu legend, Lahore was once named Lavapura,[12] after Lava, son of Lord Rama, Hindu God from Ramayana as one of etymological theory of Lahore.[13][14] A vacant temple, the Lava Temple, dedicated to this figure is contained inside the Lahore Fort.[15][16]

The first Persian text on Sufism was written, by Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh Shaykh Abul Hasan 'Ali Hujwiri R.A. in Lahore which became a major source for early Sufi thought and practice. Hazrat e Hujwiri R.A's tomb in Lahore is one of the major Sufi shrines in the subcontinent.[17] Several other leading Sufi saints are buried in Lahore.[18] These Sufi shrines have contributed to making Lahore an important place of pilgrimage.[19] During the Mughal era, several impressive buildings including mosques were constructed, contributing to the city's rich Mughal heritage.[20][21]

The city is also of significant importance to the Sikhs of Punjab region who call it Lahore-Sharif.[22][23] Some of Sikhism's holiest sites are situated inside Lahore.[24]

Notes
  1. 1891-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Lahore, which included Lahore Municipality and Lahore Cantonment.[5]: 32 
  2. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

References
  1. "Largest Christian Community of Pakistan resides in Lahore District". christiansinpakistan.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  2. http://pakgeotagging.blogspot.in/2014/10/partition-of-punjab-in-2017.html
  3. "Pakistan Geotagging: Partition of Punjab in 1947". 3 October 2014.
  4. Gandhi, Usha (2007-06-01). "Review of Talbot, Ian, Divided Cities: Partition and Its Aftermath in Lahore and Amritsar, 1947-1957". www.h-net.org. Retrieved 2017-04-05.
  5. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  6. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1891 GENERAL TABLES BRITISH PROVINCES AND FEUDATORY STATES VOL I". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  7. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1901 VOLUME I-A INDIA PART II-TABLES". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  8. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1911 VOLUME XIV PUNJAB PART II TABLES". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  9. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1921 VOLUME XV PUNJAB AND DELHI PART II TABLES". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  10. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1931 VOLUME XVII PUNJAB PART II TABLES". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  11. "Final Results (Census-2017)". Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  12. Bombay Historical Society (1946). Annual bibliography of Indian history and Indology, Volume 4. p. 257. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  13. Baqir, Muhammad (1985). Lahore, past and present. B.R. Pub. Corp. p. 22. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  14. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2017-05-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. Ahmed, Shoaib (16 April 2004). "Hindu, Sikh temples in state of disrepair". Daily Times. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  16. Naqoosh, Lahore Number 1976
  17. Metcalf, Barbara (2009). Islam in South Asia in Practice. Princeton University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1400831388.
  18. Malik, Iftikhar (2006). Culture and Customs of Pakistan. p. 154. ISBN 9780313331268.
  19. Gharipour, Mohammad; Ozlu, Nilay (5 March 2015). The City in the Muslim World: Depictions by Western Travel Writers. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9781317548225.
  20. Malik, Iftikhar Haider (2008). The History of Pakistan. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-313-34137-3.
  21. Chandra, Satish (2005). Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part – II. Har-Anand Publications. p. 365. ISBN 978-81-241-1066-9.
  22. The foreign policy of Pakistan: ethnic impacts on diplomacy, 1971-1994 ISBN 1-86064-169-5 - Mehtab Ali Shah "Such is the political, psychological and religious attachment of the Sikhs to that city that a Khalistan without Lahore would be like a Germany without Berlin."
  23. Amritsar to Lahore: a journey across the India-Pakistan border - Stephen Alter ISBN 0-8122-1743-8 "Ever since the separatist movement gathered force in the 1980s, Pakistan has sided with the Sikhs, even though the territorial ambitions of Khalistan include Lahore and sections of the Punjab on both sides of the border."
  24. "Sikh pilgrims from India arrive in Lahore". Dawn. Pakistan. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
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