B. ESWARAPPA
Abstract: Bangalore is a medieval city founded by Kempe Gowda in 1536 as a simple trading centre. Capital of Karnataka, the city is 5th largest state with many dubious distinctions (no. 2 city in come tax, no. 3 in number of automotives). It accounts for 24% of total urban population of Karnataka. The present study emphasizes the changes in the religions composition of the city by analyzing 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 census data and, also brings out the influence of recent exodus of in-migration on city’s religious composition. The religious groups in the city are Hindus (76%), Muslim (15%), Christians (6.3%), Jains (1.5%), Sikhs (0.1%), Buddhists (0.04%) and others (0.2%) who show remarkable growth of population in absolute terms. Another objective of this study is to understand the occupations of these religions groups in a fast growing metropolis.