Maulana Khalilur Rahman Sajjad Nomani, a senior member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, has stirred another controversy with his assertion that Hindus are no longer in a majority in India. In a video clip that has gone viral on social media platforms, the cleric claimed that the conventional understanding of the Hindu population in the country is misleading when various communities are viewed separately.
He insisted that groups such as Scheduled Castes, tribal communities, people from Tamil Nadu, Lingayats and even some sections of the Jat community should not be counted as Hindus, arguing that these identities stand apart from the broader Hindu fold. Nomani said, “I place my hand on Hajr-e-Aswad and the cover of the Kaaba and say that Hindus are a minority in India. Under no circumstances can Hindus be considered a majority.”
Maulana At Islamic Summit in India 🇮🇳
— Dear Men (@Dear_Men_Life) June 18, 2026
"Hindus are no more in Majority"
"SC + Tribals+ Tamils + Lingayats = are Non Hindus"
"We Divided Hindus into Secular and Fascists, But Both hurted our cause"
"JAATs are now calling they are Not Hindus"
🤡 pic.twitter.com/oBnWKix2fu
Nomani said that Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists are not Hindus, and Scheduled Castes, tribal communities, people of Tamil Nadu and Lingayats should also not be considered Hindus. Talking about tribal communities, he said that the original inhabitants of the country and should not be classified as Hindus. He further claimed that recently, people from the Jat community are also identifying themselves as non-Hindus.
In his address, the Maulana went further to state that Muslims had divided Hindus, and had depended on what he termed “secular Hindus” for political support, but these groups had ultimately handed over the reins of the country to what he called “fascist Hindus”. He said, “We divided Hindus into secular and fascist categories, but both ended up hurting our cause.”
The remarks were made during the closing address at the Millat Times Conclave 2026, organised to mark the 10th anniversary of the media house. The day-long event was held on February 2, 2026, at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi and featured panel discussions on media, democracy, constitutional values and contemporary politics, with participation from several political leaders, journalists and scholars.
Several politicians, including Congress leaders Mani Shankar Aiyar, Salman Khurshid, Imran Pratapgarhi, SP leader Iqra Hasan Chaudhary, BJP leader Yasir Jilani attended the conclave.
Maulana Nomani, who delivered the concluding speech, said that he based his observations on what he described as three decades of travel and research across the country into religious, caste and tribal identities.
The video of these comments, originally recorded at the February conclave, surfaced prominently on social media on June 18 and has since triggered widespread debate and criticism.
