The health condition of ex-servicemen Havildar Ashok Kumar Chauhan, part of relay hunger strike over non-implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP), deteriorated on Tuesday as the stir entered its 72nd day.

Chauhan who was on hunger strike from the past eight days, was rushed to RR Hospital.

Meanwhile, ex-servicemen Uday Singh Rawat and Major Pyaare Chand joined the relay hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar is supposed meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday over the issue.

The government had urged the protesting veterans to wait till August 26 before scaling up the protest.

There are around 24 lakh retired servicemen in India and around 6.5 lakh widows who will benefit if OROP is implemented.

In a statement which could stoke controversy, Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah on Tuesday said that all the militants who had given their lives over the Kashmir issue were like freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

The separatist leader made the comments while talking to journalists after reaching Srinagar from Delhi.

He also said that the militants had given boost to the movement of Kashmir and that the channel of talks with Pakistan should remain open.

“The way India celebrates Bhagat Singh, the same way militants are our heroes,” he said, adding, “But talks are must. Talks should not be closed.”

When asked about the conversation which the NIA had intercepted between Hizbul Mujahideen chief and a terrorist lodged in Srinagar jail, he said, “I can’t say anything about this. We receive calls from Pakistan and answer them but to whom Syed Salahuddin has talked I can’t say.”

Shah parted ways with moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference last year.

Later he formed a separate unit.

In a mega show of strength for their demand, members of the Patel community organised a mega rally in the heart of Gujarat on Tuesday demanding reservations under the Other Backward Caste (OBC) quota

Addressing a massive gathering, convener of ‘Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti’ Hardik Patel, who is leading the agitation, a ‘Maha-Kranti Rally’ announced that the Lotus will not blossom in 2017 if the Patel community is not placed under the OBC status.

“In 1985, we had uprooted Congress from Gujarat, today there is BJP. 2017 (state election year) is coming…Lotus will not bloom in the mud, it will never bloom. If you will talk about our interest then only we will nurture your lotus,” he said, warning the state government.

The Patel community is considered to be politically and economically powerful and a votebank of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

22-year-old Hardik Patel, who has taken Gujarat politics by storm, said his community people are not beggars and are fighting for their right.

Further raising his pitch for OBC quota, Hardik threatened to launch the agitation to other parts of the country.

He spoke about how India stands on three pillars; the Indian Army, the farmer and labourers. Talking about farmer suicides he said, “Political parties say that a farmer’s death is his own responsibility. 6000 farmers died in Gujarat. Who’ll take the responsibility? If any more farmers die, it won’t be good for either Gujarat or India.”

He also mentioned the lack of initiative by the government in resolving the reservation issue. Patel asked, “If the Supreme Court can open at 3:30 am in the morning to decide the fate of a terrorist, then why not for the youth and the future of this nation?”

“If you do not give our right (reservation), we will snatch it. Whoever will talk of interest of Patels will rule over Patels,” Hardik told the gathering.

“If the country’s youth come on the streets to demand their right and if they do not get those rights, some of them will become Naxalites, some of them will become terrorists,” he exhorted.

The latest census data on the population of religious groups, released by the Modi government on Tuesday, shows a 0.7 per cent decline in the Hindu population, while a growth of 0.8 per cent has been registered in the Muslim community.

The census has distributed the total population amongst six religions namely Hindu, Muslim, Christians, Sikh, Buddhist and Jains.

In 2011, total population was registered as – 121.09 crores, in which Hindus constituted 79.8 per cent, Muslims 14.2 per cent, Christians 2.3 per cent, Sikh 1.7 per cent, Buddhist 0.7 per cent and Jain 0.4 per cent.

According to the data released, the distribution of the total population has been made on six major religious communities namely, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain besides “Other Religions and Persuasions” and “Religion not stated”.

The data are released by sex and residence up to sub-districts and towns. Total population in 2011 is 121.09 crores; Hindu 96.63 crores (79.8%); Muslim 17.22 crores (14.2%); Christian 2.78 crores (2.3%); Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7%); Buddhist 0.84 crores (0.7%); Jain 0.45 crores (0.4%), Other Religions & Persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7%) and Religion Not Stated 0.29 crores (0.2%).

Proportion

The proportion of Hindu population to total population in 2011 has declined by 0.7 percentage point (PP); the proportion of Sikh population has declined by 0.2 PP and the Buddhist population has declined by 0.1 PP during the decade 2001-2011.

The proportion of Muslim population to total population has increased by 0.8 PP. There has been no significant change in the proportion of Christians and Jains.

Growth Rate

The growth rate of population in the decade 2001-2011 was 17.7 %. The growth rate of population of the different religious communities in the same period was as Hindus: 16.8%; Muslim: 24.6%; Christian: 15.5%; Sikh: 8.4%; Buddhist: 6.1% and Jain: 5.4%.

Earlier, the government used to provide religion-wise break-up of population data. However, the practice was discontinued in 2011 because of a controversy that followed the 2001 Census, which showed a relatively high growth of Muslim population primarily on account of the inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir.

The comparison was skewed because the militancy-hit state was not covered in the headcount for 1991.