Six best cartoons on BJP's defeat and grand alliance's victory in Bihar: Cartoonists' response to election result

While millions of words have been written on the electoral outcome of the Bihar Assembly poll and the analyses continue, the cartoonists and artists have said it with a few strokes of their pens and brushes.

See these five cartoons that describe the BJP's loss and Nitish Kumar-Lalu Yadav's JDU-RJD-Congress alliance's victory. Clearly, 'Cow and Pakistan' are part of every illustration as BJP had made them a poll issue.

Surendra's cartoon touches the topic of reservation too. Others are by Manjul, Satish Acharya, Shreyas Nevare. The penultimate cartoon was published in Punjab Kesri. All these cartoons are about the results, except the last, which was about the exit polls.

Muslim population in Indian states, percentage as per Census 2011 report on religions: UP, West Bengal, Bihar have largest Muslim concentration

The population of Muslims in India is slightly more than 14.2%. The last census was conducted in 2011 but the figures about religions were not disclosed till as late as 2015.

There is lot of confusion about figures of Muslims in Indian states. The reason is that various reports are cited including estimates of United States (US) agencies and other international organisations like PEW group.

Also, there is a trend of 'exaggeration' among sections of Muslims, which creates misconceptions. We must know the figures as per the census report. Here is the Muslim population in different states as per the government of India's official figures.

Muslim population is highest in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 3.84 crore Muslims but they account for nearly 19.5% of the population of the state, followed by West Bengal,  Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam and Kerala.

The percentage of Muslims is highest in Jammu-Kashmir among big states and in Lakshadwip among the union territories. These are figures as per census 2011, and the current figure would be slightly high. The next census will take place in 2021.

State                                         Muslim population [Figures as per Census 2011]

Uttar Pradesh                            3.84 crore
West Bengal                              2.46 crore
Bihar                                        1.75 crore
Maharashtra                              1.29 crore
Assam                                      1.06 crore


Kerala                                        88 lakh
Jammu and Kashmir                    85 lakh
*Andhra Pradesh+Telangana        81 lakh
Karnataka                                  78 lakh
Rajasthan                                   62 lakh


Gujarat                                       58 lakh
Madhya Pradesh                          47.7 lakh
Jharkhand                                   47 lakh
Tamil Nadu                                 42.5 lakh
Delhi                                          21.5 lakh

Haryana                                       17.8 lakh
Uttarakhand                                 14 lakh
Odisha                                         9.1 lakh
Punjab                                         5.26 lakh
Chhattisgarh                                5.1 lakh

[Lakshadweep has a small population, just 64,000, but it is predominantly Muslim]    

OVERALL POPULATION OF INDIA: POPULATION OF ADHERENTS OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS IN INDIA [Number of followers of each faith, percentage]

India's population: 121.09 crore [1.21 billion]
Hindus    96.63 crore   (79.8%)
Muslims  17.22 crore   (14.2%)
Christian 2.78 crores (2.3 per cent)
Sikh 2.08 crores (1.7 per cent)
Buddhist 84 lakh (0.7 per cent)
Jain 45 lakh (0.4 per cent)
Other religions and persuasions (ORP) 0.79 crores (0.7 per cent) 
Religion not stated 0.29 crores (0.2 per cent)

BIG FIVE STATES: Maximum Muslim population is in these states

The big five are UP, WB, Bihar, Maharashtra and Assam--each having more than 1 crore or 10 million Muslims. The states that have 5-10 million Muslims include Kerala, Jammu Kashmir, Karnataka, Rajasthan.

Then comes, the states that have 20-50 lakh Muslims [2-5 million]. They include Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. Next come, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Tripura.

But even states like Haryana, Orissa (now Odisha) and Punjab that have lesser Muslims, often have cities, towns and regions that have a strong Muslim concentration or Muslim dominated pockets where the impact of Muslims on local culture is quite visible.                

The states and union territories that come later in the list include Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya, Goa, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Andaman Nicobar, Daman and Diu, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh et al.

[*Jointly, Andhra Pradesh+Telangana, population in Census 2011 was 8.45 crore, which meant there were 81 lakh Muslims (9.6%). Andhra is a bigger state in terms of population but has less Muslim percent. Telangana has a higher Muslim population than Andhra. After bifurcation, the religious population hasn't been officially known for both states].

How media turned Nitish Kumar from hero to villain within months!

Just refresh your memory and you will recall how Nitish Kumar was the darling of media, till just a few months ago.

Whenever there was a mention of the Bihar chief minister, the word 'Sushasan' or 'Good Governance' was used to describe his achievements.

It was routinely said that he had brought a turnaround in Bihar, from the era of Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'jungle raj'.

After Lalu was ousted from the power by the JDU-BJP combine, Nitish Kumar was seen as a true leader, a man who was changing Bihar.

It was said that crime rate had come down in Bihar, development was again visible and the mafia had been brought under control. The backward Bihar was now a progressive state, we were told.

Those who don't live in the State, obviously, have no idea about the ground realities, and are dependent on media to understand the 'change'.

In fact, there was so much positive news about Bihar, that we even heard how advertisements were being given to newspapers, in order to get good coverage. Negative stories were not being reported at all.  If it was happening, it wasn't good either.

Remember how Forbesganj firing was totally blacked out from media. Now within the last few months, ever since, he had a fallout with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Nitish Kumar is no longer the 'Vikas Purush'. All positive coverage has gone away.

No longer, we hear the word 'Sushasan Kumar'. In fact, there are reports now that the law-and-order situation is bad. Really! The 63-year-old leader who comes from the JP movement, just like his bete noire RJD's Lalu Yadav, is now miffed with media.

In a function, a bitter Nitish Kumar asked the photographer that why was he taking the photographs, when they won't be published them in the newspaper.This is in sharp contrast to the earlier situation when Nitish Kumar got excessive coverage.

In fact, a section was uncomfortable, and felt that due to huge money in the form of Ads, the TV channels and newspaper in Bihar, have 'sold themselves out'. [media bhi business hai bhai]

Now JDU leaders rue that the media no longer gives them coverage as it is in the hands of BJP. In India, media is largely independent, despite the political affiliations of the owners of the media houses.

Lot of people outside Bihar wonder how it is happening so fast. What is the true picture? Something is surely amiss here.

With Mukesh Ambani's growing stakes in media houses, it is suspected that there is growing influence of owners on journalists.

In news rooms, there is a clear order that stories against BJP's future PM wouldn't be telecast. But to say, that Nitish Kumar has been blacked out just because his opposition to Narendra Modi and the JDU's severing ties with BJP in Bihar, is almost unbelievable. Is it that the media has been swept away by the 'Modi wave'?

For eight years, he was doing everything right. Even eight months ago, he was doing great. He was looked at as a statesman and was positioned as the future Prime Minister. However, it is a fact that Nitish Kumar is no longer a favourite among media men.

How this 'hero' to 'zero' transition took place! It is not a great mystery. But the change in coverage does have impact on people who don't belong to Bihar and live outside the state. Without firsthand experience or information about whether things are improving or they have worsened, they are at loss to understand such a transformation in media views.

What's the reality. And the mystery behind the change in image! Just a few more months and we will know.