‘Marathi Mumbai could become Muslim Mumbai’: BJP leader Somaiya stirs birth rate controversy
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BJP leader Kirit Somaiya stirred a contentious Hindu-Muslim birth rate controversy in a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, claiming that if the current birth ratio of two Muslim children for every three Hindu children continues, Marathi Mumbai will become Muslim Mumbai. However, critics have sharply contested Somaiya’s birth rate data.
In a post on X, the former BJP MP described the alleged demographic trend as a conspiracy to create a “Muslim Mumbai” and shared a table purporting to show religion-wise live births in the city. According to his figures, 48,554 Muslim children and 70,380 Hindu children were born in Mumbai in 2025.
“It won’t take long for our Marathi Mumbai to become Muslim Mumbai,” Somaiya wrote in his letter to Fadnavis, urging the state government to establish a committee to examine demographic changes in the metropolis.
Conspiracy for
"Muslim Mumbai"
Birth Ratio in Mumbai is 3:2
3 Hindu Children against 2 Muslim Children
In the year 2025
70,380 Hindu Children Born
48,554 Muslim Children took Birth
In last 5 years
3,36,625 Hindu children took Birth
2,20,754 Muslim children took Birth
I requested CM @Dev_Fadnavis to set up a Demographic Committee to save Mumbai from becoming Muslim Mumbai
#Demography
@BJP4India @AmitShah @RSSorg
— Kirit Somaiya (@KiritSomaiya) November 6, 2026
He claimed that the Muslim population in Mumbai had fallen below 10 per cent after Independence in 1947, but had risen to 20 per cent in the 2011 Census. Citing estimates attributed to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), he projected that the proportion could reach 25 per cent at present and 31 per cent by 2051.
Somaiya further claimed that Mumbai had recorded 3.36 lakh Hindu births and 2.20 lakh Muslim births over the past five years, arguing that the figures warranted an official investigation.
However, critics pointed out discrepancies in his data, citing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) official diary, which recorded 1,17,606 live births in 2025 — approximately 1,000 fewer than the total implied by Somaiya's figures.
The BJP leader also alleged that illegal immigration from Bangladesh and Myanmar, alongside migration by Muslims from northern India, was contributing to the city's demographic changes.
Somaiya has previously faced criticism over communal allegations, including his campaigns against a mosque and a Mumbai school, which he respectively accused of “land jihad” and “school jihad”.