Demographics Of Pune City

Demographics Of Pune City

Population:The population of the Pune city is 3,124,458 and Pune Urban Agglomeration (Pune Metropolitan Area) is 5,057,709 as of the 2011 census. The same was about 4,485,000 in 2005. The migrating population rose from 43,900 in 2001 to 88,200 in 2005. The estimated population in 2016 for the Pune metro region is 6,226,959. According to the Pune Municipal Corporation, 40% of the population lived in slums in 2001.^[The sharp increase in censorial decade of 1991–2001 can be attributed to the absorption of 38 fringe villages into the city. The average literacy rate of Pune was 86.15 in 2011 compared to 80.45 in 2001. Marathiis the official and most widely spoken language, while English and Hindi are understood by a significant part of the population. Since Pune is a major industrial metropolis, it has attracted migrants from all parts of India to come and settle here. The top five areas of migration are Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. The Sindhis in the city are mostly refugees and their descendants, who came to the area after the partition of India in 1947.

 Religion

:Hinduism is the dominant religion in Pune. Major communities by religion include Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Christians. Many Temples, Churches, Mosque, Gurudwaras, Buddhist Viharas, Jewish synagogues, Jain temples, and other religious buildings are found throughout the city. The most prominent Hindu temple in Pune is the Parvati Temple, located on Parvati hill and visible from most of the inner suburbs. The most visited temple is likely the Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati temple, located in old city area of Pune^{[citation needed]}. Another popular temple is the Goddess Chaturshringi, located on Senapati Bapat road in the north west area of Pune. During [[Navratri] festival], there is a large fair at the temple and worshippers gather from around the country to pray here. The presiding Deity of the city is the Kasba Ganapati in Kasba Peth in central Pune.This temple is believed to be reconstructed when Jijabai lived here in the 1640s with her young son, the future Chhatrapati Shivaji. Sarasbaug Ganpati is also a prominent landmark in Pune.

Islam is the second largest religion in Pune.^[64] Pune has a large number of Mosques, the most prominent of which are Chand Tara Masjid, Jaama Masjid, and Azam Campus Masjid. Chand Tara Masjid, located in Nana Peth, is one of the biggest and most important mosques in Pune as it is the city headquarters (markaz) for the Tablighi Jamaat. The Eid-gah Maidan located near Golibar Maidan onShankar Sheth Road witnesses a large gathering of people for Eid namaz on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.

Pune has over 20 Gurdwaras. Gurdwara Guru Nanak Darbar, Camp and Gurdwara Shri Guru Singh Sabha, Ganesh Peth being the ones situated in the heart of the city. Sikhism is one of the major religions of Pune and Sikhs have become an integral part of the society. In the past a Sikh has been elected mayor of Pune. The community also runs 2 schools. The Sikh community in Pune celebrates Gurpurabs with a lot of enthusiasm. They also organise Kirtan Darbars yearly which are attended by many important religious figures of the Sikh community as well as other communities. They serve Langar to all irrespective of the caste, creed or race of a person.

Other important religious places of other religions in Pune are the Ohel David Synagogue, The St Peter's Cathedral, Dapodi Church, JJ Agiary.

The Shrutisagar Ashram, located at Phulgaon off the Nagar road, houses the Vedanta Research Centre and a unique temple ofDakshinamurthy, located near the confluence of the Bhima, Bhama, and Indrayani rivers. It was established in 1989 by Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati. Here one can find detailed explanations of śruti and smriti (including the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and Puranas) in Marathi and English. As of the 2011 census, the population of Pune is as follows.

Religion	Total	Percentage
Hindu	2,481,627	79.43%
Muslims	344,571	11.03%
Buddhist	123,179	3.94%
Jain	76,441	2.45%
Christian	67,808	2.17%
Sikh	13,558	0.43%
Not Stated	10,906	0.35%
Others	6,368	0.20%

Spirituality

With 200,000 visitors annually, theOsho International Meditation Resort in Pune is one of the largest spiritual centres in the world

Main meditation Dome at Triveni Ashram

The metropolitan Pune area has two of the most important pilgrimage centers for Marathi Hindu people.These are the towns of Alandi where the Samadhi of the 13th century sant Dnyaneshwar is located and Dehu where 17th century sant Tukaram lived.The annual Vari (foot procession) of the paduka (symbolic sandals) for both these saints in the month of Ashadh (June/July) make a stopover in the city on their way to Pandharpur and attracts hundreds of thousand of devotees

Pune has been associated with several significant recent spiritual teachers. The controversial GuruOsho (formerly self styled Bhagwan Rajneesh) lived and taught in Pune for much of the 1970s and 1980s. The Osho International Meditation Resort, one of the world's largest spiritual centres, is located in the Koregaon Park area. It has visitors from over a hundred countries. Pune is also the birthplace of Meher Baba, although his followers usually travel to Meherabad to visit his tomb. Hazrat Babajan, identified by Meher Baba as one of the five Perfect Masters, lived the final 25 years of her life in Pune. She was an AfghanMuslim noted for her great age and outdoor existence. She established her final residence first under an Azadirachta indica tree near Bukhari Shah's mosque in Rasta Peth and later under another A. indica tree in the then-dilapidated section of Pune called Char Bawdi, where she remained for the rest of her life. There is a shrine erected in her honour in Pune, around the tree under which she made her final home.^{[66][better source needed]}

Pune is also home to the temples of some other saints who had a large inter-religious following. The Shankar Maharaj Math on Satara road is the place where the great spiritual master 'Shri Shankar Maharaj' rests.The Jangli Maharaj Mandir is the final resting place of Jangli Maharaj. The Mali Maharaj Mandir in Somwar Peth is a very important place of worship of the Nath Pai Sect of Hinduism. The Ramkrishna Mission Ashram at the start of Sinhgad Road is famous for its teachings of Vedanta. The ISKCON temple in the Camp area and the Hare Rama Hare Krishna Mission in the Model Colony Area.

There is a significant Sikh population in Pune. There are a number of Gurudwaras (Sikh Temples) for Sikhs. Gurudwaras in Camp, Kharki, Aundh, Pimpri, Akrudi, and Budhwar Peth are the prominent ones. The Camp Gurudwara is one of the main gurudwaras, with hundreds of people visiting it every day. It is named as "Guru Nanak Darbar" and some people also call it "Hollywood Gurudwara". This complex includes a charitable hospital, community kitchen for Langar and Sarai for refugees.