Demography of Madhya Pradesh :

Population :

The population of Madhya Pradesh consists of a number of ethnic groups and tribes, castes and communities, including the indigenous tribals and relatively more recent migrants from other states. The scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes constitute a significant portion of the population of the State. The main tribal groups in Madhya Pradesh are Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Korku, Bhadia Halba, Kaul, Mariya, Malto and Sahariya. Dhar, Jhabua and Mandla districts have more than 50 percent tribal population.

In Khargone, Chhindwara, Seoni, Sidhi, Singrauli and Shahdol districts 30–50 percent population is of tribes. According to the 2011 census, the adivasi population in Madhya Pradesh was 15.34 million, constituting 21.1% of the total population. There were 46 recognised Scheduled Tribes and three of them have been identified as "Special Primitive Tribal Groups" in the State.

Due to the different linguistic, cultural and geographical environment, and its peculiar complications, the diverse tribal world of Madhya Pradesh has been largely cut off from the mainstream of development. Madhya Pradesh ranks very low on the Human Development Index value of 0.375 (2011), which is below the national average. According to the India State Hunger Index (2008) compiled by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the malnutrition situation in Madhya Pradesh was "extremely alarming", receiving a severity rating between Ethiopia and Chad.[36] The state ranks is also the worst performer in India, when it comes to female foeticides.The state's per-capita gross state domestic product (nominal GDP) is the fourth lowest in the country.

Languages :

  Hindi              (88.57%)
  Marathi          (1.70%)
  Urdu              (1.26%)
  Others           (8.47%)

The official language of the state is Hindi. In addition Marathi is spoken by a substantial number of the population since the state was home to several important and prestigious Maratha states. The state in fact has the highest concentration of Marathi people outside Maharashtra. Several regional variants are spoken, which are considered by the government to be dialects of Hindi, and by linguists to be distinct but related languages. Among these dialects are Malvi in Malwa, Nimadi in Nimar, Bundeli in Bundelkhand, and Bagheli in Bagelkhand and the southeast, and Rajasthani in the area near to Rajasthan. Each of these languages has dialects of its own. Other languages include Telugu, Bhilodi (Bhili), Gondi, Korku, Kalto (Nahali), and Nihali (Nahali), all spoken by Adivasis.

Religion :

According to the census of 2011, 90.80% of the MP residents followed Hinduism, while others are Muslim (6.57%), Jain (0.78%), Buddhists (0.29%),Christians (0.29%), and Sikhs (0.20%).

 Culture :

Four sites in Madhya Pradesh have been declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO: the Khajuraho Group of Monuments (1986) including Devi Jagadambi temple, Khajuraho, Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (1989) and the Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (2003). Other architecturally significant or scenic sites include Ajaigarh, Amarkantak, Asirgarh, Bandhavgarh, Bawangaja, Bhopal, Vidisha, Chanderi, Chitrakuta, Dhar, Gwalior, Indore, Nemavar, Jabalpur, Burhanpur, Maheshwar, Mandleshwar, Mandu, Omkareshwar, Orchha, Pachmarhi, Shivpuri, Sonagiri, Mandla and Ujjain.

Madhya Pradesh is noted for its classical and folk music. Some of the noted Hindustani classical music gharanas in Madhya Pradesh include the Maihar gharana, the Gwalior gharana and Senia gharana. Two of the medieval India's most noted singers, Tansen and Baiju Bawra, were born near Gwalior in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Noted Dhrupad exponents Aminuddin Dagar (Indore), Gundecha Brothers (Ujjain) and Uday Bhawalkar (Ujjain) were also born in present-day Madhya Pradesh.The birthplaces of noted playback singers Kishore Kumar (Khandwa) and Lata Mangeshkar (Indore) and singer and composer Aadesh Shrivastava (Jabalpur) are also located in MP. The local styles of folk singing include Faga, Bhartahari, Sanja geet, Bhopa, Kalbelia, Bhat/Bhand/Charan, Vasdeva, Videsia, Kalgi Turra, Nirgunia, Alha, Pandwani Gayan and Garba Garbi Govalan.

The major folk dances of MP are Rai, Karma, Saila, Matki, Gangaur, Badhai, Baredi, Naurata, Ahiri and Bhagoria.