evidence: Differential fertility between Hindus and Muslims – the two major religious groups in India – has always fuelled controversy among academicians and policymakers. According to NFHS-5, TFR among Hindus was estimated to be 1.9, while among Muslims it was 2.4. However, according to James and Rana (2021), declining fertility in India encompasses all religious groups including Muslims, which have historically recorded higher fertility than other communities, have also recorded a faster decline in fertility in recent years. Using 2011 Census data, an earlier study by Ghosh (2018) observed that in districts where Hindu fertility was high, Muslim fertility was also high, and where Hindu fertility was low than Muslim fertility was also low – signifying that it was not religion that influences the level of fertility. In the study, it was also found that regions with high fertility was characterised by high fertility across groups, irrespective of socio-religious affiliation or educational attainment among women; the same holds for low fertility regions.