vegetarian dishes (without onions and garlics). Distribution of Hindus According to the 2010 Census, there were 1,777,694 people self-identifying as Hindus (6.27% of the population). Of the Hindus, 1,644,072 were Indian, 111,329 were non-citizens, 14,878 were Chinese, 4,474 Others, and 2,941 Tribals (Including 554 Iban in Sarawak). 92.48% of all the Indian Malaysians were Hindu. Information collected in the census based on the respondent's answer and did not refer to any official document. There is a small historic Chitty community in Malacca, who are also known as the Indian Peranakans. They have adopted Chinese and Malay cultural practices whilst also retaining their Hindu heritage. The Total fertility rate per religion is not published by the Malaysian government, only fertility rate by ethnicity is published. The fertility rate of Indians was 1.7 in 2010 which has fallen to 1.3 in 2016. By gender and ethnic group There are 5900 Balinese people in Malaysia, 90% of whom are Hindus. The 'Other Hindus' in the above Table might be representing them. By state or federal territory Historical population The population of the Hindus in Malaysia has decreased very much in the past 6 decades, mainly after the Independence of Malaya due to the Islamic fundamentalism policies by Government and other reasons. There has many rules favouring the Muslims and the rights of Hindus and other minority are neglected by the Sharia courts. There has been also reports of high numbers of Malaysian Hindus of converting to Christianity and Islam. Many Hindu groups reported that nearly 160,000 Hindus have converted to Christianity and Islam, out of which 130,000 converted to Christianity and 30,000 to Islam (till 1991) and most of them were Singaporean and Malaysian Tamils. Persecution of Hindus Derogatory terms People of Indian descent are derogatory called "Keling" in Malaysia. Islamic preferentionalism Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. The Constitution of Malaysia declares that Islam is the only religion of true Malay people and that natives are required to be Muslims. Conversion from Islam to Hinduism (or another religion) is against the law, but the conversion of Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians to Islam is welcomed. The government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country. The law requires that any Hindu (or Buddhist or Christian) who marries a Muslim must first convert to Islam, otherwise the marriage is illegal and void. If one of the Hindu parents adopts Islam, the children